[Dailydrool] How to stop following his nose?

[Karen Cannon]

To the Mom who wants to know how to prevent her basset from following his (her?) nose....

As all of the others have said:  get the gate!  make sure it is one that is attached to the door jam or wall.  You can get ones that have doorways in them to make life easier for you, but beware! the dog may learn how to unlatch it or in the case of our Lucie (Devil Dog) jump over it, using the top as a push-off point!

But...bassets are "scent hounds" - built for hunting rabbits, originally. It's what they do - follow their noses and if there's food, well, so much the better. Even leather shoes are good to eat. Wallets are a special treat!

In the 30 some odd years that we've had one basset at a time (we live in the city, on a smallish lot) they have all been counter surfers - so we have "lost" cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, cookies, butter, pizza slices, a tenderloin steak, pieces of cake, a whole bag of foil-wrapped chocolates balls (promptly puked up), chocolate covered ginger (only ate the chocolate; left the ginger on the carpet for us to step on), the meringue off two custard pies, a chocolate easter egg (only the box was left - child did not notice) countless chips, crackers, cheese, cold cuts - the list is endless.

Since I am the primary (you might say, only, cook) anything I leave on the counter is fair game, as far as the dog is concerned.
Our current Basset, Lucie (Devil Dog!) is an extraordinary surfer because she is very long and therefore, very tall re: counters.  She is relentless and as DH says, I am a slow learner.  Christmas, this year, has been a terrific opportunity for Lucie to fatten up with all that butter being used for baking cookies etc.   Her personal favourite: cheese cookie dough - the best of both worlds!  and she cruises for dish cloths, tea towels, paper towels etc.

All food has got to be awaaaaay back or tightly covered.

Anyway, I could go on and on....but just get the fence.  You'll have "some" peace of mind.  Ha Ha Ha....

Karen & Lucie (Devil Dog!) ...more cheese please!
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