We most definitely didn't want to, but we had to.
See, we've kinda got bad dogs. I mean, they're puppies, so a certain amount of rambunctiousness is expected, but these two cross the line.
It began with tearing out one plant, then digging a few holes here and there. Next came raiding the wood pile, and scattering their loot across the whole backyard (in the same fashion as the
yard sale),
after they figured out how to remove the tarp with their teeth. Then, they discovered the wiring for the sprinklers, and we now have so little slack left that if anymore is chewed, we will have to tear out the concrete to replace the wiring. And, if that wasn't enough, once we finally got an
effective cover for the wiring and they could no longer get to it, they started in on the sprinkler heads themselves.
Lastly, as if to put a cherry on top of their destructiveness, they did this two nights ago:
Notice even the cover of the book is gone.Now, this was totally my fault; I left the door to the office open, forgot about it, and then kicked the dogs out when I started cooking dinner later that evening. But, seriously dogs?
Honestly, we are not lazy dog owners, which some people are, and they end up with destructive (i.e. bored) dogs. We take these guys on nightly walks (sometimes twice nightly!), they go out to the ranch with the horses, when we're home they're usually in the house with us, they're learning obedience, and goodness knows they have toys coming out of their ears. But the fact remains that we have a smallish backyard, and an ADD heeler.
*sigh*
After much deliberation, we purchased this:
Yesterday, Cowboy H spent an hour or so setting it up.
Of course, Hank had to help. He really is a good little dog. He just needs a lot of supervision.
We put the sucker to the test last night when we headed over to another couple's house for dinner. The dogs were surprising good; no barking or howling or even whining when we first put them in there. All was even quiet when we returned home; not a peep from the backyard. However, we discovered what kept them so quiet:
At least the disaster zone is contained.
Cowboy H is going to throw together a little doggie house today and before he heads to work he'll dispense a few of the new toys, which Hank discovered last night.
Hopefully, they'll shred the toys and not their bed anymore.
So, how about you guys? Do any of you have "dog areas" in your backyards? Do any of you have dog runs like we now have? Neither Cowboy H nor I have ever had to confine our dogs (while growing up, etc.) to one area of the backyard, so this is completely new to us. I'd love to hear any and all solutions/suggestions for problem children!
