Frenchman's Bay, Maine

Frenchman's Bay, Maine

Thursday, January 17, 2008

My Dog Is A Noodlehead


I'm sorry to say, but sometimes I wonder about Murphy.

It started when we moved to Germany three and a half years ago. Before, we trekked to the end of our Oregon cul-de-sac and grabbed mail from the mail box. Now, envelopes and magazines are shoved daily through a little swinging mail slot in our front door. Sounds great, you say?

Well, think again. Murphy takes it as a personal affront that SOME HORRIBLE MONSTER IS TRYING TO SNEAK INTO OUR HOME! MUST ATTACK! So each time, he charges the mail slot, hoping to dismember an evil sneaker--who's obviously entering to rape and pillage.

He's actually torn the mail slot off the front door...and I'm afraid for the day when Murphy gets hold of a thumb or set of fingers.

We've tried positive reinforcement--one of us restrains the dog while another family member flips the mail slot back and forth--then we reward Murphy for not attacking. But this dog has incredibly short-term memory. Maybe if we spent twelve hours of intensive training, then he'd learn?

He's usually a sweetie. Just not when mail slots are involved.

P.S. In the photo, Murphy's sitting in front of a massive mound of sugar beets, a crop that's harvested in this part of Germany during late fall.

6 comments:

Beth said...

This was HYSTERICAL!!! Made me laugh out loud. I hope Murphy gains some self control before he hurts somebody...

Ginger said...

Whew. Good luck! :)

Cotton Wool & Silk said...

What a great dog you have! :)
You are much younger than me, Africakid, but I so do relate to your free spirit and finding your way to all sorts of places on this wonderful planet!

Holly said...

Does he shred the mail, though? My dh is a mailman and cringes when delivering huge photos through those mail slots because many a time the dog on the other side grabs the mail and shreds it to bits. Dog and papershredder in a one :)

Anonymous said...

Stupid dog does shred. Got my college diploma.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to say so, but this cracked me up! Hope you eventually find a solution!