Demolition Dogs

I have finally come to the realisation why baby animals (and baby humans for that matter) are so darn cute.

Sometimes unconditional love is just not enough.

Dogs in particularly prove this theory. We all know puppies like to chew things.

Everyone knows that the puppy stage is hard work, and in fact some dogs don’t ever grow out of it. But still humanity continues to call dog “Man’s best friend”.

So far I have owned 3 dogs my life.  All gorgeous animals.

All with a certain creative flair when in comes to destroying things.

Aside from the general collateral damage that is par for the course during puppyhood (our front yard below is a perfect example), my dogs have all had a slightly vindictive streak.

I know many people think it’s foolish to assign human attributes to animals but honestly, my dogs have all had a knack for being quite cunning when it comes to selecting a target and victim, not to mention timing.

Just the other week our Border Collie pup decided to decimate The Wilful One’s school shoes because we put him outside on a cold night. They happened to be the only shoes that still fit him and therefore, on a Tuesday morning before school, 3 weeks out from end of term I found myself rushing around buying new shoes.

Couldn’t have been more inconvenient, but I wasn’t overly surprised. This puppy is proving he can keep up with the best of them.

I won’t bore you with all the details but here is a list of some of the other things my mutts have mangled:

• A Christmas tree
• My favourite goose down pillow
• An ENTIRE clothesline full of my work clothes
• A 100% woollen underlay (It as my parents. We didn’t visit for a while after that)
• A very nice pair of my mother’s high heels (eek!)
• Various pieces of outdoor furniture, including a hardwood bench.
• Numerous pool toys
• Countless dog beds (more fool them!)

The pillow that was…

It goes without saying, none of them have had much interest in chew toys.