our oldest, Oliver, has recently taken up marking our favourite ikea lamp as his own. not really sure what's started it – we've had the lamp forever but he's only recently decided he needs to make sure his scent is on it. in any case, we've been at a loss how to curb it (he suffers a mild case of fear aggression, so beating him with a rolled up newspaper isn't an option)
until today.
today it occurred to me that, for whatever reason, he's staking his claim on the lamp. it's passive-aggressive defiance. our border-collie ( or, possibly, english shepherd – long story…) is giving us the jane fonda. so, i took him and his favourite toy (a squeaky, indestructible, blowfish we've nicknamed "hootie") into the bathroom. i threw the toy into the tub and made him sit and watch while i pissed all over it.
i left it in the tub, intending to let it dry off enough that it wouldn't get my piss all over the rest of the house but would still hold my scent – thereby reminding him who owns what around here – and went back to the "office". after a few minutes i realized i'd forgotten to close the door to the bathroom where the "hootie" was drying off; not that i was worried about him going in after it – he hates the bathtub and won't go in there without getting lifted, unlike his little brother, Winston, who i'd taught to jump into the tub and we occassionally find in there for no reason, just check… oh shit. i rounded the corner to find Winston standing on our bed, on my wife's pillow (his favourite spot), with the "hootie" in his mouth. dripping my piss all over everything. when i tried to take it away from him, he ran – he thought it was a game. his favourite game. keep-away. he's very good at this game. after about 10 minutes i was able to finally corner him when he zigged into the closet instead of zagging into the hallway. but not before he'd run all over the house jumping on (and over) every piece of furniture we own. including our brand new white couch. on the bright side, when i was digging him out of his hiding spot in the closet, i found $5.
i left it in the tub, intending to let it dry off enough that it wouldn't get my piss all over the rest of the house but would still hold my scent – thereby reminding him who owns what around here – and went back to the "office". after a few minutes i realized i'd forgotten to close the door to the bathroom where the "hootie" was drying off; not that i was worried about him going in after it – he hates the bathtub and won't go in there without getting lifted, unlike his little brother, Winston, who i'd taught to jump into the tub and we occassionally find in there for no reason, just check… oh shit. i rounded the corner to find Winston standing on our bed, on my wife's pillow (his favourite spot), with the "hootie" in his mouth. dripping my piss all over everything. when i tried to take it away from him, he ran – he thought it was a game. his favourite game. keep-away. he's very good at this game. after about 10 minutes i was able to finally corner him when he zigged into the closet instead of zagging into the hallway. but not before he'd run all over the house jumping on (and over) every piece of furniture we own. including our brand new white couch. on the bright side, when i was digging him out of his hiding spot in the closet, i found $5.
