Joan, We did leave Finnegan for short periods of time, building up to longer period of times, until we were leaving him for the day and he was doing wonderfully. He did do great for quite a few days, then BOOM, that was enough of that. I find it interesting that everything he tore up and messed up was MINE, and he is a big Mama's boy.
He does get plenty of exercise. We walk, play fetch, he chases the cats constantly, and he loves to wrestle [I love to hear him talk as he wrestles, it is almost as if he is begging you to 'bring it on!'] My husband will tussle with him and 'rough house' and Finn acts like he can't get enough of that. Mom equals cuddles and loving time...Dad equals rough play and protection if scared! I also do leave him with toys, food that is hidden in kongs, and an occasional new toy, or toy I have put up for a while. To all you wonderful people who wrote about the cage, I did not buy a new cage, but have gotten a brass snap [as suggested] and am giving that a go today. If he gets that off that cage door, I am going on the road with him, changing his name to Houdini, and going to make a million. He knows what he did was wrong. I can tell that because he hides from me before I even get in the door. He isn't punished severley. He does get a 'who did this?' with an angry [not screaming - but firm] voice, and the occasional 'look what you did, bad boy' as I show him something he tore up. Y'all keep your fingers crossed that the snap works. I was truly hoping that he could run the house while we were out, but I s'pose not. We'll figure it out. Anyway, he is my Finnmonster, forever, come what may! [he really does give the most sad, 'I'm sorry, Mom' faces afterward. Karen and Finnegan [who is going to be sooo bummed when he can't get out of that cage today!] Pinckney, MI ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joan N Robinson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2002 9:41 PM Subject: Re: [CKCS-L] He's doing it again > This pup obviously is not getting enough exercise - before being left to > 'occupy himself' for a while -- > The ol' adage " a tired pup is a good pup" comes to mind - > I would definitely put him somewhere he could not get out of and/or > where he couldn't harm anything - > I would run him / play with him / make sure he was good & well exercised > - and then put him in the crate / pen - with a buster cube and/or kong > to occupy him - > I might start with leaving him for only a short time - and then give him > lots of praise & reward for behaving well -- > Then build up to leaving, coming in to check on him, leave again - > Gradually you'll be able to leave him for longer & longer -- but do be > sure to keep him confined - until you are SURE he is going to behave -- > it may be a LONG time before he is dependable loose in the home -- > > Best of luck! > Joan > > > Larry and Karen Emerson wrote: > > > Well, I suppose I will go out tonight and purchase a Varikennel in the hopes > > that it will keep the FinnMonster in his cage. > > > > We had cut him some slack, as he had been being good as gold in the house > > while we were at work. We gave him free run of it while we were out on > > short jaunts, and then worked him up to longer periods of time out. Finally > > he got the whole house, all day to himself [and his cat buddies]. > > > > Well, the stinker truly abused that priviledge. He was good for a solid > > week. Friday when I came in he had eaten a big hole in my winter hat > > [shredded it everywhere] and had destroyed a throw rug. > > > > I thought, perhaps he had a bad day, let him run the house on Monday... > > > > Came home to a 2 inch novel shredded, another rug shredded, teddies from my > > teddy bear collection all over the house [he had to climb/jump to get > > those], the edge of a plastic ice scraper chewed off, and my couch pillows > > everywhere. > > > > SO... > > > > needless to say, back into the cage he went. Few of you may remember that > > he can break out of his cage, quite easily. It is no fluke, he knows > > perfectly well how to do it with paws and nose. To keep this from > > happening, I closed the latch and took wire garbage bag ties to hold the > > latch down. Well, here we go...the Finnmonster chewed through the wire > > ties, and was free in the house to ruin the new rug I bought to replace the > > shredded one, and my teddies again. > > > > Bad to the bone right now. Is it seperation anxiety, [he is 11 months old, > > is it an age - maturity - thing?],the love of destruction, or paybacks for > > leaving him??? > > > > Tonight he gets a new cage, or a system to latch the exsisting one that is > > inpenetrable! > > > > Good thing he is cute, cuddly and 90% of the time adorable. So, I am off to > > clean the confetti [from the book] off the carpet and hope someone can clue > > me in on this behaviour! > > > > By the way, this dog has tons of chews, toys and playthings available at all > > times... > > > > Karen and Finn 'the destructor' > > > > ========================================================= > > "Magic Commands": > > to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: > > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL > > to start it up gain click here: > > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL > > > > E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. > > Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html > > > > All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author. > > > > > > ========================================================= > "Magic Commands": > to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL > to start it up gain click here: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL > > E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. > Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html > > All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author. > ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
