Escape Artists

Well, they somehow broke out of the kitchen!  Keith came home to find that the locked gate was open and they had meandered their way through and into the living room.  We still haven't figured out how they did that, unless it wasn't fully latched.  That, or they are the smartest dogs on earth.

Given that, we had them in their crates one night.  Poly was having none of that and with 2 hours of constant barking, by 1:30am, Keith and I had enough and, in order to get some sleep ourselves, let them into the kitchen.  Last night they woke Keith up 3 different times with barking (we're pretty sure it's her; he rarely barks).  Their crates are arranged in the kitchen such that one of them is up against a tension gate and the other is a couple of feet away.  Poly's has a side door, so when we put it in the doorway with the tension gate, there is only a matter of a couple inches of empty space.

We ran some errands today and, as always, left them in the kitchen.  When we returned home, the dogs were running free on the first floor.  What?!?  Evidently, Keith had switched and put Casey's crate against the tension gate.  This leaves more space between the crate and the wall.  There are towels on the floor for when they come inside all muddy.  It appears that they used the towels to pull the crate away from the gate and then knocked through it.

These guys are too, too smart!  They also crack us up!

The Innocent Look

I came down to Casey and Poly in the kitchen (thankful they were still there), but with their bed in close to a million pieces.  It was totally decimated!  After cleaning up most of the mess, I saw the following and had to take a picture.  It definitely says "I didn't do it, Mom."

Now, I have to be honest, we believe Poly to be the one who did this, or at least started it.  She is the one who is more destructive when we're around.  Don't get me wrong, I don't see Mr. Casey as innocent in this whole thing.  I can envision him thinking "wow, that looks fun, I think I'll join in" although he did once destroy his bed at his foster Mom's.  We have also lost 3-4 pairs of shoes (lost count), cookbooks have been eaten, the couch has a hole in it -- you know.

I went to lean the bed up against the house in the backyard and guess who snuck out?  Well, I saw Casey sneak out, but all of the sudden I saw Poly - outside.  I think she got out first and I just didn't know it, what with fighting with the bed and all.  Our backyard is a swamp after a storm yesterday and she is running around as fast as a bullet.  It took me a long time to catch her, during which time she tried to get under the fence more than once.  I wish I knew her real age - Vizslas are known to have a lot of energy, but is some of this because she's young?  Ugh!

We're just not sure we can keep both of them.  She can't have most toys because he will take them and destroy them; he can't play with one of the deer antlers because she will take it right out of his mouth (it's a darn good thing he's so easy-going!).  We just don't know what to do.  I want them to both be happy and she is so affectionate with us and he is so calm and smart...  I wish someone else could make this decision for us, or that we'd go back in time and do it differently........

<pouting>

Leash Adventures

When we take the kids out in the backyard, Poly MUST be on a leash (or she will sneak under the fence into the neighbor's yard); Casey will not do any "business" unless he is off-leash.  While they are outside, they like to play, and they can play hard and rough sometimes.  Well, Poly has been known to get the leash (30') around the table on the patio.  I will walk around the table to un-tangle the leash.  What happens?  She follows me, so it stays tangled.  It's actually pretty funny (even though it doesn't sound that from the way I'm telling it).

Both dogs are strong and can pull.  It is something that's improving, but Keith is the one who has to take them for walks because I am simply not strong enough to control them and keep them safe on a walk (in addition to some personal physical reasons).  The other day Keith comes and tells me that the 30 footer broke... snapped right in two.  He tied it together, but it isn't going to stay that way for long; she just pulls too hard.

With Casey off-leash and Poly on-leash, it has been known to happen that Poly wraps Casey all up in her leash.  I can't figure out if she's trying to get a leg-up on him or if it's an accident.  Surely she doesn't need to cheat to win their play-fights...

Drama King

Mr. Casey, drama king.  When Poly is getting attention, he HAS to come over and stick his nose in the middle of it (and fear not, he isn't lacking for attention).  We have a bone for each of them and a deer antler for each of them.  Well, specifically tonight, Poly got one and took it up onto the sofa.  Casey was having none of that.  He came over, sat on the floor with his nose right next to Poly's -- and more importantly, the antler.

He did, of course, move away a little bit when I got my phone out to take a picture, but you get the idea.  You'd think we never played with him or let him gnaw on a bone!

When we go outside in the backyard, Poly still has to be on a leash - she likes to dig and has a little too much interest in both getting into the neighbor's yard and tracking a phantom bunny - right under one of the gates in the fence.  Casey always comes from wherever he is and assumes that since my face is at his level, it's there for him to lick and he proceeds to do so.  It's quite distracting when trying to hook the collar to the leash.  It's even more interesting at night when we put their harnesses on.  Add his usual level of eagerness to pure out excitement and, well, we have one hyper pup.

Earlier today, they had their Kongs filled with yogurt (and frozen overnight).  Hers is the standard red; he requires the more sturdy one and it's black.  Of course they decided they wanted each others'.  I'll never understand.  They do, however, continue to crack me up!