Exhibit B: The crime scenes.
This is the edge of the patio. Granted, the bricks were kind of falling off there in the first place, but this is after I've filled it back in. As you can see on the right, he's gone well below the paint line on the brick. And sometimes he kicks the bricks out into the yard.
A spot I haven't had to fill in a few days.
Can't see where the patio ends and the dirt begins? Not surprised. Another favorite makeshift bed.
Sigh. The infamous four-o'clock bed. The lawnchair propped up against the wall-- that's where he dug further into the bed killing the plants that were there. I'm rather hoping for a come-back.And then there's the monkey grass, which he used to lay on. We have to keep the chairs on it:
So he occasionally does this:
Thankfully, this morning I found him sleeping here with the cat:
Between the tree and the bench. That is a location I can live with.I also noticed a couple of blooms on the four-o'clocks across the patio. This means the plants in the bed aren't far behind.
I'll take what I can get.
5 comments:
He's just hot. I don't suppose a swimming pool would be practical for him?
That's sort of what I assumed. I may try the swimming pool. As you can see in the pictures, we tried a slightly elevated dog bed, and he'll sit on it while we're out there with him, but not when we're gone. I think he likes to nestle. The only dog beds he's ever liked have been the kind that are like soft doggie baskets. And he only digs holes up against things-- never in the dirt in the middle of the yard (knock on wood!). He creates little bed bowls. It's very specific.
Also, he rarely stretches out in these holes like he's hot-- he curls up into a tight ball. So weird.
The curling-up thing is security, I think. The in-laws have a Golden who has dug himself a nice nest in the corner behind the deck and against the house, and he curls up in it. He's a mutant, though, in that he doesn't like water (hello? you're a water retriever? He's also literally gun-shy, and lately freaked out and went through a chain-link fence because road construction out front was too noisy, though, so he's obviously not a very good Golden), so they haven't convinced him to use a pool.
Their late Border Collie, in contrast, used to *live* in a pool, even when it was cool, so much so her fur turned green all summer. She loved to jump on people, too, and when she'd get really excited she'd run around the yard, leap in the pool, and come jump on you SOME MORE.
The curling may very well be security. It's how he's always slept. He's got that awesome water dog undercoat, so he just hangs out in the rain all the time. He loves it. And the second coat keeps him from being stinky. At any rate, I'll probably try the pool-- I don't know why it never occurred to me before-- though I have a feeling the border collie scenario will be the most likely outcome. He's remarkably spry for being so ancient.
Honestly, though, as long as he'll keep it to these few spots and not dig further into the flower bed (I'm hoping landscaping rock will help), then I'm ok with refilling the holes every day or two. I don't want to deny him something that makes him comfortable-- emotionally or physically.
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