Once upon a time in a suburb far, far away lived a gentle puppy named Prince. Prince lived with two humans, Anne and John, in a nice home filled with beautiful furniture and rugs. As Prince grew, he came to love his new home more and more. Prince also went to obedience school at PetSmart and trained with Anne and John at home. He was a good boy!
Everything was going according to plan at 9 months. Prince was so smart and well behaved. It only seemed natural for Anne and John to begin to give Prince more time on his own in the house. Anne would go to the grocery store or the gym and leave Prince in the great room and the kitchen for several hours; she would come home and Prince would be sleeping or playing with his toys contentedly.
But, one night this week, a strange wind blew into town, and a dark cloud formed over Prince's house. What happened that night is only known to Prince, and he is not talking.
Habits began to change. Prince pulled the carpet pads from under several throw rugs and devoured them, leaving bits of rubbery litter in the great room and kitchen. Several rugs were pulled up at the corners and fringe was chewed. And then, Prince attacked and removed a strip of silk fringe (about 2 inches in the middle) from the green Oriental in the great room.
Upon waking the next morning, John discovered Prince's nightly activities. Prince was immediately whisked outside -- prior to any breakfast or a walk! Anne knew something was strange as Prince did not come down the hall into the bedroom to nudge her out of bed. What was happening in the house? Where was Prince?
John and Anne were facing a dilemma with Prince and his behavior. Prince had regressed, and he could no longer be trusted on his own. And he had outgrown his crate. Would he become an outdoor dog? Could he be rehabilitated as an indoor dog? High drama was on the horizon.
After much discussion and hand wringing -- and taking into consideration Prince's high "cuteness" factor -- Anne and John decided that they had given Prince too much latitude at too early an age. Prince, after all, was barely a teenager, and we all know that teens can "go wild" at times when they are not supervised properly. It was a case where the owners were not properly trained, and they had allowed Prince to resort to destructive habits in his boredom. Gasp! Gasp!
So on Wednesday, when Prince went with Anne and John to the vet for his checkup, they stopped at PetSmart for a quick purchase. A new shiny 42 inch black crate was loaded into the car trunk and brought home for Prince. Anne and John took down the old 36 inch crate and installed the new crate into the same nook of the great room. Prince's fluffy sheepskin bedding fit snugly into the new crate and gave it a homey feel.
When it came time for Prince to say goodnight to Anne and John, he reluctantly went to his crate and curled up for the night. But, all was well in the house that night and all the days that followed. Prince began to spend more time in his spacious crate, both sleeping at night and resting during the day. And Anne and John slept more peacefully at night in their bed and felt secure with their home furnishings during the day.
Everyone is living happily ever after. Anne even got $40 on Craiglist for selling the smaller dog crate!
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