rockm
Spuds Moyogi
So, I'm getting on my soapbox about puppies...Allowing puppies (even pups over a year old and up to two even) free run of the house and the yard is not only asking for destruction, but possibly endangering the life of the puppy.
I've had bull terriers for almost 30 years now. They are tremendously destructive, hard-headed and curious. They require care that basically prevents them from killing themselves though misadventure for their first three or four years of their lives. Eating things that get stuck in their bowels is a relatively common form of self-inflicted death, as is electrocution (chewing wires in household sockets).
Crate training, barriers, pens, etc and essential tools for puppies and dogs. Might even be mandatory for some breeds. Over the years, my bullies have taken their toll on my trees and house--one ate--as in ATE AND DIGESTED--a mame boxwood, another chewed a 5 ft. diameter hole in my drywall while I drove 10 minutes to the 7-11. Another chipped off the powder coating on the tubular steel of exercise bench with his teeth...
I've learned to put tree up on stands, or on shelving out of their way (also helps with other critters). I don't use much organic pellets for fertlizer, or God Forbid, fish emulsion (even see what 65 lb bull terrier does to a bonsai when they roll on one because they like the stinky funky smell of the emulsion?) I use puppy pens and crate train so the dogs aren't running around loose when I can't be there--would you leave a two-year-old child to have the run of the house/backyard while you're not there? Crates are NOT cruel, if you understand how to use them. In fact, they are quite the opposite. They become the dog's space, the only one he/she can truly call their own. My dogs seek their crates out when they want to be by themselves or get away from things.
I've had bull terriers for almost 30 years now. They are tremendously destructive, hard-headed and curious. They require care that basically prevents them from killing themselves though misadventure for their first three or four years of their lives. Eating things that get stuck in their bowels is a relatively common form of self-inflicted death, as is electrocution (chewing wires in household sockets).
Crate training, barriers, pens, etc and essential tools for puppies and dogs. Might even be mandatory for some breeds. Over the years, my bullies have taken their toll on my trees and house--one ate--as in ATE AND DIGESTED--a mame boxwood, another chewed a 5 ft. diameter hole in my drywall while I drove 10 minutes to the 7-11. Another chipped off the powder coating on the tubular steel of exercise bench with his teeth...
I've learned to put tree up on stands, or on shelving out of their way (also helps with other critters). I don't use much organic pellets for fertlizer, or God Forbid, fish emulsion (even see what 65 lb bull terrier does to a bonsai when they roll on one because they like the stinky funky smell of the emulsion?) I use puppy pens and crate train so the dogs aren't running around loose when I can't be there--would you leave a two-year-old child to have the run of the house/backyard while you're not there? Crates are NOT cruel, if you understand how to use them. In fact, they are quite the opposite. They become the dog's space, the only one he/she can truly call their own. My dogs seek their crates out when they want to be by themselves or get away from things.
