I walked into the living room and could see Ransom's crate right next to the sliding glass door. Odd, I thought. His crate was in the opposite corner when we put him there last night. As I got closer, I realized that Ransom's head and front legs were out of the crate. Ransom had chewed a hole in the plastic wall of his crate and got his head and front legs out, but was high-centered and completely stuck. In what must have been a very awkward and uncomfortable position, his tail still thumped hard when he saw me.
I sat down and calmed him down a bit and then decided to get the top of the crate off to see if I could help him get out. After doing that I realized there was no way. So, I woke up Hubs who was just as surprised as I was. There was nothing we could do but shake our heads and chuckle.
Hubs also assessed the situation and there was no way to force him through. Hubs went to get his hacksaw and Ransom struggled some more, almost cracking the plastic enough to free himself. It was then that I ran for my camera.
Hubs was able to free him by sawing through the plastic that held him there. Ransom had rubbed his belly raw, though, and seems to have a sore on the inside of one of his back legs.
We have no idea how he was able to put his head and front legs through this hole. The tag on the box says strong and durable and ideal for retrievers. Do they know retrievers reputation for chewing?
Anyways, Ransom didn't eat ALL that plastic. He left a nice pile for me to clean up.
Ransom slept in our room, on the floor, for the rest of the night and was as happy as could be. If we keep fighting this, we could burn through a lot of money on new crates.
6 comments:
I say it's time to chuck the crate and let him sleep on the bed! You'll all get a better night's sleep that way. ;-)
Yikes. Were you really prepared for this?? =)
Melissa, We let him sleep in our room last night and he was fine. He is not going to be allowed on the bed though. I have my limits :)
Sarah...no. I never realized how much freedom I had. I could leave whenever, fall into deep sleeps, and not take care of anyone else besides Richard and I. We have decided that Ransom is a dog, not our child, and he will not rule our life, but we also have to make sure we take care of him and that he gets his exercise and playtime, etc.
I still love having him around though.
Sounds like a metal crate is the newest thing on your shopping list! :) Mrs Young
The bedroom floor is free and he can stretch!
Joan
OMGoddness girl - I feel your pain. We have a lab...she's NINE...but when she & her sister (yes, I was INSANE enough to have two puppy labs at the same time)were b/w 6mo-5 years - they chewed EVERYTHING! I'm not sure why labs chew, but it's true - I think they are just THAT loyal that they will do anything/chew anything to be next to you. In fact, Lucy (our 9 yo) last year literally swam to the middle of the lake to get to us in the boat. Loyal to a fault - but this too, will end. Just keep loads of rawhides on hand and keep your garbage hidden...or couches/chairs. :-) LOL. happy pet owning!
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