Dewey Loves to Crochet

We all want to think that at a certain point we can let our guard down.  We can become a bit complacent when our puppies get a little older.  They behave so much better.  We trust them so much.

But we have to remember that they are still puppies and we are still puppy raisers.  However, I was still surprised to walk into the yarn room to find that Dewey had gotten one of the yarn balls and pulled it into a snarly mess.

It wasn't his fault.  It was my fault.  I had left the yarn out in the open.  The cabinet door wasn't shut.  The full bag of yarn was hanging ajar.  What dog worth his snout in curiosity wouldn't have investigated this gold mine of interesting smells?

Here is the yarn room.  My tall cabinet filled with yarn. One cabinet door open.
An open yarn bag gaping wide at dog head height and hanging off a knob on the buffet.

Trainer Jen has told us that if our pups have a fondness for something (socks, shoes, etc.) then you need to start setting those things out and then rewarding the pups for not going after them.  Set them up for success.

Dewey sits calmly by the silky orange ribbon as I try to rewind it.

Who's fault was it that he had failed? It was mine.

Now, I have to plan on being the one to make him succeed on avoiding yarn in future.

I recently became the sponsor of the Knitting and Crochet Club.  We knit and crochet baby hats for premies and babies at hospitals.  I just stored a big box of supplies without a lid under my desk and Dewey found it.

Dewey and the baby yarn for premie hats.

Now I will be buying a big storage tub with a locking lid on Sunday for my office.

It seems obvious to me that yarn is a red light item for Dewey.  So starting next week, we will be playing some yarn avoidance games, perhaps even some video, to get Dewey to the point where he isn't so interested in yarn.

We'll keep you posted!