Good Doggie
We had a dog named Peanut. He was a mutt with American Terrier in his blood and you could see it in his jaws. He was so destructive, we didn’t have a single piece of furniture that was not gnawed on or torn. We bought “indestructible toys” and they were unrecognizable within one hour. We found the perfect toys that kept him off of our furniture by the time he was 3. He also slowed down with chewing but was still very much destructive. He passed away in 2017 and we still have his ashes. We have been talking about burying his ashes next time we go out on a jeep ride, but we forget every single time….
Now, we have Maya. She is a German Shepherd and Husky mix. She is super smart and easy to train, but her energy level is out of this world! Once she found the strength in her hind legs, she would zoom EVERYWHERE and she can go on forever! Since she found her speed, if we didn’t take her out for a run, she would keep us, or at least one of us, up all night….
She is now 6 months old. The last couple of months, actually maybe less…. Whatever the case, her teething has gotten her to become destructive, but not as bad as Peanut. All he wanted to do was gnaw. Maya loves sounds. She loves empty water bottles. Especially the cheaper ones that collapse in your hand slowly as you drink out of them. The more noise the item makes the more Maya LOVES it.
So far she has destroyed a book, she loves paper. She has destroyed a lot of my bulb plants in my backyard, they have a papery feel and sound. She has also destroyed anything plastic in the house, which has a more satisfying sound than wood or anything else other than plastic. I guess it's the way it sounds when her teeth slide against it with force… I don’t know! She is just weird like that!
One day, my husband and I went grocery shopping. We were gone for maybe an hour and a half. Our joke, heading home, every time is now “let’s see what surprise we have this time!”
I walked into the living room first, dropped my groceries off in the kitchen, and looked up towards my living room. There was white stuff everywhere. What the f*** did she get into???? I walked around the coffee table and saw Peanut’s urn, made from paper mache. My heart immediately fell and I was horrified…. “OMG! My poor Peanut!” My next thought was, my dad’s ashes and his flag (a folded flag at a veteran’s funeral given to their loved one) because Peanut’s ashes were placed beside his ashes and behind the flag that was in a triangular box. They were placed on the lowest shelf in the living room…. I should have known better than to leave those down there! However, neither moved… She literally sniffed Peanut out of the group!
My husband walked in and as soon as he picked up on the situation he said “Well, this is fitting”.... I had to think about it for a second… A destructive dog JUST destroyed another destructive dog’s ashes…. I burst out laughing. I said I suppose Maya is living on Peanut’s legacy and Peanut still wanted to be a part of it!
The good news is, despite how dramatic it looked, it was only a couple of handfuls of ashes that escaped its container. He was not a small dog, so we were able to save most of him. The handfuls that ended up on the floor (tile… thank goodness my floor was not carpet!) had to be vacuumed, unfortunately… However, compared to how much we were able to save, it was nothing.
There is HOPE
Maya is a puppy, we can’t scold her for being a puppy. However, we can prevent this from happening again by training her to be obedient and easier to handle. We have set up preventions in the house so that accidents like what you just read won’t happen again… Something we should have done BEFORE the incident. She is not fully grown into her full size yet. Can you imagine a very large dog with the same energy? Prevention through training becomes very helpful for your future with your puppy. It can save you frustrations and anger, instead, you can build a bond with love and affection we so love to have with our fur babies. My husband and I, after that incident, found this amazing training program! They offer a free workshop that is already very helpful! They also have a full training program you can do at home for a very affordable price.
Don’t take my word for it! Go check them out for yourself and take advantage of the free workshop and see how much your fur baby changes! Take notice of the attention they pay you. It is pretty amazing!
Positive vibes to all of our fur baby parents! We hope you all have just as much success as we have had since we started the training program with Maya. We have taken her out on a Jeep ride once and people have already commented on her calmness despite her young age.
