Monday, April 19, 2010

Bad to the bone

We now have proof that Dempsey is bad to the bone:



Actually, Dempsey is bad to all his toys, chewing and/or disemboweling them mercilessly. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Whenever we leave the house now, we're careful to leave his kennel door slightly ajar, and place his chewed-up Nylabones in prominent view by the windows. It's our way of telling would-be burglars that a creature with very strong jaws lives here.

This is particularly helpful because, as many dog experts have pointed out, Golden Retrievers are probably the world's worst watchdogs. True to his breed, Dempsey rarely barks, never bites, and is very apt to kiss someone the first time he meets them. We feel that having chewed-up toys lying around is much more effective than a "Beware of Golden Retriever" sign.

Here's what I mean. Check out this picture of the boys by the front door, after I told them to watch it while I went out back to get a garbage bag.


















Buddy is intently focused on a harmless little bird, while Dempsey has his most fearsome face on. And though you can't tell from the picture, Dempsey was wagging his tail, too. Worthless watchpets!

The biggest problem with Dempsey's chewing isn't his toys, but his leash. Whenever he gets bored, he starts chewing his leash. At first we thought it might be teething, or stress, but I did a little experiment, and Dempsey chews his leash at home, too.

We've started trying to train out the leash chewing at home, which is probably the most boring thing I've tried to teach Dempsey. It's going ok, but unfortunately I've discovered Dempsey is not the only one who likes to chew his leash.



















It looks like our little beasts might really be bad to the bone.

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