A Day at the Dog Park

Augi and Charlie love the dog park.  So many smells.  So many other dogs.  They get to run and play.

Charlie and Augi at the Dog Park

Charlie taking a break.

Augi taking a break

The Guest Bed

For a while, we didn't see much problem letting the dogs sleep on the guest bed while we went to work each day.  We expected no visitors and nothing could really go wrong.  Well, we were wrong.

The Christmas Dog

In 2010, we bought a large stuffed Christmas dog for out puppies.  He didn't last long ... they never do.

The Christmas Dog - Before

The Christmas Dog - After

Augi Gets in on the Action

I should be fair to Charlie, our other dog also does his fair share of chewing.  Here is Augi working on a the remains of a good tennis shoe.

Augi does some chewing too!

Charlie Goes for a Walk

Like all dog owners, we like to take our dogs for a run or a walk.  We let them smell new smells, do their business, and get some exercise.  While Augi makes an excellent partner, Charlie can be a handful.  His size alone can catch you off guard and pull you down then street.  Then let him find something exciting and he just becomes annoying.  To fix this, we have tried special harnesses to control his movement.  Unfortunately, they chafe his armpits and even make him bleed.  Instead we use a facial harness, called Gentle Leader, which goes over the snout and pulls their head to the side when they pull or go to far.

It works great and the dogs don't pull as much.  But Charlie HATES his leader.  Every time we get ready for a walk, he buries himself in a dog bed and resists our efforts.  Once we get it on him, then you get a different story.  He will rub his entire body on the ground to get it off.  He will go to extraordinary lengths to remove his leader, but to no avail.  It can be quite amusing when you see it.  So here you go.  I shot this from one of our walks.

Dogs Get a Car Ride

Our dogs love a good car ride.  Mostly because they end up as a walk.  Both of them will perk their ears when asked if they want to go for a car ride.  It is very cute.

Unfortunately, the dogs lose a lot of hair in the backseat of the car.  It can get really nasty.  We tried a sheet to cover the cloth, but Charlie just pushes it away.  The results are very hairy.

Charlie Wants a Snack

We had actually gone awhile without Charlie destroying something.  Until this past week.  In one evening, Charlie got a hold of three bags of Sun Chips, a spool of ribbon, and some type of plastic bag.  Even of them ended up on the kitchen floor as you can see.  The ribbon and the plastic bag required a little bit of teamwork from the cats to knock them down.  The individual packages of Sun Chips were in a large Costco box in the pantry which Charlie would have had to dig into to get them out.

Charlie didn't feel to good that night, but it seems everything is just fine now.

The Check Shredder

One day, Charlie got a hold of a check that my wife got as a birthday present.  He went deep into her purse to pull out the check and several receipts.  Charlie proceeded to shred each piece of paper to bits leaving the check unredeemable.

About a month later, Charlie decided to repeat this tragedy by ripping up some checks from students to pay for a field trip.  He must really like valuable paper products.  I like it better when when the cats attack the toilet paper.

Coupon Chaos

Charlie has been at it again with a little help from the cats.  This time he tore into our mail completely destroying a book of coupons from Costco.  Sure we wouldn't have used every one of them, but some of them might have come in handy.  Just another day with Charlie!

Power Cord Carnage

One day, my wife's computer battery ran low.  She plugged in her power cord, but nothing happened.  Upon closer inspection, the cord had been chewed through by a dog.  Because the cord would not charge the battery, her computer shut down and died.

On a good note, we had discussed getting new computers as both of our computers were a few years old.  Because of this destruction, we decided to go ahead a purchase two new Mac Books (and a free iPod Touch) from the Apple Store.  Now, we are Mac people and I keep finding new amazing things that I can do on the computer.

At this point, you would assume that this story had a happy ending.  However, a dog soon chewed through one of the power cord extensions.  Thankfully, a new mac comes with two types of power adapters.

Reader Submission: A Wrecked Retainer

A reader (okay my wife's mom) sent me this picture of the retainer that their dog, Roscoe, destroyed.

Total Cost of Destruction: $250

The Pottery Barn Chew Toy

Not sure which animal did this one, but my wife's favorite chair took a beating, I mean an eating, one evening.  Both humans and canines agree- it is a very comfortable chair.  Some animal also believed that it would taste good too and gnawed on the edges of the armrest.

The Unfortunate Umbrella

One day, Charlie got a hold of an umbrella.  He did what he does.  The next day: It rains.  That was expected, right?

Good Shoe Gone

Most dogs love a good pair of shoes.  Charlie enjoys taking the best shoes that you have as a chew toy.  My wife loved these comfortable shoes.  So did the dogs.

Timeline of Bobo Destruction

Our dogs love their chew toys.  We gave the dogs a Christmas Bobo and here's what happened.  At least in this case, they were supposed to destroy it.

In the beginning, they both go crazy over the toy.

Eventually, Augi tires of the game and Charlie settles down to work.

Almost done.  The squeakers and fuzz are flying everywhere.

The End.  Another Bobo bites the dust.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

*Note:  Apparently dogs love these squeak toys because they simulate the sound animals in the wild make when they die.  Isn't that a pleasant thought.

The Elf Murder

You know the Elf on a Shelf.  My wife wanted one to sit on her desk at work.  Charlie did not like that idea and decided to destroy him.  She comes home from work one day to the Elf on the ground missing half his face.  Sad day for elves everywhere.

The Elf did nothing to provoke the attack.  While Charlie is the prime suspect, the cats are still considered accomplices in the incident.  Someone had to knock the Elf from the counter so the investigation is still pending.

Christmas Ball Carnage

After decorating the mantle with some of these Red and Gold Christmas Ornaments, my wife placed several red ones onto a nice silver tray.  Leaving this on the coffee table proved to be a mistake.  When we came home from dinner one night, we saw these Christmas Balls shattered and scattered in the living room.  Luckily, they were only plastic and nothing bad came from it.  It could have been far worse than it was.

Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

A License to Chew

In an interesting situation, the cats knocked my wife's driver's license off the mantle and into Charlie's range.  Charlie chewed the license poking two huge tooth marks in it.

My wife's driver's license has two holes in the middle.

Every time my wife has to show her ID (for credit purchases and random traffic stops) she gets to tell the story about our dog.  Every person accepts the story and laughs.  Sometimes they share their own stories.

Somebody Needs a Bath

The dog's don't just attack inanimate objects, they also like to play in the mud.  Our first house lacked grass in the yard and our dogs loved it.  When Augi and Charlie played in the yard, they rolled around in the dirt and the mud.  While they have fun, they get incredibly dirty and require an immediate bath.

Charlie's black fur shows the dirt more than Augi, but they were both nasty.  Augi is great takedown artist and wins each round against the bigger Charlie.

Dog Bed Bedlam

Here is one I haven't quite figured out yet.  On about 3 or 4 occasions, we have come home or woken up to the destruction of a dog bed.  Stuffing is everywhere throughout the room.  Like this one from a few weeks ago.

Charlie destroys dog beds and ends up without a place to sleep.

These nice comfortable beds are for sleeping on not tearing up.  We got one with a foam cushion to put in the crate with Charlie while we are gone to work.  He tore it up within the week.

We have probably spent about $150 dollars on dog beds since getting Charlie a year and a half ago.