Crate or Give it up

Ratty and I had a big discussion on the fate of Goldie. Back on the day of adoption, I made it very clear to the shelter staff.  The dog will be returned if it's proven to be a destroyer.   Goldie is a big time destroyer.

Since she starts living with me, she ate STUFF (cookies, pastries, dog treats and so on) which was stored on the kitchen counter.  She miraculously disassembled the TV cable box remote.  The balcony screen door was torn. DVDs/CDs/empty boxes are destroyed.   We traveled to the Pittsburgh and I bought a very nice thick pink collar with pattern, she chews the buckle.  So it's gone.  Not to mention, the garbage/recycle bin were searched completely.  She can't speak but she knows what she has done.

So steps to prevent her to be destroyer
1) child lock for the fridge (a little bit of think ahead but she does not know how to open the fridge yet)
2) remove all the grocery item on the kitchen counter.
3) never leave the balcony door open with screen door closed
4) hide all the remotes, DVDs/CDs and boxes
5) no more nice collar for her.

It doesn't even stop her from destroying other things, she is just being a dog.  They are bored, they chew.  They are nervous, they lick.  They are threatened, they bark..  They are scared, they hide.  So what's wrong with that?  If it's not their fault, it must be Ratty's and my fault.

CRATE... CRATE .. CRATE.. that's what you need to do.  I am totally against this idea.  I think dogs are not supposed to be in one spot for 8 hours.  They should be running around just like us.  Wait a minute.  I have been told by so many dog owners they crate their dogs.    I still don't believe in it but I need to.

Goldie is smart enough, she doesn't like the crate, she knows what is going on.  But sorry, it's not penalizing her.  It's just making sure I provide a comfortable spot for you to stay 8 hours and I won't be mad at you when you are misbehaving.

My heart told me not to crate the dog. She seems fine every time I come home after being created for hours.   However, I see how she doesn't want to get near to the crate because it's not as comfortable as the sofa. And most importantly, Ratty doesn't want to give her up.  So. there is the cheapest solution I can find.

Her friends

Everyone has friends. Dogs too.   Karim just found out my blog.  So I am going to call him Ratney here.  That's our communication code.

Ratney and I take Goldie to off leash park together on the weekends.   There is one group of dogs Goldie likes.   A  3 months old husky girl as show in the picture, a 6 months old yellow lab boy and a 10 months old husky mix boy.    As you know Goldie is already two years old plus, she is the big sister in the group.   Surprisingly, she is quite nurturing.   I am not say she gives her milk which she doesn't have.   She just plays gently with them.     When you dog plays well in the park,  you are a proud dog parent.  

Labrador Retriever and Husky mix are big time shedder and chewer

Remember to get your dog a car seat harness for the road trip.  Yep right.  Lab/Husky mix is a very smart breed.  They like to stick their head out and enjoy the breeze.  Oh wait, the harness actually prevents them to go out too far.  Then what would they do?  

The dogs will try to break free.  They can't use their paws and they don't know the mechanism of the seat belts.   But they know the harness is not a good thing they want to attach to.  Goldie started to chew the seat belt quietly.  She decided to chew the harness and the seat belt at the same time.   She must enjoy it.   When I was driving, she was licking the harness and seat belt like cow hide.  Next time I know, she was chewing them.   My Tucson is 2013 model and this year is 2013.  If you were me, you would probably scream your head off.   So I asked my friend to unbuckle her, closed the windows and pulled over at the rest area.  My heart was broken.  I can see my seat belt is still ok but the harness is in bad shape. 

What's missing in the picture?   A frustrated dog, a frustrated car owner and a friend found this situation is hilarious.  Geeze....   6 hours road trip is not good for the dog.  Maybe tranquilizer is needed next time.  Oh wait.  there is no next road trip for her. She will stay in dog hotel.

One more thing I noticed, Goldie coat color changed.  She shedded all her white coat and the reddish brown coat is coming out for the summer. Well, where does her hair go?   EVERYTHING.  I picked my nose, her hair was there too.  No kidding.  I bought so much tool.  The ridiculous purchase was Furminator.  Yes it works, but not working well when your dog is so hairy.  And also it's expensive.  I ended use a tool I bought from Target.  I looks like a metal blade with teeth. You apply minimal pressure and the dog hair just come over like dandelion seed.   Goldie, after the road trip, we come to the conclusion that you are a handful dog but we still love you.