The TJ Experiment

TJ has been particularly reluctant to go into his kennel lately. On a normal day, he runs to his kennel to wait for a treat following one of our morning rituals: the spraying of hair product, the filling of the Nalgene, the putting on of socks, etc. Lately, however, he has decided to use these triggers to hide in our bedroom and look downright pitiful.

So, we tried an experiment whereby we let him sleep peacefully out of the kennel - no supervision - to see if his morning mood improved. I came home on my lunch break to take a sneak peek, and our work days were cut short to verify his goodness. However, signs of trouble soon began to appear. It seems as though TJ was taking this experiment a little too nonchalantly.

We gave him the benefit of the doubt for a few more days. I was certain he would become the good dog that all previous dogs of mine had been. I was wrong.

In addition to the following photos, he also ate the cat food (a portion of the 10 pound bag, not the dish), most of our paper recycling, and a good percentage of our bathroom trash. We probably shouldn't publish any additional photos, but he also left us a pile of sparkly poop that - on closer inspection - contained our missing roll of duct tape.

He is now back in the kennel.