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January 13, 2015

Tales from the Crate - Games Puppies Play #crazy dog by Karilyn Bentley

Crazy Puppy with new ball-ball and rope bone

As you probably know, we are the proud owners of a crazy puppy we lovingly refer to as The Kraken. Despite owning several dogs over the course of our marriage, we have never adopted one that liked to play with anything except pizzle sticks and beef bones. So image our surprise when Crazy Puppy played fetch without being taught. We were ecstatic. For all of a day. She is obsessed with ball-ball. Or frisbee. Or any object she can fetch, return to you and ram into your leg. While still chewing. With that in mind, here is a list of some toys/games one can play with a puppy.



Ball or Frisbee: Your puppy will love to play fetch with either object. She might even return the ball/Frisbee for more playtime. This sounds great until she rams the toy into your leg while chewing. Be sure to carry band-aids and neosporin at all times.

This is a pix of her starting to destroy ball-ball. She likes to pull off all the green fuzz.



Nylabone: Comes in a variety of flavors and types. Be sure to get an age appropriate one. Once a puppy's permanent teeth come in they can no longer chew on the puppy nylabone. Well, they can chew on it, but will ingest it in the time it takes you to throw out the wrapper. According to the vet and the wrapper, do not let puppy eat the bone.

Kong ball: Fill with yummy treat and watch as both dogs try to steal the other one's Kong. Other than the loud bark-fest, chewing is lots of fun for puppy. The Kong will even substitute as a fetch object. 

Ice: Cheap and fun for puppy. Take a piece of ice and a tile or linoleum floor. Slide the ice across the floor and watch puppy chase it. This game involves chase and chew, two fun games for puppy.

Despite having enough toys and bones to qualify as a toy store, your puppy will invent games to play with you. Here are some of Crazy Puppy's favorite games.

Landscaping: Puppies like to help you landscape. Unfortunately their idea of a nice looking lawn and your idea are usually in direct opposition. Be prepared to holler no, stop, a variety of commands and leave it for long hours at a time while your puppy happily digs a hole to the center of the earth. Plenty of articles are written on why your puppy digs and how to stop it, none of which work. Accept that instead of lush and green your lawn now looks like a field of prairie dogs dug a city. Be sure to monitor puppy as she loves to pull out and eat all the building materials left behind when your house was built. This includes, but is not limited to, small hunks of concrete, bricks and rusted nails, none of which puppy needs to chew on and some of which are dangerous for puppy.

Plant trimming: This is similar to landscaping, but involves eating the vegetable garden. Puppies will eat anything in the garden except for kale. Tomatoes, corn, lima beans and asparagus are favorites and will be demolished on sight. An early freeze won't kill the Swiss Chard, but don't worry. You have a puppy.

The Towel Game: Puppies love towels, paper or cloth. This game happens when it rains and puppy's feet are muddy. Try to wipe off feet while puppy circles around trying to grab the towel out of your hand. This game involves a degree of dexterity for the human who must avoid puppy's gnashing teeth while grabbing puppy's foot and ridding it of mud.

What games do your pets play with you?

Karilyn Bentley
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19 comments:

Phyllis said...

Believe it or not, Karilyn, they will grow out of it. That said, you will not be sure if you'll survive...lol.

I had one who thought HE should be the Alpha dog and not me. I had him for 16 years before he passed. I threatened to give him to someone or to the shelter, but I knew no one else would put up with his stuff and have him put down. So, I kept him and miss him.

Not sure that helps. You at least have the makings of a good book.

Calisa Rhose said...

Yes, puppies like anything they should not have or do. My hubby's chihuahua was a master landscaper and helped put in a whole sprinkler system in the yard of our house in California his second summer. I have video of his hard work. lol

To this day, 20 years later, he still tries to help, though he has few lower front teeth left.

He is a gopher and mouse hunter extraordinaire. There are a variety of gophers many humans are not aware of. Tree gopher=squirrel, flying gopher=birds of any kind, gopher=can be anything he chooses to chase or bark at, including but not limited to two legged ones (and only those in our house who know what he's doing), or stuffed ones.
His favorite toys make noise, until he does "delicate" surgery to remove the voice box.

Not moo-cows, however. Those are special all in their own right.
No "moo-cow" is safe around him, though he's only ever been around one calf up close enough to smell in his life. And in his old age he can't see them anymore unless they are a certain color and within a certain distance.

Thanks for sharing your Crazy Puppy.


Calisa Rhose said...

That should be 10 years later, not 20... he's only 11. lol

Liese said...

We have been "taking care" of our son's border collie mix for several years. He has always enjoyed fetching and bringing. When I arrive home, he'll bring a toy with expectation of tug of war to be followed by fetching. He also still likes to chew and can destroy a non-tough toy faster than you can imagine. Only the Kong toys can withstand it.

Good luck with a chewer!

Liese

Karilyn Bentley said...

