Is it easier to train the husband to kennel the dog when we are out at work and the kids are at school or should I train the dog to not raid the pantry and help herself to any food she can lay her paws on?
Not only are the kids in our home spoilt rotten from having grandparents around all their life, but the dog is too. Z, who is now almost 4 yrs has had grandparents raise her since the day we brought her home, when she was a mere 6 week old pup. Grandma and grandpa have raised her with all the patience, extremely loving when she behaves and strict when she misbehaves. And just like the kids, when one set of grandparents left, the next set arrived to take care of her and feed her all the yummy human food.
Strangely, after many years the OH, myself, kids & Z are sans grandparents. Now that the weather in our neck of the woods in lovely, it would be awesome to leave her outside, if not for her all day whining that could irritate and annoy our real understanding and lovely neighbors. We have been leaving her in her kennel when we are gone, but a couple of times when Raul didn’t lock the kennel right, she found her way out and managed to behave herself. The OH, a real sucker to the dog was heartbroken to leave her in her kennel and all he needed was ammunition to prove to me that she didn’t mess things up when she did manage to sneak out.
Given that he leaves later than me in the mornings, I have had no choice but to accept his leaving the dog outside the kennel and to roam free around the house. Though she manages to behave well most times, it takes a lot of effort on our part to ensure that nothing is left within her reach when we are gone. She of course goes for a lot of weird things around the house. Any paper left within her reach is immediately shredded. She loves to rip through the sponge we use for scrubbing our pots.
Last week she dug through the pantry to polish off a bag of marshmallows the kids had left behind. This week it is all the Halloween candy Raul left behind in the pantry. Not only has she ransacked the bag, she has littered it all around his bedroom. Am at my wits end. Time to threaten the OH with serious consequences if he does not leave her in the kennel going forward.
Dog lovers out there, got any wisdom to share?
