Destruction and Temptations

The cats, Otto and Vivika Heino  decided that the allergy free phony tree was an exciting climb - amazing how much destruction they can do in so little time!  I attempted the time tested - cats hate it, crumpled sheets of aluminum foil solution.  It might have worked for Otto and Vivika, but we will never know.  Henry thought the foil was the best thing in the world.  We will still be finding the scattered shredded bits long after the New Year.

So, we purchased a noble pine.  So far it remains noble.  Henry has not piddled at its base. The cats are interested but they can't figure out how to navigate the dense mesh of branches. We will see how that goes when we have lights and decorations in place.

Henry has discovered water in the tree holder and that access needs to be blocked.  I don't know what they give the trees to keep them semi-fresh but I suspect it might be aspirin and that is toxic for pups.

Puppy proofing the house continues to be an unexpectedly complex challenge.  Henry loves to chew -- cords, shoes, leashes, collars, branches, water bottles, aluminum sheets, brushes and combs -- anything within reach that he can fit in his mouth.  And once it is in his mouth, it is his and retrieval is a "catch-me-if-you-can" game.  Yes!  After we really master "come" the next thing is "drop-it".

Following a truly scary bolt through the gate and into the street during rush hour on Monday,  "come" takes precedence over everything else.  I thought I was going to lose my boy.  Happily the cars swishing by managed to miss him, if just barely. The neighbor across the street stopped traffic one way as I stopped it in the other direction.  It took Greg coming out with treats to finally capture Henry.  We collected quite a line of disgruntled home-bound workers.

We are going through a lot of yummy treat with the "come" command.  I'm putting evil temptations in his path - allowing him in areas normally off limits -- and it is working - sometimes.   I find the sound of the container rattling gets his attention more rapidly than the command itself.  Aaarg.