A New Fetish
Sometime after the snow from the blizzard started melting, we noticed that the tie-down ropes for the greenhouse were gone. Actually they were still there, but lying on the ground or flapping loosely. Closer inspection revealed that the ropes had been cut, and one of the anchors had been pulled out. Suspicion centered on Max, but no one had seen him do it, so we suspended judgment, and Hiromi tied down the plastic greenhouse cover one more time.
Judgment is no longer suspended. We've seen Max gnaw on the rope, and, at the moment, the greenhouse cover is defenseless against the wind. Long, stringy things are apparently in his current fetish list.
We decided he had to be tied at night on the day he messed with the power cord from an outdoor outlet. The first time it happened, Hiromi found the pets' plug-in water-warming dish in the driveway, with the power cord stretched back to the receptacle, still plugged in. (Just so you know that we're not freakin' obsessed with our pets' comfort, the dish was a freebie.) The next time he checked, the prong end of the cord was in the drive, and the other end was still connected to the water dish.
"Do you know what that means?" Hiromi asked. "He could just as easily unplug the greenhouse heater cord as he did the water dish cord. If that happens before a really cold night, we're done." (The water dish and heater cords are plugged into the same receptacle.)
So that is why Max is spending his nights tied near his doghouse inside the open garage.
We've been plotting our strategy. "You're full of ideas," Hiromi told me several days ago.
Yesterday he came home from Home Depot with four slim metal conduit pipes. They are for sheathing the lower four feet of the tie-down ropes--to make them dog teeth-proof.
Last night at the supper table, Hiromi ate the last pickled Jalapeno pepper from the jar and said, "Don't throw away the juice. I'm going to use it to soak the rope where I knot it onto the anchors.
At Home Depot earlier, he had told the employee who helped him find the pipe what he planned to do with the pipe, and his plan involving the hot pepper juice. The employee told him they had tried a similar idea at home without much success.
Their dog liked to dig in a spot they didn't want dug up, so they buried a hot pepper in the bottom of the hole. This only gave the dog fresh digging incentive. They interpreted it to mean that he loved the smell or taste of hot pepper. I suppose it's possible that he was trying to dig out the offensive addition to his favorite excavation project.
We've already had one failed hot pepper experiment involving animals. That time it was targeting aggressive domesticated geese. It didn't seem to phase them. We learned later that birds don't have the sense receptors to detect capsaicin, the substance that gives peppers "hotness." So much for that plan. They probably loved what we fed them.
The forecast for today calls for strong southeast winds, with extreme fire danger centered on a 50-mile corridor along K14, which is five miles west of us. With predicted sustained speeds of 30-35 MPH with gusts well over 40 MPH, I think the pipes and pepper juice tricks are the first order of business for the day.
Sadistic chortle. Max, have we got a surprise for you!
Judgment is no longer suspended. We've seen Max gnaw on the rope, and, at the moment, the greenhouse cover is defenseless against the wind. Long, stringy things are apparently in his current fetish list.
We decided he had to be tied at night on the day he messed with the power cord from an outdoor outlet. The first time it happened, Hiromi found the pets' plug-in water-warming dish in the driveway, with the power cord stretched back to the receptacle, still plugged in. (Just so you know that we're not freakin' obsessed with our pets' comfort, the dish was a freebie.) The next time he checked, the prong end of the cord was in the drive, and the other end was still connected to the water dish.
"Do you know what that means?" Hiromi asked. "He could just as easily unplug the greenhouse heater cord as he did the water dish cord. If that happens before a really cold night, we're done." (The water dish and heater cords are plugged into the same receptacle.)
So that is why Max is spending his nights tied near his doghouse inside the open garage.
We've been plotting our strategy. "You're full of ideas," Hiromi told me several days ago.
Yesterday he came home from Home Depot with four slim metal conduit pipes. They are for sheathing the lower four feet of the tie-down ropes--to make them dog teeth-proof.
Last night at the supper table, Hiromi ate the last pickled Jalapeno pepper from the jar and said, "Don't throw away the juice. I'm going to use it to soak the rope where I knot it onto the anchors.
At Home Depot earlier, he had told the employee who helped him find the pipe what he planned to do with the pipe, and his plan involving the hot pepper juice. The employee told him they had tried a similar idea at home without much success.
Their dog liked to dig in a spot they didn't want dug up, so they buried a hot pepper in the bottom of the hole. This only gave the dog fresh digging incentive. They interpreted it to mean that he loved the smell or taste of hot pepper. I suppose it's possible that he was trying to dig out the offensive addition to his favorite excavation project.
We've already had one failed hot pepper experiment involving animals. That time it was targeting aggressive domesticated geese. It didn't seem to phase them. We learned later that birds don't have the sense receptors to detect capsaicin, the substance that gives peppers "hotness." So much for that plan. They probably loved what we fed them.
The forecast for today calls for strong southeast winds, with extreme fire danger centered on a 50-mile corridor along K14, which is five miles west of us. With predicted sustained speeds of 30-35 MPH with gusts well over 40 MPH, I think the pipes and pepper juice tricks are the first order of business for the day.
Sadistic chortle. Max, have we got a surprise for you!
posted by Mrs. I at
5:54 AM
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