We had a lovely time on our vacation, and by all accounts the pets had a lovely vacation from us. Apollo, who had the run of the place while we were gone, has most of his fur back from the chicken incident- no opportunities to sneak people food when there were no people, of course, and the dogs had a blast at Grandma’s, where they were spoiled, treated, and brushed into oblivion. Even Koa had to work to muster up some enthusiasm when we returned.
For the most part, they were good, was the report. Brody, who is by and large past his destructive chewing tendencies, had a moment when they were left alone for a few hours and ate one of Grandma’s hardcover novels. “Just the first twenty chapters,” she reported, “and I was past that point in the book, so that’s good.”
I’m not pleased, though I’m glad he didn’t eat the ending, or any myriad other things that would assure he would never be invited back. I know most of us have horror stories of things the pets have destroyed at home, but does anyone have a really bad horror story of something their pet has done while a guest at someone else’s house? I’m compiling a list.
Oh dear!
Once, when we lost power from an ice storm, we headed over to my in-laws’ since they had power and heat. I walked Kaylee around outside for five minutes in the cold so she would pee before we went inside. She wouldn’t, so I figured she just didn’t have to.
You can guess the rest: as soon as we walked in the door to the house, she peed on the carpet. Sigh.
My dog growing up used to do that too. ‘I can’t pee in ambient weather.’ Stinkers!
My schipperke was a puppy the first time we brought him to my mother in law’s house to visit. He found a tiny part of the wallpaper in the hallway that was near the ground and pulling away from the wall. He proceeded to remove a good chunk of it from the wall.
Oh no!! Wallpaper? Ugh!
Can’t do while a guest, but to a guest. Abby-dog (a Golden and 6 years old at the time) went into the bedroom of my future sister in law, somehow got a hold of her favorite dress and chewed all of the buttons off. We almost lost a sister in law. We also had to tell anyone with a purse to put it up, as Abby-dog would steal lipstick out of the purse and chew on them. She was even know to have done this in the car when my Mother would forget and put her purse on the floor (a mini-van). I still miss her.
Maybe Abby just really, really likes makeup. That is so hysterical!
For Father’s Day, we went over to my inlaws house where my MIL had made a cheesecake for dessert. It needed a cooling down period before going in the fridge, so she put it on a baking sheet and placed it in one of the back bedrooms so it was out of the way. Dew (our 5 year old mini aussie) ate about half of it when Grandma caught him…nose covered in cheesecake, but wiggling up in the air. Now every time we go over to visit, he goes into that bedroom and looks for cake!
Ugh! At least he has good taste. I love cheesecake too.
I’m currently dog sitting my sister’s dog whom we’ve nicknamed Hurricane Cali. When she visits, she and my dog Molly stay in the main room of the house while my fiancee, the cat and I hole up in the bedroom. Last night I’d just shut the door when I heard thump thump thump. I went out to find the pair of them, neck deep in the garbage can. Molly has NEVER gotten into the garbage in her life, so it wasn’t too hard to figure out who the instigator was.
Troublemaker! Like the naughty cousin who gets the kids to bust into the liquor cabinet.
I was a student at an all girls foster home when I was about 19. being a student by placement supervisor and professor who I highly respected would come and meet with me and the foster mother to talk about my progress. The foster mother had just got a boarder collie puppy about 2 weeks before I came to do my placement. She was a real handful but we all loved her. When my professor came to do my first meeting and placement review, the puppy met him at the door and was very excited to see this new person. As my Professor started walking toward the couch, the puppy followed him, jumping and nipping, and just as he went to sit down the excited puppy peed on his foot and pant leg. Both the foster mother and I were so embarrassed, but my Professor being the great guy he is, laughed it off and said that he had been peed on by much worse.
The best part of that whole story is the last comment by the professor. LOLOL!
I think you know this story but when we were at my in-laws, they invited our dogs which was great. All went well until it was time to leave. We came home from a short night out (about four hours total) and I let them both out of their pen. Ally sprinted and peed all over the house. The stairs, pee. Master bedroom, pee. Dining room, living room, kitchen, pee. She went before we left and didn’t seem to drink much so to this day we have no idea how one 15 pound dog could produce a gallon of pee. Instead of leaving right away, we planned to Little Green Machine every room but my father in law took one for the team. Good times, good times.
I didn’t know your father in law got the brunt of the fun! You married well.
We visited my sister-in-law and her husband at their lovely pristine upscale NYC loft with our Irish Wolfhound Finn. He was 18 months old, and very good about the stairs, elevator, and door staff. Everyone loved his visit, we of course stopped traffic in the streets. The sister-in-law had a beautiful, prized Persian rug in the living room, which Finn loved to lie on. All was going beautifully, until dinner, when Finn was given some chicken and gravy from our dinner with his kibble. 20 minutes later it all came back up, and of course he had to do it in the middle of the beautiful rug! Of course since this was an authentic wool rug, you can’t use the usual clean up methods. Also, since this was an IW the amount was unbelievable. (he eats 5+ cups of food)
Believe it or not, we have been invited back. I think that is a testament to the tolerance of my Sister-in-law!
Oh! Why do they ALWAYS vomit on the area rugs? always, always.
