When I started training Laika with the cheese, she and Heisa were confined to their respective rooms when we were away. This was a step up from crate training, and gave them a bit more freedom during the first month or so that Elaina and Heisa lived in the apartment with us. As such, the rest of the house didn't need to be under complete lock-down for hiding treats, etc. Laika was a Houdini-dog, but if confined to my room, she would simply chill on the bed and play with some of her toys. Still, this made me a bit lax in my duties to try to prevent mischief and, as usual, Laika would figure out a way to get what she wanted.
Since Laika was a full-blown cheese-head (not a Packers fan) at this point, I would leave the can of cheese on a small table near the front door of the apartment so I wouldn't forget to bring it each time we went outside. It was a good location and Laika rarely bothered it when the cap was on. But, as usual, she was probably planning her chance! This time, however, she recruited Heisa as her accomplice. One day, Elaina and I were in the kitchen of the apartment, which was at the end of a long hallway and not in view of the front door at all. Suddenly, we heard an odd noise near the front door and quickly went to inspect what was going on.
Turning the corner into the hallway, we saw quite an unbelievable sight: Laika and Heisa wagging their tails frantically near the front door, taking turns dispensing the cheese for each other! I suspect that they didn't purposely knock the Easy Cheese onto the floor, but since they liked to roughhouse in the hallway the can probably fell after the table was bumped. Regardless of the cause, the can was on the ground between them with the lid dislodged as they hungrily and excitedly steped on the nozzle to release tasty cheese on the floor. Each time, the other one would lick it up quickly then stomp on it. They were so focused on their "jobs" that they completely ignored Elaina and I as we approached to break-up the cheese fest...although we were laughing too hard at the sight and their complete focus on the cheese to reprimand them, aside from taking the can away. Both Laika and Heisa were still super excited that they had figured out how to treat themselves and paraded around the apartment proudly to celebrate. Elaina and I constantly referred to the dogs as Cheese Junkies for months after this episode. Naughty, yes. Impressive, yes!
The second tale was Laika acting alone in mischief. When I was walking Laika one time, we had just crossed the street in front of the apartment and ran into our neighbor Rege who was really nice. He liked the dogs and constantly referred to them as "Likes-us" or "Hates-us" which was pretty hilarious. Regardless, little Baby Laika was not one to stand still outside; like a shark, she had to keep moving. As a result, when she started to get a bit nervous I would give her cheese to keep her calm. She was doing pretty well, but at one point, she got too overzealous and tried to dispense the cheese from the can on her own. Instead, however, she bit-off the plastic tip and quickly swallowed it! Rege could not believe my calmness at the situation, as I tried to grab it out of Laika's mouth to no avail. He was laughing in disbelief as Laika and I returned home.
In the apartment, I gave Laika her favorite drink: peroxide; to try to get her to throw up the plastic. In the past, it had worked the one time that she had swallowed a foreign object. However, this time, it didn't work. I gave her the prescribed half-cup and we went to hang out in the bathroom, which was the easiest room to clean because of the tiled floor. We sat and I petted her for a while and just when it seemed like she was going to throw up, she just looked me right in the eye and released the tiniest burp possible, then paraded around wagging her tail! So, that was it. No more peroxide necessary. We would just wait for it come out of the other end. In the meantime, Laika just wanted to run around the apartment and play. She didn't care about the peroxide at all!
I tried not to worry, as I was going away for the day the next day and Elaina would be watching Laika. I checked-in a few times to see if Laika had passed the plastic. No dice. However, when I got back and took Laika for a walk, the first thing she did was poop out the Easy Cheese tip in the alley near the house. Sweet relief! I hope no one saw me fist-pumping to celebrate, but it was good news! Laika, as usual, could care less and proved that she had a miraculous digestive tract that could pass most anything. Of course, to celebrate, I gave her more cheese!
Cheese Junkies enjoying downtime together.
Cheese-hound just chillin'.
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