When I was a kid, my mom discovered an opened box of mini powdered sugar donuts with several bites missing. It was easy to spot the culprit - our all black cat - with a face speckled white.
We also had a dog hat we adopted and she had just come from being spayed at the vet but she didn’t let the stitches stop her from standing on her hind legs and eating an entire blueberry pie that was cooling on the stove. All that remained in the pie plate was a bit of bottom crust on the far side where her tongue couldn’t reach.
My golden retriever got to the holiday turkey. Fortunately it was after the main meal, but we really like leftovers.
I once opened my apartment door and noticed my cocker spaniel had an accident (or multiple), and I felt really bad for her.
Then I noticed the See’s candy wrappers all over the carpet.
THEN I noticed the scratches on the mahogany table where she’d jumped up on it to get the candy. I think I got over feeling sorry for her very quickly.
My dog is pretty little (13 pounds) so can’t reach anything on counters/tables. That said, when he was about 10 months old, he chewed the back of the legs of my dining room chairs. We were able to sand and restain them but not good. We used bitter apple spray for a while and thankfully after he was done teething, he stopped chewing on anything other than his toys. He’s a very good boy most of the time ; )
Our border collie was a devil puppy who loved to play catch me if you can. She especially loved paper towels, TP, and socks. One day she snatched a raw potato out of our pantry. The whole family was chasing her around the house because they are toxic for dogs. We felt like idiots chasing a puppy with a big potato in her mouth. My daughter got it on video and we still watch it and laugh.
Just remembered the time our Bernese Mountain Dog puppy got hold of younger son’s hair. He was around 11 at the time and had grown it out to his shoulders, decided he wanted a high and tight. Husband took him out to the porch with the clippers. Long hanks of thick, luxuriant hair flowed to the ground.
A few hours later we were all watching our puppy indulgently while she assaulted, nuzzled, mauled, drooled on, and shook the mass her saliva had fused into a croissant-shaped prey. Video captures younger son off-screen the moment he realized that “Hey! That’s my hair!!”
Our first Golden Retriever was obsessed with bread. She’d never counter surf if we were home but when we left all bets were off. She ate lots and lots of loafs of bread if we forgot to get them out of her reach. Once she ate a pan of brownies.
Second Golden ate socks. Had a surgery when he was 8 months where they removed 6 of them from his intestines. Luckily he grew out of that.
Currently have our 3rd Golden - our 7 month quarantine puppy that was our daughter’s consolation prize for her abrupt ending of her freshman year. He’s the best behaved of the bunch…so far. Mostly just likes sticks and dead frogs. Daughter’s back at school and now I have a dog…
@PrdMomto1: Recently read that a distinguishing factor between dogs & wolves is that dogs can digest carbs.
Was also told several years ago by a vet who specialized in cancer that carbs make cancer spread faster in dogs.
Since you have young Golden, I encourage you to try dog chews made out of Yak milk. They are imported–if I recall correctly–from Nepal. Dogs love them. When the dog chew becomes small as a result of the dog gnawing on it, place the chew in a microwave for 60 to 90 seconds & it becomes an easily chewable, very crunchy cheese puff (these instructions are on the back of the package). Dogs love these chews like no other that I have ever encountered. Available on Amazon & elsewhere (probably on Chewy & at PetSmart, etc.).
Having these chews readily available to your Golden may alleviate worry about chewing on other items.
P.S. As an aside: The dog Yak milk chews were featured on Shark Tank in 2015 at which time the product was already very successful.
I have several decades of experience with Lab & Golden Retrievers. I have never had a better. healthy dog chew food than the ones made of Yak milk. The only other treats that I give to my retrievers are Milk Bones.
P.P.S. I also encourage dog owners to frequently Google to check dog food recall lists. The most expensive brands–boutique brands like Blue Buffalo or brands only sold by vets are recalled the most.
Fun thread! Our dog has serious food allergies and is limited to prescription dog food. Perhaps as a result, she spends much of her life trying to find food, steal food, eat food. She’s getting a little older now so has a harder time trying to reach the counter, although she did manage recently to snag a steak that had been left too close to the edge. When she was younger she would stand with her hind legs in the inset part of the dryer door to boost herself up higher, and we would occasionally (well, not so occasionally) find her standing in the middle of the dining table. Now that she’s more mature, she’s worked out a routine for sharing breakfast with our parrot, who sits up on a tree stand and tosses anything she doesn’t want down to the dog - the parrot eats scrambled eggs and table scraps as a treat in the morning, so the dog makes out OK. If we don’t take the parrot out of her cage quickly enough in the morning, the dog will bark to remind us. I’m intrigued by @Publisher 's description of the yak milk treats. Currently, our dog’s only real permissible treats are made from baked sweet potatoes but yak milk might work - there’s a theory that allergic dogs won’t react to a protein they haven’t encountered.
Studies done a few years back reveal that sweet potatoes may cause heart problems in dogs. Peas, lentils, potatoes, and sweet potatoes are the suspect ingredients as are exotic meats. Researchers recommend that dogs’ diet consist mainly of chicken & beef.
This upset me as I feed our dogs–in addition to chicken & beef–a salmon & tuna dry food from Purina One.
Timely thread. Last night we were having grilled filet - we cook them in the sous vide and finish them on the grill. I had them resting on the counter in their bag - well, H opened the bag, put them on a plate on the counter and went outside. Sabapuppy wasted no time in making her way to the kitchen and eating about half a filet. I heard a noise and thought - what’s going on out there? I had no idea he’d left the meat there. Glad I went and checked- dinner was mostly salvaged! She had no remorse. Our other good as gold Sabapup is still wondering when her reward is coming, but she’s on prescription only food and treats. I told her tummy rubs were the best reward!
Our Australian shepherds can get to almost anything we leave any place in the kitchen. The latest was a Boston cream pie I had bought and left on the counter, in its plastic packaging.
I have definitely proven that chocolate is not as dangerous to dogs as has been reported, because we would have lost three dogs by this point if it was!
We’ve had the dogs get the punpkin pie, the pork loin, the loaf of bread, etc., off the counter. The Cadbuy Creme Eggs from the bedroom floor. We also had the dog drag a five-pound bag of flour out the doggie door to the back yard. But the one no one else has mentioned is when our new puppy countersurfed and got my good, extremely sharp Henkel knives. Chewed up the handles pretty good. I only found out she was doing that when she came back in the house through the doggie door with the knife horizontally in her mouth like she was a bandit. Thankfully she wasn’t injured.
And oh yeah – she also destroyed the mouthguard I wear at night so I don’t grind my teeth.
Thanks for the suggestion! I will check out them out! Our current Golden is really a great guy. For a puppy he’s super calm, pretty easy going, and doesn’t have too many bad habits. I LOVE dogs, especially Goldens but really didn’t intend on having any more, especially another puppy. But he really was a great distraction these last few months and got us out of the house in a safe way!
My kitten cries whenever you open the fridge door because she thinks she should get fed.
My husband started giving her little bits of ham. Now whenever he makes his lunch, she thinks should get some too.
One day he had his sandwich on the table and went to get something to drink. Kitten grabbed his sandwich and went running off with whatever she could. She will also jump on the counter to get things. She’s a bad kitten, but she’s adorable ?