Oh LORD. Last summer, while I was out of town, my dogs were spending a few days at my parents’ house. My dad had some of his meds in a bag from a recent trip — it was closed and up on the nightstand, and our dogs don’t get into things, so they didn’t give it any thought … until Rudi ate some of them. She ended up going into acute renal failure, and, after a week in the ICU at the University of Florida, she recovered, but boy, was it scary. Naughty, naughty, naughty puppy, but, as you can imagine, we certainly didn’t scold her; it was all snuggles and love. And we all learned that it doesn’t matter how much we think the dogs won’t get into something; if they CAN, it needs to be moved or put away. End of story.
Oh wow, with all the funny stories this is a good reminder of how quickly something terribly scary can happen too. I am so glad Rudi ended up OK!!! (And I agree about putting things away, BTDT unfortunately.)
Visiting my mom for the Thanksgiving holidays with my 100lb Doberman, Dolly. Day after Thanksgiving, the men all go out and do “manly things”, while the ladies all hit the Black Friday sales. Mom elected to stay home, and ended up dog-sitting Dolly. Well, first Dolly howled like a hound at being left behind by both HER mom and dad. THEN, she left a “present” on the dining room carpet. (Did I mention she’s 100 lbs? That was no small present she left behind.) Fortunately, after 8 kids, and numerous dogs, Mom is pretty well versed in cleaning up poo, and wasn’t really upset. OTOH, my hubby and I were simply MORITIFED (and so was Dolly)!
I bet next year Mom decides to go shopping instead. 😀
That’s so funny about the book. Maybe he’s an editor at heart!
You know, I think you are on to something. He ate a library book once too. I think he prefers non fiction.
I was visiting my parents with my dog Lexi. We had to go out and left her in the laundry room. She ate a hole in the wall, completely through the drywall, at least a foot in diameter. She had never been destructive before or since. Luckily their next door neighbor does drywall for a living and it was fixed shortly.
!! Oh, the horror. At least it was your parents and they have to keep loving you.
Every time I have left my dog with a sitter, every time, she finds a way to poop on the couch. Once and once only, and only the first time she is there without me. Even if it is someplace we have been a million times together, as soon as I leave her there for the first overnight-couch poop. So embarrassing.
How did I not know this?
I’m lucky. I’ve only ever had dogs destroy my stuff.
But my last dog, Shadow, who came to us at 9 years old perfectly housebroken did poop on my mom’s kitchen floor. It’s the only time we ever knew her to break house training.
In her defense. there have been many times I’ve wanted to poop on my mom’s floor myself. 🙂
What a commentary! LOL
Hmmm, mine had so many accidents at Grammy & Grampy’s I had to buy my parents a carpet cleaner. One of them got into a bunch of wrapped Christmas gifts and opened them. Someone gave my sister & brother-in-law a bag of snacks, candy, microwave popcorn, etc for a wedding gift. We all brought the gifts back to my parents’ house & crashed. That night the dogs feasted on junk food and ate the gift card. I don’t think that guest ever got a thank you note.
Oh! Naughty pup! LOL!
Guess I’m really lucky — the worst mine have done is that Oscar barked so much when he and Sophie were staying at Grandma and Grandpa’s house that a neighbor called to complain and now they can’t have sleepovers there unless I’m there as well. Which means boarding any time I travel. Sigh….
That’s Koa. I’m fortunate Grandma’s neighbors are far away.
My retriver x decided to swim in the sitter’s very new and very expensive ($12k?) Koi pond, damaging the liner. It made his destruction of the last sitter’s baby gate pretty tame.
I tried unsuccessfully not to laugh when I had the image in the head of your horror, and the dog swimming around like, whaaa?
While at an acquaintance’s cottage, Madee the menace, my chocolate lab, saw her reflection in the window of the porch. We were in the kitchen, where there is a pass-through window over the sink. Needless to say, miss Madee decided to join the other lab by attempting to leap over the sink and through the pass-through. Fortunately she didn’t quite make it! (The other guests very quickly came up with excuses to leave!) I was mortified, Madee was nonplussed, the cottage owner laughed heartily!
We have a sweet little Maltese Poodle that loves to visit Grandmas house. He doesn’t chew up anything there, but loves to lick the window on the door. Probably because he can lick all the sticky hands off the window from all the human grand kids.
I went to my sisters with my dog Maggie. We left her at the house while we went to dinner for my nieces graduation. When we came back – she had chewed a hole in the door frame and apparently she found the cat that was locked up in my nieces room and chewed a hole there – we walked in and she had the cat pinned in the window sill – she was barking like crazy at it and the cat was hissing at her. Did I mention this was a no dog condo park? Boy did my sister hear it from the neighboors and I haven’t been invited back since 🙂
I have to say that our pup, Shadow, has yet to destroy anything of anyone else’s. He has eaten a couple of his own leashes but to date while living with us he has been a very good boy.
We took our dog Buster to my in-laws for the weekend. They were hosting a cook out for the family and had decided to grill steaks. My father-in-law brought out the steaks, but before he put them on the grill, he turned around to chat with on of the grandkids. All of the sudden Buster, runs right through the middle of the patio with a small steak hanging out of his mouth! Needless to say he has not been invited back….