As to the yard he has discovered he can't see what is going on on the other side of the wood privacy fence but no matter he will just dig under it to find out what is going on. Thinking that we could now leave him out in the protection of the fenced yard by himself, we went about our own business, only to find him digging at the corner of the fence. Of course this was in an area with fresh softened earth from a morning rain so not only was the hole almost as big as he was, he was now covered in mud from head to toe as well as other areas I would rather not mention. I would have taken a picture to share but I was so angry at him for challenging his new backyard home. Later that afternoon he had a pool bath in the backyard, because as he dried we found there was more dirt on our kitchen floor than on his warm little body, He even had dirt in his ears and he hates to have his ears cleaned. Meanwhile, the husband went out to buy gravel to fill in the hole because we were told that dogs don't like to dig in gravel. Yeah right!! Though we watched him more often now when he was out, he would continue to sneak over to that side of the yard to try to dig. After repremanding him for about a week, we thought he had surely got the message. Well Duh!! we were fooling ourselves.
The first time he was out there without one of us he snuck over the side and started digging again. Well we shoved the gravel back in the hole and added more gravel, though I was tempeted to plant the Apple Bitter spray bottle because it seems to be the only thing he is afraid of. The extra gravel has seemed to work but we intend to add larger gravel this weekend in an effort to discourage the digging, though knowing Labs love to eat rocks we will have to watch him some more to make sure he doesn't begin that habit like my father's Labs did. At times you could hear them coming not by the clicking of their feet on bare floors but by the sound of the rocks in their stomachs.
It must be something about water and digging though. We have had some really warm humid days of late and though he loves to splash in his kiddy pool, I put up one of these rings that spurts water that kids run through, sort of a kid "car wash". Well he kept biting at the water as it spurt out of the plastic tubing and the water began to pool on the ground. That was all it took, before you know I had at least three new holes I would have to fill. We eventually put the water spraying tube in his pool and he had great fun trying to catch the water in his mouth. He loves to play in water everywhere but in his crate. He does have a temper tantrum when he doens't want to be in his crate, just like a kid he thinks his human family is doing something that he doesn't want to miss out on. So he has a tantrum by dumping all his water and ice all over the floor of his crate. Now in this 90' degree weather one would think he would like the water to cool off. NOPE!! within minutes we hear the now familiar whine that means, "Mommy come make my house nice and dry. And while you are doing that I can check out what you have been up to." Some water dog!!! In this heat we just leave him lying it and figure eventually, hopefully by winter, that he will stop doing it.
And speaking about his human family, this past week he has gotten to know his "human" brother Matthew who has been visiting from Seattle. Murphy likes to give Matt a hard time but he isn't so sure he likes the new nickname Matt has branded him with... SPAZ! Of course, I am enjoying have Matthew here and to be honest it's nice to have someone else around for the Murphy to pick on. Not to be left out, last week using the joys of modern technology, Murphy was able to converse with his "human" sister Scottie through the use of Skype. Scottie who is currently living in Siena, Italy often calls home using her computer and Skype. This has been a great way to keep in touch over the long distance and it is cost effective. Well not to be left out Murphy had to get his share of computer time and he and Scottie talked, ok Murphy only barked, and had a good time reconnecting. Murphy at first could hear her calling him but it took him a while to figure out that she was on the computer. He kept running thru the house looking for her. Once he figured it out he had great fun barking at the computer as well as licking it. He wasn't quite as bright as our newfoundland Maggie, who used to try to get behind the tv to figure out where the people were. But now evertime I open my computer to check my emails Murphy is right there hoping to have some face time with Scottie.
Well apparently he has a leak in his pool that needs to be fixed. In this heat the little kiddy pool has been a godsend as he loves to play in it for hours and it keeps him cool. Now if only I could find a place ( a lake) where we both could go for a swim we would have all the bases covered.
More pictures soon!!
Jody and Murphy
