Categories: uncategorized
Date: 26 March 2009 12:56:45
I often wonder what would happen if I left Pooka inside all day. Well, there are two different scenarios. If I was being deliberate in allowing her inside while everyone was out, I would close the laundry door (blocking access to her food) and the hall door (blocking access to the bedrooms) so she would really only have the run of the dining room and the lounge room... and the kitchen. Those rooms have been fairly well dog-proofed, as long as she doesn't take up chewing on cables. In this situation I would leave the balcony door propped open so she had access to the backyard for toileting purposes.
If, on the other hand, she pushed the door open and invited herself in... doors would not necessarily be closed. The laundry door would almost definitely not be. The hall door would probably be open. And the balcony door would shut behind her and she would not be able to get out. I wonder where she would lounge if there was no-one home? When I am home she likes to keep me in view plus others if possible. If I'm not, she will try to watch as many people from one spot as she can.
She may lie on the parents' bed because a) she isn't allowed to do that and finds it quite comfortable and b) she can look out the front window. She quite likes the brother's bed too. She sometimes lies on my bed depending on her mood. But she also often uses her bed in the dining room (sheepskin mattress... probably not real sheep though) because she likes it.
I imagine that all the bins would be thoroughly investigated. If the shower door was open, she would drink from the bucket in there. Otherwise I'm afraid she would drink from the toilet (which, not surprisingly, would definitely not have the lid down... probably the seat either).
I always wonder how much food she would eat if presented with her 4kg tub of dry food and no audience. I've heard the stories about someone's friend's neighbour's dog that kept eating and eating until it died because it couldn't stop and it exploded. Having seen retrievers and labradors eat and try to get food and look hungry and salivate at the sound of the fridge opening, I can imagine it happening. And Pooka definitely has the insatiable retriever gene. She doesn't have the lying in puddles gene that labradors get though...
Has anyone ever observed this situation - a dog with an unrestricted food pile?