Recently I adopted a beautiful Labrador retriever mix from an organization called H.A.T.S. His name is Dupree and he is a great puppy, most of the time. Lately my dog has been chewing my walls and I think I need a dog door.
This is my first dog and I have been taking care of him for about five weeks now and I am looking forward to installing my own dog door later this week. This experience has really helped me understand why so many people are buying and installing dog doors. Here are a few of his behaviors I am noticing pre dog door installation:
- My dog scratches my new storm door when he wants to go outside.
- My dog is out of control when I come home if I am gone more than a couple of hours.
- My dog always finds something to chew other than his chew toys. This dog chews walls!!
It almost seems as if he is very bored and is finding anything possible to do to keep his mind and body stimulated.
I know from research and customer feedback that dog doors help to remedy these problems and provide even more benefits to the pet and pet owner. Now I get to see it first hand once my dog is using his new dog door.
So I have addressed some behaviors I have noticed in Dupree before dog door installation. Here are a few behaviors I have noticed in myself since taking care of Dupree.
- To be honest, I don’t enjoy getting up every hour or so to let him out either. I didn’t mind at first but after a while it becomes a chore. I don’t want to feel that way and I want us to enjoy living together. I mean, that’s what we are kind of doing. We are living together sharing a living space. I love this dog and I want him to be as happy as he can be and If he wants to go outside all of the time I want to give him that opportunity.
- It is challenging to schedule my day knowing I need to be near the house every four hours or so to let my dog out. Often times I have to rush home to let my dog out. My girlfriend helps me a great deal, however, sometimes she will be working all day too.
- When we (my girlfriend and I) do come home after an being gone for a while our dog acts crazy! He is so full of excitement and misbehaves to the point we typically have to kennel him back into the kitchen so we can eat and relax. That doesn’t make sense at all. That is a lose lose for us and Dupree. I want to spend time with him when I am home.