Until then, if we left the house for any length of time Toby had to go in his crate or the back yard. We just couldn't trust him alone in the house.
Cozy, but still a cage. |
When we had a party to attend at the neighbors on Saturday, I felt terrible about confining him to the crate.
You can see why. |
So Sunday when we ran errands we tried the experiment again. This time we were gone for two hours. When we pulled into the driveway I said, "Well, what's the worst that could happen? The couch cushions torn up?? " (We weren't worried about potty accidents since Toby never breaks housetraining.)
To our relief a new couch won't be needed. The house was fine and so was Toby. Yay! I'm optimistic that one day soon we can return the crate to SEVA GRREAT and be crate free!
To be honest, I don't think this is a training issue but a maturity issue. At 18 months old Toby is growing up.
He's still got a little mischief in him though! This is the scene next to the computer when I got up this morning:
Happy Mischief-Making! |
Toby those garbages call to every dog. Irresistable.
ReplyDeleteI guess so...I thought only the smelly ones would be tempting!
DeleteIt sure sounds like he's on his way to being uncrated. :-)
ReplyDeleteAs for trash cans, we keep all of ours inside cabinets, otherwise, they would look just like yours. :-)
Haha same with our other ones so Toby didn't have options :)
DeleteDon't feel bad. Our brother Norbert, who is now 10, ate a couch when hew as 2, a whole couch! (Or at least ripped it to shreds)
ReplyDeleteurban hounds
Oh my. That is some serious destroying. But a good excuse for a new sofa...
DeleteToby is just testing you, mom. Making sure you're still paying attention.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds about right, especially being next to the computer, where I seem to be spending a lot more time when it's too hot to be outside :)
DeleteYay for Toby!!! OMD he is sooo much like Dakota! Dakota was like that with his crate and now he is totally crate-less but he is five :)
ReplyDeleteOh good there's good reason for optimism then. I've never liked the crate but it did make having Toby feasible. I don't know what we'd have done without it.
DeleteGood job Toby! I think every puppy is a little different when it comes to trusting them in the house alone. Linus was pretty trustworthy at around 6 months while on the other hand I never really trusted leaving Derby home alone.
ReplyDeleteHmmm just like kids I guess :)
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