I feel like I might jinx us by writing this but it has been one full year since we’ve had to look at one of these:
And spend one miserable day at pet emergency praying he will either puke it up or poop it out.
We’ve been diligent in keeping the rocks out of Pongo’s reach: he wears the basket muzzle of shame at daycare, during recess and our No Rock Left Behind campaign last summer.
We cross our fingers he stays smart…
And keeps the rocks on the ground!
Our No Rock Left Behind campaign is complete! It only took most of the summer for us to finally have a Pongo-Proofed yard. Every scrumptious bit of river rock that Pongo so enjoys to partake in has been removed. Every 6 foot board of jumpable fence has been replaced with a hopefully-there’s-no-way-he-can-get-his-body-over-that 7 foot cedar board. All that is left are 16×16 pavers, which there is no way he can wrap his mouth around these, and some pea gravel that he appears to have no interest in ingesting, for the doggie potty area. We are enjoying “Fort Buchanan” and the sense of relief that Pongo is safe when out in the yard.
Before: Delicious Rock Walkway
After: 16×16 Pavers
Before: 6 Foot Catapult Himself Over Fence
After: 7 Foot Fence With New Sod For More Play Area
After: Doggie Potty Area
I have to include some garden shots to remind us all of the glorious summer we’ve had this year!
Our “No Rock Left Behind” campaign has commenced. We spent all last week moving rock from the river rock walkway. At least 4 landscaping contractors have come out to give us an estimate on putting pavers in. I don’t think he can eat 16″x16″ pavers but knowing Pongo, he could surprise us!
I thought I would never be blogging about this again. I was certain I would never again have to use the “Pet Emergency” or “Rocks” categories as I blogged. But today, I was proven wrong.
We spent 1 1/2 hours waiting at Pet Emergency this morning, with an even longer wait ahead of us because it seemed to be Doggie-Ingest-Foreign-Objects-Day (there were at least 3 other dogs in front of us who needed X-rays). I called over to Diamond Animal Hospital to see how busy they were and they were able to get us in right away. The x-rays confirmed it–Pongo slurped down another bleeping rock!
Thankfully, it was still in his stomach. The vet fed him, induced vomiting and up it came with no problem.
Pongo has been doing so well lately–we’ve had no rock incidences since December. As far as we know, he’s faithfully been wearing the basket muzzle of shame at doggie daycare, so I suspect he got this rock from our yard. Our number one priority is to clear the yard of enticements.
We also need to continue working diligently on Pongo’s “leave its” and “keep the damn rocks on the ground!”
Someone not feeling too hot after returning home from our fabulous Mother’s Day outing.
December 23rd, to the day, Pongo turned his listening ears off and transformed into a I’m-going-to-do-the-opposite-of-everything-you-say 18 month old tyrant. He has been testing, testing, testing. I think he has spent more time in time-out the past couple of days than he has since he was a young pup. We’ve been warned about the terror of raising a teenage Cattle Dog: it’s a battle of the wills. Don’t worry though…we WILL win.
Along with dealing with our oppositional and rebellious Cattle Dog, we are also trying to stay one step ahead of him in deterring his rock eating and keeping him safe. We’ve resorted to a basket muzzle now, during outdoor recess, at doggie daycare. He’s only worn it one day but so far so good.
Bless the Dog Tired Doggie Daycare staff–they had to put up with Pongo’a teenage antics, plus manage the basket muzzle on Friday.
Poor Pongo. He just can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to being humiliated. First, it was the Cone and Collar of Shame. Then, it was the Donut of Shame. Now, he’s sporting the Rock Band of Shame. Since Pongo has developed a taste for rocks, doggie daycare is helping out by having Pongo wear the Rock Band of Shame while outside at recess. I’m hoping just the embarrassment of having to wear the band around his doggie friends will be enough to deter him from eating rocks again. I highly doubt it though!
While sitting at Pet Emergency yet again, we came across this picture of a Dingo in National Geographic. It could totally be Pongo–just a lankier version of Pongo.
By the way, Pongo seems to be faring well after eating another 4 rocks: two larger ones he regurgitated and 2 smaller ones he was able to pass. I just don’t know what we are going to do with this dog, except maybe make him wear the Hannibal Lecter mask while outside!
The Pongo Experience 