Hi Phyllis,
I have a dog like that. Territorially aggressive. He's gotten better as he's aged and yes, I'll miss him too when he's gone. He's getting up there. :) Thank you for the encouragement. It's nice to know things might get better! :)

Hi Calisa,
Whew, I'm glad you corrected to 10 years b/c I was like, wow, that's one old dog! :) Your doggie sounds funny! It cracks me up how they turn everything into a "gopher". At least you got a new sprinkler system out of the dog! ha! :)

Hi Liese,
Ours is a bordie collie lab mix too. Maybe that's something with the breed to destroy toys in the blink of an eye. It's craziness! The Kong toys are great! We tried their bedding and she's managed to get through that. She LOVES stuffing. sigh. :(

Unknown said...

hehe..puppies are the best. they keep you on your toes and let you know when anything you need is left in their reach..you just won't get it back the same way. My Pitbull Xena liked to redecorate my backyard by eating the patio bricks and redepositing the crumbs all over the yard. If the weather is nice where you are and the dogs are outside for a bit you can make the best toy/treat ever. Fill a jello mold with chicken broth, water, dog treats, peas, carrots, or green beans. You want a nice variety to keep them enticed. Freeze it and when you put them outside set the frozen delight in a wide bowl so if it melts they won't lose any goodies. It keeps them entertained and hydrated. Have fun with your new friend.

Liz Lipperman said...

Loved the post. We had to put down a big dog several years back (best dog we ever had) and decided to get a small dog so as not to continually be comparing. Lola (malte-chon)is the biggest PITA ever, but fortunately, her cuteness saves her from the pound. We made the mistake of walking her to help potty train her. Now she won't poop in her own yard, and she's driving us crazy. And I sleep with a mouthguard and use a wash cloth in case I dribble at night. It's never on my pillow in the morning!!!

Karilyn Bentley said...

Hi Karla,
That sounds like a great idea! I will have to try it this summer. Your dog eats bricks too? Glad to know mine isn't the only one, although that is some strange behavior!

Hi Liz,
Your doggie sounds adorable! Good luck with the potty training. And thank you for identifying a problem my puppy does not have! ha! :)

Vicki Batman, sassy writer said...

Hi, Karilyn! Oh my. The things I went through with Champ and Jones. And now, Jones has decided he will pee in the house. Sigh. More training in my future.

J C. McKenzie said...

LOL! Loved this post. I too have had many dogs growing up. But the first dog my husband and I got is an absolute nut job. We love her to bits and she's by far the most affectionate dog I've ever owned as well. Many shoes and coats have gone to the accessory gods because of her, and "fetch" means running down whatever it is and destroying it. There's no returning. What's returning, mean? She has no clue. Anyway, I loved this post. I think any animal lover would, too! :-)

Karilyn Bentley said...

Hi Vicki,
So sorry to hear about another round of potty training for you. :( Your doggies are adorable though!

Hi J.C.,
That's funny about your pooch! Fetch means destroy. ha! Mine will return it but once she tires of fetch (after at least an hour) she will destroy the ball. It's currently sitting on the counter so she yips at the counter in hopes that we will get annoyed enough to give it back to her. Sigh. :) Glad you liked the post!

Unknown said...

Love any story about puppies!!! My puppy was like that, would chew on anything. Drove me nutty!!! Now he's grown and he will play with anything. Cute blog!

Sylvia said...

Karilyn,
We need to get together and talk. Why have I been on the computer on and off all day? Because puppylicious thinks cords are tasty and I think he bit through my internet cord. It's been spotty all day. He's chewed up my speaker cords. My label maker cord and the rest of my computer cords have teeth marks in them. We wrapped them this weekend and tried to put them high enough he couldn't get into them any longer, but today it's the internet. Maybe it's not his fault...but it started after I dragged him from beneath the desk. I'm too old for this.

Unknown said...

Sylvia, you can put vinegar/water mix on cords to keep them from chewing. Or purchase a bitter apple spray from the pet stores. If you do that shake it up really well, spray it directly in their mouth and then put it on the things you don't want them to touch. they will cough, spit, gag when sprayed directly it triggers the brain with an instant this sucks message so when they taste it again they remember it sucks. good luck with the puppies

Karilyn Bentley said...

Hi Hebby! Thank you for stopping by! I'm glad you got a kick out of my puppy story. :) She does some funny things that you can either get upset over or laugh about. Laughing's better for the heart, they say. :)

Hi Sylvia,
Oh my. My puppy only chewed on a cord her first week and then never went back. Maybe it shocked her. I'm sorry about that. Take Karla's advice. Bitter apple spray won't hurt and will discourage. Be warned, you do have to reapply it to the cord (or pillow, or bedspread, etc). It does not work when dumped on the ground to discourage digging, but does work inside the house. :) Good luck!!! And I'd love to talk puppies sometime. Yours is adorable!

Hi Karla! I love the bitter apple spray. I just have to reapply it a lot. Have not tried squirting it in her mouth though. She does not like the taste of it on the pillow. It helps a bit but is not a cure all. :( Thank you for stopping by!!!

DarleneLF said...

Your puppy is adorable. I have a Yellow Lab and even though he's seven now, he still thinks he's a puppy. He loves teddy bears...minus the stuffing, lol.

Karilyn Bentley said...

Hi Darlene! Your dog sounds like mine. She loves stuffing. :) I really wish she'd find something else to like that wasn't so messy. ha!

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