Thursday 26 November 2009

How do solve a problem like Dou-ou-gal?

You may remember Dougal's top trick of digging up the plant troughs on our patio. Yesterday he surpassed himself. After I took both dogs for a long walk in a local wood, I left them outside to dry off. Half an hour later I looked out of the back door and found pieces of grey plastic scattered around and saw a bushy tail disappearing around the corner of the house...mmmm. The plastic turned out to be the remains of the grille at the end of the tumble dryer venting hose. How he managed to get it off the wall and destroy it in so little time is beyond me: maybe he had been digging at it for weeks, Great Escape style, carrying off the evidence and burying it in the far reaches of the patio. Anyway, he got a good telling off and then I left him outside again, figuring that there was nothing else he could harm. How wrong I was! Another half an hour later I looked outside again and the ground was covered in slivers of curled up aluminium, like small beached fish. The little beggar had dug his head into the hole once covered by the grille, pulled out the venting pipe and shredded it! Aaggghhhh! This is the puppy I hope to bring to the shop with me sometime soon...I think not.
Meanwhile in Bowness, it's good to see that the water has receded to below the main pier and that the ferries are running again.
Louise

4 comments:

  1. Sounds like a cage in the garden might be a good idea!! Failing that & presuming you don't fancy using a control collar, how about a dog psychologist :-/ I'm thanking my lucky stars that Bailey isn't a digger/chewer!!!

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  2. Hi Sean & Louise, Don't be too hard on little Dougal,He is only doing what puppies do, annoying though it is !! You just have to keep an eye on him all the time and try to limit the damage. My staffie is 19 months old and still chews things up if Iwe don't keep a constant watch. I bought my wife some furry slippers last Xmas that cost me £34, & yes, you guessed, he he got them. I could have strangled him at the time but can see the funny side now. Puppies more than repay the damage they do with constant love & affection.
    I bet you have a load of fun in your house with Dougal. Keep smiling! Regards, Mike.

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  3. Cesar Millan will have the answers you're looking for. Without him, Megan would have been a real mess. After 16 years with a relatively 'easy' cairn terrior Megan was a complete nightmare but Cesar saved the day. Here is a link to chewing advice on his website: http://www.cesarsway.com/tips/problembehaviors/5-Steps-to-Save-Your-Shoes-from-Your-Chewing-Canine

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  4. Oh dear! I did chuckle - you could equally have been writing about Poppy (Dougal's sister).

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