A few months ago and tired of seeing Hurley scrunch down to get in his kennel, I purchased a new big boy wire kennel. Would you like to stand up and move around, Hurley Man? Why, your mama's got you covered!
Except that Hurley, for the most part, has completely shunned his new kennel.
Every morning, he squeezes his frame into a kennel, while perfectly sized for a 60lb dog, is way too small for my big boy. And every morning, I face a dilemma: make Hurley get in the bigger crate so that he's comfy but risk his acceptance of the crate in general, or leave him be and let him be cramped all day.
I always opt for the latter. I'm providing him with a properly sized kennel and it's his choice. A little cramped dog for now is better than having a dog who hates kennels.
Until one morning earlier this week. Hurley had been experimenting with hanging out in his big boy kennel in the evenings when we're watching TV and decided he was ready for an all-day trial of said big boy kennel.
I was more than happy to oblige. Finally! Now I don't have to feel guilty about him being cramped in the small kennel.
I got home that evening and found the Hubster painstakingly zip tie'ing virtually every seam of that wire kennel. During the day, the Hurley Monster had decided he just couldn't stand the big boy kennel anymore and HULK'd his way out. There is no other explanation for how he managed to bend almost every side, break most points where the wire was soldered, and squeeze his 80lb frame out in the crack he formed between the door and the bottom. It was obviously a feat requiring super human strength!
It may have been my fault for not kenneling the girls. Apparently, Hurley (as I had suspected, which is why heretofore, the girls were always kenneled when he was) cannot abide by the injustice of his sisters having free rein of ONE room in the entire house while he was stuck in his big boy kennel in the same room. And so he HULK'd and he HULK'd and he muscled his way free.
We can only assume that he was pumped up about his newfound freedom and could not contain himself because the Hubster came home to one HULK'd kennel, one proud as proud can be Hurley Monster, a den that was in complete frolicking-puppy-had-his-fun disarray, and Sadie & Maggie cowering in the corner, washing their hands of any hulking business.
HULK SMASH!
Haha, we had a dog HULK his way out of a crate, too! He actually ate through the horizontal wire bar (!!!), and then HULK'd his way out from there. A different time, we came home to a puppy out of the locked, non-HULK'd crate! Still can't explain that one. Madness, I tell ya'.
ReplyDeleteHULK'D?!!Love it! We have had several crates destroyed here too & just can't figure out how they do it....
ReplyDeleteLOL, I've never had a dog do that. I was one who did it all wrong and got Sampson the big boy kennel when he was just a pup and let him grow into it. It is plenty big and roomy!
ReplyDeleteSilly boy - he's just trying to keep you both on your toes ;)
ReplyDeleteOh Hurley! You are quite the escape artist - I bet your mom wishes she could have been there to see you get all big and green!
ReplyDeletePoor Hurley :) Sorry you don't like your nice big crate buddy. Hope you can change your mind--or at least stop trashing mom's den and terrorizing the other pups!
ReplyDeleteOh man. My sis-in-law's Rhodesian ridgeback puppy busted out of every single crate of every single size and material and it made no difference what room the crate was in. She did this consistently for the entire first year of her life and a little bit into her second year.
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