My Parents Dog is a Bad Influence

Last weekend my parents came to town and stayed with us. We went to Petey’s football game in Loveland, and left Stella and Ginger in the back yard. Now, last time the two of them were left in the yard together for and extended period of time, the neighbors informed us that Ginger figured out how to lift the lever on the gate with her nose and escape to run a muck in the neighborhood. The neighbors had to return Ginger and Stella to the yard twice that time. SO, this time we thought we had out-smarted the dog by putting a carabiner through the gate latch. When we returned home on Saturday afternoon, the neighbor informed us that they had to put the dogs back in the yard three times while we were gone! I was shocked. Apparently the neighbor got the dogs in the yard the second time, and then heard the gate rattling and when she turned around, she saw GINGER bite the carabiner and loop it out of the gate and then lift the lever with her nose and escape, all before my neighbor could get back to the gate from the edge of the house! BAD GINGER!!!! My dad, however, would say SMART GINGER!!!! After that, Ginger had to stay inside while we left again to run errands. I let Stella stay in the yard, because, well, she just isn’t that smart.

Another example of a bad influence: Ginger has taught my dog is how to whine. This drives me crazy. Up until Ginger spent the first afternoon of escaping with Stella, Stella had not barked or whined when she wanted inside- instead she would just jump into the back door a few times until it hurt and then she would lay down or find something else to do. This I could handle. Ginger’s version of letting you know she wants inside is to whine. Stella definitely picked up on this, and now she whines all the time. Not just when she wants in from the yard, but it seems that she is whining for fun- for no reason at all. She will learn the new rule: NO WHINNING!