my world. my word.

we thought it was about the right time to leave the dogs unattended, out of their cages, while we weren’t home.  we decided to test it out today while we took our bikes to the beach.  we made sure we put most things on tall, hard to reach surfaces so that the dogs wouldn’t get to them.  we folded the chairs up so that they couldn’t jump onto them and get onto the dining table.  we covered the couches with blankets to protect the couch in case they happened to jump on it (which they aren’t allowed onto in the first place).  we put most valuables away and put toys near things we didn’t want them to touch so that in case they do get tempted, the toy will distract them.

since jake and i were at the garage for about 15 minutes setting up the bike rack onto my car, i decided to go back upstairs and check on the dogs before we left.  i was surprised to see that everything looked just the way it should be and that they were quiet.  that relieved me.  i was really worried that bella would chew everything up and that walnut would mark his territory everywhere.  seeing them by the front door where we left them calmed my nerves a bit.

we were gone about 4-5 hours and came back to a quiet apartment.  we opened the door expecting to see good news and hoped that we could trust them so that they could roam around free…..and what a surprise we found.

our precious little bella ransacked the whole apartment!  the 1000 piece puzzle i worked so hard on into the wee hours of the morning were spread across the dining room torn apart with chewed half pieces here and there.  there is a credenza by our front door where i put my favorite books and before we left i gathered them all and put them away because i didn’t want to risk bella ruining them.  in it’s place, i substituted a random magazine just to see if she would be tempted to touch it.  that way i would know if i could leave the books in its place and trust her not to chew on them.  THANK GOODNESS i did that because around the probably 836 pieces left of the puzzle were scraps of the magazine.  son of a….!

not only that but little adorable bella decided she’d jump onto daddy’s tucked in chair and play with the mouse pad (she left scratch marks all over it)…not to mention the stolen pack of gum she found on the desk as well.  it was a full pack but you wouldn’t have known that unless you saw all the empty wrappers on the floor — and gum stuck to the floor as well.

she even decided to jump onto the coffee table and take one of my candle out of the candle holder and chewed that up.  i am so glad she didn’t get to the squishy squeeze ball there….it’s full of goo and that would’ve been an ugly mess.

after all that destroying, i suppose bella decided to relax on the big fluffy couch….what a diva.  i could tell because i placed the blanket diagonally in a way where you can tell if the dogs went on the couch.  while she was up on the couch she could jump and reach the credenza behind it.  she decided to play with the potpourri and chew it all up!  what is it with this dog and chewing up the flowery things i keep around the house?  i was surprised she didn’t get to our wedding wish tree that i know she loves so much.  i guess the potpourri wasn’t fun enough so she went back up on the couch and onto the credenza and decided to take something i needed to return.  she chewed up the plastic cover of it but thank goodness she didn’t get to the actual item itself.  i dont know if the store will take back a chewed corner of the plastic.  =(

bella also decided to get up on the other couch and play with fatty.  i guess fatty was hogging the couch so she kicked him off onto the floor.  later on she decides to drag him by the door and play with him instead of her real toys which seemed to be in the same spot we left them.

surprisingly, walnut was a VERY good boy today.  he passed the test.  not a single drop of piss anywhere in the apartment.  he was rewarded with treats.

the only reason why we know and accuse bella of all the evidence laying around the apartment is ONE – she has a long long history of chewing everything and anything in her way….and TWO – before we even got bella, walnut was a well trained dog and we happily left him home alone for hours and hours only to find him sleeping….each and every time we came home.  the only thing he has been caught doing is napping on the couch but after finding him on the couch before we got bella, he quickly learned that the couch was a no no place to be.

bella had a chance today to prove everybody wrong that she could be trusted to be left out of her cage with no one home but she blew it.  jake says that if the puzzle hadn’t been there and the magazine hadn’t been there, then bella would have nothing to chew on.  it doesn’t make sense because it would mean that we would pretty much have to get rid of anything on the coffee table, all the books on the credenza, put all the chair away into the room….but realistically…..do we really have the time to clear everything everyday before work?  might as well not have any furniture if everything always has to be put away.

we will give her one more chance tomorrow but if she disappoints us again we have no choice but to leave her in her cage…..and even in her cage she can barely be trusted since she has recently learned how to make a ruckus and slide her tray out even after we’ve locked it.  i’ve got it on camera.  i set up a video feed while i went to the store…  it was terrible…the neighbors must hate us….especially our dogs.  =/

so yah….hopefully bella will prove us wrong and she can learn to obey the rules.  i really hope so because all i want is for the dogs to be happy and i am only looking out for their best interest.  let’s pray she does well and learns right from wrong.

don’t get me wrong, i am not playing favorites with the dogs.  i love them both and i wouldn’t want to give them up.  bella is actually a very smart dog.  she learns quickly and for the most part she obeys commands…sometimes.  then there’s the chihuahua part of her, she can be a diva.  but she’s got a really nasty habit of chewing.

from watching dog shows and reading on why dogs misbehave, it’s usually because they have so much energy bottled inside that they need to be walked for at least half an hour every day.  and we do that…everyday… 2-4 times a day.  so she is releasing her energy.  i just hope it’s just a puppy phase she’s going through and it isn’t how she’ll be forever.  if anyone has some tips we would love to hear it.  we love her and all we want is for everyone to be happy, us and the dogs.