Last year, Teddy was still a puppy for the holidays. I’d only adopted him about two months before Christmas. He wasn’t potty trained yet, so he had to go in his crate while I was gone.
This year, Teddy is a big boy. He’s fully potty trained and doesn’t need to go in his crate when I have to leave the house. He loves getting to stay out with his big brother, Cubbie. (I think he potty trained so quickly so he could always stay out with Cubbie).
Since Teddy was in his crate last year at this time, I didn’t have to worry about what might happen to the Christmas decorations while I was at work.
It was my mom who initially brought it to my attention during Thanksgiving. She said, “I hope Teddy leaves your Christmas tree alone.” I hadn’t even thought about it because I’d forgotten he didn’t have an opportunity last holiday season to get into trouble since he was in the crate.
I decided I’d still put up the tree and stockings and hope for the best. He’s more than a year old. How much trouble could he get into?
Well… the first time I left him alone with the decorations up, I came home to find two of our three stockings on the floor. This dog can jump. The stockings are several feet off the ground, yet he was still able to jump and get enough of the stockings to rip them off the wall.
I’ve decided to take the stockings off the wall every time I leave the house (to not risk them being torn down). I forgot once, and came home to find his doggy stocking in the hallway.
Teddy has a weird fascination with the stockings. I’ll often catch him with his paws up on the wall staring up at them. He also sits on the coffee table and just stares at the wall. I seriously think he’s calculating his next move and opportunity to get them off the wall again!
He doesn’t seem as concerned with the tree (thank goodness). I did come home to find it on the ground once, but I think it’s because the boys were just playing and it got in the way. They like to run circles around the house, which now includes the tree, and it often shakes like it might fall over as both boys run around it. Luckily, it’s only ended up on the ground once. Plus, it’s a pretty small tree.
Our tree has many dog-themed ornaments (surprise, surprise). I’ve got a dog house ornament with Cubbie’s picture in it, a white dog bone with black paw prints, a Santa holding a puppy in a stocking, a dog food bag ornament, and a girl with dogs. Each year I try to get a new doggy ornament for the tree. This year it’s one that says DOG with a place for a photo in he middle.
I think the tree is safe, and next year I’ll put the stockings up even higher on the wall!