Kipper's Kanine Kraziness

It's been a while since I blogged about my Brittany, but he's been rather inspiring now that the weather is nicer...

My neighbor put up a white privacy fence this past fall and Kipper discovered a new past time: trying to dig a hole under the fence. Yesterday we found a hole about a foot in circumference and depth.

So we put a board over the hole. Today, Kipper found yet another past time for when he is outdoors: knocking over the garage trash can and eating popsicle wrappers. His breath is rather sweat smelling, but I think his plastic binging brought on the vomit he produced on the living room bay window while my husband was busy picking up his doggie doo doo in the backyard. And here I thought it was the lettuce Kipper ate yesterday...

But his vegetable addiction will have to wait for a future blog. In the meantime, pray for me. It is only through God's grace that the dog is still alive and loved.

Kipper Kontinued

So, for the most part, the beast was contained. Once in a while, someone would let their guard down, and he'd run the neighborhood, barking at little old men, getting in mud up to his chest in the creek, and just generally wreaking havoc on the neighborhood.

He became a legend. In other words, our neighbors know us as "you're the ones with the dog that gets loose." It's a heck of a reputation to live up to! But we do the best we can.

Kipper has always loved harassing our cats. Our cat Smokey died about a year after Kipper came to live with us. I don't really think it was a coincidence. Tiger came next and the two learned to pal around well. We thought we needed a buddy for Tiger to keep him company while Kipper was crated when we were at work/school during the day. We tried adopting a cat, but she was so thoroughly scared of Kipper that she crawled up into the ceiling in the basement. Once I tried to extract her, while she stationed herself atop the VCR to avoid the dog and found myself with two deep teeth marks in my hand. Later, we got Chips. But he and Tiger ended up having it out...that's another story for another time. Anyway, Kipper will frequently try to rile up Tiger, but in typical cat fashion, Tiger just gives him a look or makes himself scarce.

Just as we got into the routine of locking up the dog in similar fashion to how they keep the gold in Fort Knox safe, something changed. Steve retired and found himself home with the dog all day long.

What new metamorphosis would this bring about? Stay tuned...

Lock Down

Chain, check. Gate locked, check. Back door locked, check. Crate, check.

We thought we had Kipper secured now. We finally could go on vacation and not worry.

Renee came over to dog sit. She held his collar out the back and hooked him up to the chain as requested. Five minutes later she went out to let him in, but finds the chain with no Kipper on the end of it!

He had escaped again! She finally caught up with him, but wondered how he got off the chain. The problem was she had hooked the chain to the weaker loop on his collar that held his tags and he had used his brute strength to pull the loop free. Yes, my dog can bend and break metal!

So I added to the list of instructions to make sure you secure the chain to the heavy loop on his collar.

No worries to Kipper though. He next found out how to open the front door and get out. Or he would wait patiently for someone new to enter the house, see his chance to bolt through them before they closed the door, and out he went!

Keep screened door locked, check. Warn everyone who enters the house, "Don't let Kipper out!" Check.

Most of the time the above measures worked, but as they say, where there's a will, there's a way!

Catch Me If You Can

Alright, we've solved the problem of containing Kipper by buying a crate. Not so. One day, we let Kipper out back to do his business and the next thing we knew, he was gone! Further observation revealed that he jumped the neighbor's fence and escaped out their open gate.

Not wanting to install a privacy fence, we decided we would need to chain him when he goes out back. Ironically, this did not totally solve the problem. We soon discovered that he knew how to open the back screen door as well as the door on our sun room. Then he would use his long nose to lift the latch on the gate, and out he would gallop, like a thoroughbred in a race!

My husband, Steve, gave chase around the neighborhood. If he drove his car, Kipper would actually start running beside or behind the car, chasing Steve. Kipper could easily run 30 miles per hour in his youth! It was an amazing thing to watch as he ran across front yards up and down the neighborhood. Next he would head for the park for a dip in the dirty creek. Eventually he would get tired or Steve would trap him in a backyard and bring the naughty pooch back home. Kipper was never sorry for what he did--he would pant happily--proud of his latest adventure!

So we bought a lock for the gate and vowed to keep the sun room door locked. However, there is more than one way out of a house. Is there no end to Kipper's escaping abilities? So it seems...

A New Friend

We walked into the animal shelter with heavy hearts. Beloved Buffy had passed away a week earlier, and we longed to hear the scampering of a dog in our home again.

The dogs barked and jumped as they vied for our attention. All but one pooch who sat still and simply regarded me with his big brown sad eyes. He had long reddish-brown ears that looked like silk. He was white with spots the color of his ears and a stub tail. I found out he was a Brittany Spaniel.

I knew Springer Spaniels were nice, calm, and well-behaved dogs. I figured this dog would be similar in temperament and obedience. After a quick walk outside (he seemed a little rowdy), his eyes got the best of me and I decided I wanted to take him home. We signed the paperwork and took him out to the van.

My oldest son was about 5. He was not immediately enamored with this new dog. My husband came up with the idea to name him Kipper, after the cartoon dog my son adored. My son seemed to take to him more now that we named him.

It seemed we'd found the perfect dog.

When we got home, we discovered he'd peed in the van. We chalked it up to first day jitters. But more surprises were in store as we started our adventure as the owners of Kipper...Stay tuned for the next installment.