Teaching my dogs to use a doggie door seemed like a good idea at the time
Of all the home improvements we’ve made so far this year, the storm door with a doggie door in it was my favorite. It made my life so much easier after we adopted a second dog that I ranked it above the smooth cook top stove and the self-cleaning oven.
Adopting a second dog made perfect sense as the first dog had finally calmed down after four years and I feared a normal life. If that wasn’t self-defeating enough, I was getting bored being a doorkeeper for a single dog. By adding a second dog, I could see if two dogs running in and out all day suited me better. Remarkably, I did not find facilitating twice the number of border patrols and boundary markings more rewarding. So to safeguard my sanity, my husband installed a doggie door.
The puppy, Okami, had no problem adjusting to the doggie door. My smart little girl was pushing her way past the vinyl flap and into the backyard with only a day of training - she’s part border collie. Big brother, Blanco, comfortable with my role as a concierge for canines, took more convincing. His refusals to come out the door when I called sent an unmistakable message: “You don’t call me, I call you … remember?”
Begging sometimes worked. Kneeling outside the doggie door, holding the vinyl flap high so his white fur would not be sullied, I waved a piece of cheese and pleaded. Every now and then, ‘His Highness’ would reluctantly pass through the undignified little hole to survey his backyard kingdom.
Obviously, this was more work than my old doorkeeper job. Yet, I had faith that my stubborn boy (he’s part Siberian husky) would eventually see the advantages of a doggie door. Sure enough, my services were soon limited to lifting only a corner of the flap. One happy day, Blanco discovered the puppy’s canine sensibilities and started slipping through the doggie door with his intuitive little sister. Eventually, he lowered himself to going in and out on his own.
With both dogs trained, I saw no negatives to the doggie door. I could now do any number of things without canine interference. I burned less food, made fewer mistakes in the checkbook register and read past the introductory pages of my library books. As far as I was concerned, the doggie door was a sweet deal!
One should never get too cocky about one’s home improvements
Late one night, I was watching television with my two children when Blanco came barreling through the doggie door in a panic.
“Eeewww!” screamed my daughter.
“What is that smell?” shouted my son.
Blanco looked like he’d been attacked by a fire extinguisher and smelled like burning rubber smothered in onions.
“Help me open the windows!” I exclaimed. Immediately, my children jumped up and ran away, slamming their bedroom doors behind them. I stood alone with a very bewildered dog that was vigorously slinging foul-smelling slobber in every direction.
Blanco had been on backyard border patrol at 11:30 p.m. when he discovered an uninvited guest in our vegetable garden. Intending to chase the intruder over the fence before it got a taste of our tomatoes; he got a taste of its secret weapon. After he recovered from his shock, I imagine poor Blanco was impressed by a ‘cat’ that could mace in his face like that!
I called the 24-hour emergency veterinary clinic and hastily explained why I needed to bring in my dog. The veterinary technician who answered wasted no time explaining why I did not need to bring in my dog. Rather, she gave me a recipe (using household items I did not have in my household) for dog shampoo that removes skunk spray odor from dog fur. “And call your regular vet in the morning,” she said.
My next move was to call my husband home from his night shift job due to the family emergency of needing dog shampoo ingredients. He made a midnight run to Wal-Mart and came home with enough hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap to give all 50 dogs in our neighborhood a bath.
Bathing a dog by moonlight was a new experience for us - and judging from the lights that flicked on and off at 1 a.m. - for a few of our neighbors, too.
After more baths than he’d had since birth, Blanco’s white fur sparkled and he smelled like a dog again. In the meantime, Okami had thoroughly investigated (read: rolled around in) her big brother’s drool. Having forgotten my teenage experiments with hydrogen peroxide and shampoo, we bathed Okami, too. Her black and brown fur sports blonde highlights now.
Leaving the clean dogs outdoors in the clean air, we braved the noxious fumes indoors. Thankfully, the stench was still extremely strong and had drifted throughout the entire house, thus we had no problem staying awake to clean. While washing walls, mopping floors and gagging at 3 a.m., I made a mental note: move doggie door off favorite’s list.
Please see Skunk Encounters 101 for practical information in the event your dog has suffered a skunk attack.
Parkhill Mullis is a freelance writer from Indian Trail, NC. She can be reached at dogreporter@hotmail.com
