Wednesday 19 December 2012

In my neighbourhood and what my dog did!

 Yesterday when I was driving to yoga class I passed this front yard all decked out with Christmas hats and giant candy canes.  I didn't have my camera with me so went back today to take this photo.  The house is set quite a way off the road so I tentatively made my way up to get a closer look.  I think it's rather a cute idea. 

 

Last Sunday afternoon hubby and I went to the local movie cinema to see the latest Bond movie which we enjoyed immensely.  In front of the car park and on the main road through our local town was this fantastic yarn bombed tree.  I took the following photos today too.

 

 


 Someone has put an incredible amount of work into this display and I love the bird cage too.

Now to the DOG!!!

I love my dog, I really do, but sometimes I don't like what she does.  In the last six months (please bare in mind we are talking about a 10 year old dog not a puppy), she has developed some not so nice habits like getting out of the yard, trying to dig under the gate and upending my pot plants on the back deck.  I did wonder if she was letting me know she wasn't happy that I left her for two months in May/June while traveling in Europe and the times I've visited Western Australia this year.  (She's always been at home and with family members).  She usually sleeps out on the deck at night in a very nice sheltered and warm kennel but as I was feeling sorry for her, we started to let her sleep in side.  She then developed another bad habit of sleeping on our lounge chairs which is NOT allowed.  Perhaps you may think I'm harsh but she is a pale Labrador and Labradors shed two coats of hair.  We have fabric lounge chairs and her hair gets stuck in the fibers resulting in vacuuming taking 30 minutes for one lounge chair. It's bad enough having two white haired cats let alone a dog that when she wags her tail, she sheds enough hair to stuff multiple pillows and cushions.  

Yes, it's a bit of a long winded story so if you are still with me well done and thank you for your patience.  In my wisdom (not so wise I since discovered), I bought a lovely big brisket bone for her thinking it would keep her busy during the night while she got use to sleeping outside again.  It did keep her quiet and out of my pot plants but two days later made her very sick with diarrhea and vomiting.  I felt so bad for her but she had to stay outside the second night because she was so unwell.  Apparently not too sick to do this though.



The guilty party.
  She is well again thankfully after a diet of boiled rice and chicken but I'm still not going to let her inside at night because she will be up on the chairs again.  We've tried putting things on the lounge chairs to stop her climbing up, so much so that we had boxes, bags and other paraphernalia nearly up to the ceiling.  We tried putting sachets of smelly things unpleasant to dogs like eucalyptus and tea tree oil on the lounges, we even sprayed eucalyptus air freshener near the chairs but to no avail.  After I cleaned up the above mess I decided that I would pour a liberal amount rosemary essential oil over the pot plants in an effort to keep her from upending them again.  It has worked for the last two nights, so fingers crossed she is breaking a bad habit.

Never a dull moment eh?!

May you all have moments filled with peace and well behaved dogs (if you have one) in the lead up to Christmas.

Anne  xx

 



10 comments:

  1. Am loving the Santa hats & yarnbombed tree - so colourful looking :)

    Oh dear - naughty dog - hopefully the habit will be broken soon - don't want a mess like that again :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh dear! I'm kinda glad I don't have pets! Perhaps she's having a mid life crisis!!!!
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm sure that's not the dog you are referring too. She looks so peaceful and innocent. lol I know what you mean about dogs on chairs. Even our tiny chi can cause havoc on overcrowded furniture. On one chair I have a huge teddy bear and an extra large vintage koala. It is the only chair the alomost (!) never climb on. The trouble with over crowded chairs is that visitors come in and wonder where to sit. I'm going to get some lemon essence before I go away to spray around because I hear that dogs don't like it. All the best with your pot plants. Cherrie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh what a ratbag! How awful about the bone upset..who would have thought they could have that effect!? I love the quirky displays that you found...what fun! Have a wonderful Christmas with your family Anne. Much love Catherine x0x0x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the festive garden and the yarn-bombed tree photos!
    Oh dear, sounds like one unsettled dog trying to say something - if only they could talk!
    Our dog is only a littly and thankfully doesnt shed, but he has slept in his little bed shut in the kitchen since we had him, and it seems to work, but then he's only two so who knows what we have ahead of us!
    With a larger dog (that does shed) it does make sense to have an outside kennel. Is there anywhere in the house (ie utility or hall)away from sofas where she could have a bed and not do any damage if you feel you would like her inside?
    Whatever you try I'm sure it will work out in the end Anne - good luck!
    Gill xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. It is not very kind keeping a dog outside. If you are the sort of person who doesn't like dog hair or dog behaviour - like leaving fur around perhaps you are not best suited to have a dog. Usually people enjoy their dogs as part of the family and not to exclude them and leave them outside all the time. Your dog deserves a loving home where his doggie ways are not treated as being a nuisance and he is properly loved and cared for. You would be happier if he wasn't around perhaps, as you don't seem to enjoy him very much. You don't like what he does in the house or the garden. What is he supposed to do? Where is he supposed to go that has your blessing? A very great shame and sad reading.Poor dog to make you miserable so easily. I wonder if you would find his kennel so comfortable? I wonder why you think he does.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Here's hoping things get better with the "pup". Too bad they can't talk to us sometimes just to let us know what is up. But then again, we might not want to hear what they have to say. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. oh dear, I hope she settles down soon. My grandad was blind and his guide dog was a golden retriever cross so I totally understand about the dog hair problem - boy do they shed! After Grandad and his dog had died, my Gran was lonely and adopted a Labrador too - that labrador lived with us after my Gran died and it was impossible to keep on top of the dog hair!

    The crochet tree looks great, as do those fin christmas decorations!

    ReplyDelete
  9. We have our dogs sleep in a cage, they've been 'caged' since pups though so are used to it otherwise they would definitely cause chaos! Love the santa hats and yarn bombing - wow!

    In regards to your anonymous comment, you seem like a very responsible dog owner to me :) xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anne, What a fun yarn bomb! Your dog is certainly keeping you on your toes. Maybe it's time for leather furniture, so the hair can be wiped off easily. ;-) My sister had a lab many years ago, and she was full of life, that is for sure. My kids loved that dog!
    To the Anonymous poster... get lost. Identify yourself, or don't bother to leave a comment.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment.