Cue the "Miss America" theme:
Here he is....Mr. Butters...
or Butters for short.
A shelter mutt that I and my family--in a moment of extreme insanity--adopted last Friday afternoon. Butters is a 2 year old mix of lab & Australian cattle dog, with a sweet disposition and desire to please, but an intense separation anxiety problem. We tried to "crate" him on his first night with us...bad choice. He ate up his fancy (and costly) dog bed, barked us all awake at 12:30 a.m. & basically caused a ruckus on and off all night. So he's trained US not to crate him at night, and now snoozes in our bedroom. Yesterday we attempted the crate again while we were out of the house for a few hours, resulting in Butters doing the following:
- busting out of the supposedly "secure" crate
- chasing the cats & giving them the fright of their 9 lives
- knocking over a plant
- tearing down a curtain
- ripping 2 other curtains
- breaking an ornament
Result: General mayhem! The cats are now sequestered--and are being the nicest (to us) that they ever have been--nothing like a near-death experience to make you re-evaluate your attitude, I guess! The crate has been reinforced with plastic ties and heavy gauge wire, so we hope that will work someday.
Naughty dog Butters will be visiting the vet today for his check-up & rabies shot, and I plan to beg, plead, and weep if necessary to get him some anti-anxiety medication to try while we work on a little behavior modification training. Doggie Boot Camp starts next week; maybe that will help too! Despite all his destructive behavior, he is a sweet boy, and gives excellent dog kisses!
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