As you probably know by now, Strudwick’s time at the Jersey Shore this summer has been eventful. He discovered an animal kingdom in the backyard of their rental property, took an adventurous dip in the bay, and commandeered the personal belongings of several guests. Below, we are picking up the story – ahem, saga – where Megyn left off (get caught up on part I, part II, and part III):
…Remember those doggy gates I told you about last week – the ones we had installed before moving into the rental to keep Strud and Thunder out of certain rooms? Well, they continue to not serve their intended purpose.
One day, the gate that keeps Strudwick from coming upstairs didn’t hold and let’s just say he made the most of his jaunt on the second floor.
We came to the shore straight from our trip to Scandinavia, so we all had backpacks full of delights. Strud went to town on Doug and Yardley’s pack (above), eating a pack of M&M’s, Neosporin, a Swedish KitKat bar, Band-Aids, and, well, I could go on.
We were also preparing for our annual Fourth of July party and Strudwick managed to sniff out one of the pocket versions of the U.S. Constitution we had for the event. He tried his best to eat it (see the damage above), but we rescued the book in time.
I will say, things are starting to settle down. We initially thought we might have to send Strud back to Connecticut and hire someone to watch him in his native environment, but we definitely see some improvement – and we just love him too much to ship him off.
As of this writing, we have gone two full days without him destroying anything, which feels like huge progress. He gets two *very* long walks a day and *many* fetch sessions out on the front lawn with the tennis ball, and that seems to be working for him exercise-wise. He also now knows where he sleeps and what is expected of him.
We are, for the first time in weeks, having more good moments with him than bad ones, so we are on the right track. (However, as I write this, I can hear him jumping up on the kitchen counter trying to eat the cupcakes Yardley just baked.)
I asked Doug recently, “Do you think it is normal to spend several hours a day thinking about your dog?” “No,” Doug replied, though he is in the same place. I write so often about what a massive pain in the neck Strud is that I feel the need to underscore: We love him. We can’t possibly get rid of him. He’s had multiple trainers and we’ve spent countless hours trying to train him ourselves, but this dog just wants things the way he wants them. Recently, I added a (supposedly) calming CBD oil to his treat routine and, to be honest, it appears to be making absolutely no difference. But hope springs eternal!
Anyway, this concludes our four-part (!) update on Strudwick’s first two weeks at the Jersey Shore. How is your summer going?
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