1. Shoes – I have odd sized feet. I’ve blogged about it before (here). Shoes are not easy for me to find. Both Hypnos and Fenris have eaten their fair share of mine and the hubby’s shoes, but I think the absolute worst was when Fenris figured out how to open the hall closet door. After spending 3 days shoe shopping I found two pairs of dress shoes. Fenris ate them within 48 hours of their arrival in the house.
2. Dog crate(s) – We tried crate training Hypnos when he first arrived. He was found abandoned in the wild and had only spent a few weeks at a shelter before we adopted him. He’s very much a people puppy and doesn’t want to be away from where the action is. He ate his way through 3 crate cushions and the plastic bottoms of two of them before we decided that maybe crating him wasn’t going to work. He broke the welds on the last crate he spent time in – it was an extra large crate and he’s only a 50 lb dog, so it was quite the feat – before we took the hint. He’s much happier and doing far less damage to the house now that we’ve put away the crate and let him have free reign over the house when we’re not home…
3. Moulding (door & baseboard) – After Hypnos broke the first crate and before we’d managed to replace it, we tried shutting him in the spare bedroom while we were at work. He proceeded to chew all the moulding from around the door and along the baseboards.
4. Power cords – The cats have chewed their way through a number of mice cords before the days of laptops and wireless mice. Hypnos decided to start somewhere higher on the list and chewed through the power cord for the fridge.
5. Teddy bears – Never let a child bring a teddy bear into a house with dogs that have stuffed chew toys. The results aren’t pretty.
6. Coffee table – When I was home helping to care for dad, I received a phone call wherein the hubby casually mentioned that the dog had chewed the new coffee table. It had taken over two years to select the table – it’s hard buying furnature for a small space – and Hypnos apparently decided it would make a good snack. I’m sure the neighbours could hear me screaming What? when the hubby delivered the news. Dad did get a bit of a chuckle out of it when I told him.
7. Computer desk – Compared to some of the other peices of furnature they’ve chewed on, the desk got off lucky.
8. Pillows – Have you ever had a nightmare where you think you’re eating something and wake up with your pillow in your mouth? Me neither. Apparently Fenris has though. She’s eaten at least two bed pillows over the years.
9. Loveseat – About a week after we bought a new loveseat, Hypnos pulled the cushions off of it and started snacking on the uphostery under the cushions. He didn’t manage to do too much damage before we returned home, but just enough that we had to purchase drop covers to hide the damage…
10. Loveseat pillow stuffing – I’m not really sure how (or who) managed this. About a year after we bought the loveseat, he pulled the cushions off of the loveseat, managed to unzip the cushion covers, and pulled the cushion stuffing out of the cover to chew on it.
11. Swivel chair – When I moved into my second apartment, my parents gave me a Kroeger chair they had purchased years earlier. Our dog Whiskey had chewed it a little when we were kids. Shortly after we adopted Fenris she decided that it would make a nice fibrous snack and she proceeded to finish off what Whiskey had started a over decade earlier. Of course, she didn’t stop at chewing the uphostry – she also chewed the arm through to the wooden frame and took a big chunk out of the wood as well.
12. Leashes and collars – Fenris has chewed a few collars in her time but it was Hypnos who had managed to chew his way through 4 different leashes in the last year.
13. Duvet – This wouldn’t be so bad, except Hypnos chewed our puppy-sitters duvet while we were out of town. The hubby frequently tells them that it’s Hynos’ version of repayment for when their dog (Poppy) tore the screen door off of our sliding patio doors.

After reading that list I think I need someone to explain to me why we still have dogs.

This picture of Fenris says it all.

Thanks to other TT participants who stopped by and commented: stacitee, Michael, Janene, Laughing Muse, David, Frances, Stephanie, Lee, Chaotic Mom, Deanna, Christine d’Abo, Bond, Annie, DKRaymer, Susan, Scribbit (Michelle), Jo (Laquet), Jenny Ryan, nadnuts, N.Mallory, Jan &Â elementaryhistoryteacher.

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