Some days, there are no words for the frustration caused by the hounds of Winterpast. 60 pounds if their weight is added together, these two canines are truly crazy but only one is untrainable and incorrigible. He happens to be my contribution to our pack. Sir Oliver of Ashworth Hall, most days referred to as Ollie.
There isn’t anything that Oliver won’t try to eat or otherwise ruin. I’ve come to the conclusion that he has some sort of major food disorder leading him to eat rocks, plastic lighting, sprinklers of all kinds, and now, garden plants. Any kind of garden plants. Especially the one his Mom-Oh picks from the garden.
In the early spring, he didn’t learn about the cherries, or he’d have figured a way to climb the tree. So far, he has left all bark on the trees, which is a blessing. However, when the apricots began to fall, he could be found eating them at all times of the day.
According to the internet, apricot pits can be toxic to dogs. I wish someone would “borrow” Oliver to do a case study, because this dog dines on them regularly without any visible side affects. He loves the dried apricot flesh with a side of garden rocks. It’s a challenge for the little one to eat the dried flesh off the small white rocks, but if he swallows a rocky chunks, he doesn’t seem to mind.
He loves transplanted worms intended for our healthy garden soil. As long as he can see where I’ve put them, he’s on it. Of course, his nose is so sharp, he needs only to follow my scent trail to find these tender little nuggets of juiciness.
His favorite treats involve the garden. Here’s the story on that.
In the spring, HHH and I decided to fence the garden. We bought enough fencing to surround the bee hive. This served the double purpose of keeping Oliver and Wookie away from the fence and the neighbors dogs and protecting the hive. A win-win with just enough fencing left to secure the garden on the opposite side of the yard.
Carefully plotting his little attack, Oliver was good as gold in the beginning. He wouldn’t even go near the garden until we returned the remainder of the fencing. Then, all bets were off and he was on a mission to eat every single Armenian cucumber and bell pepper he could find. Squash and zucchini weren’t his favorite but they’d do in a pinch. He wiped out the strawberries as they ripened. He enjoyed digging as he chased lizards, all the while destroying the tranquility of our garden area.
It matters not the times he’s been in trouble. Spraying him with water just cools him off. Now enjoying his 6th year on this earth, aging hasn’t even slowed him down The only thing that will work is the gated fence that’s scheduled for next spring.
This year, we had a dinner-plate lemon Dahlia on the patio. The most beautiful of our beautiful’s, HHH was nurturing it along until it died a natural death. Death? Natural?? Think again. You want a plant destroyed??? No problem if you have this terrible little dog. Done. Yesterday, the Dahlia became a thing of the past, while Oliver lives another day.
Yesterday, without reason, Wookie peed in the living room. The time has come for puppy camp. Human vacation is in the very near future. The safety and happiness of two little dogs depend on it.
More tomorrow.