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31 May 2016 Bitter Apple
When B.P. (Bratty Puppy, that is) came to live with us, we soon purchased a bottle of bitter apple flavoring spray for the wooden furniture. Soon afterwards, all of us humans started gasping with indignation, because things became flavored with, you guessed it, bitter apple flavor.
Things like our hands. And pencils. And keyboards! Gah!
Meanwhile, B.P. chewed happily away on everything that looked good to him. Bitter apple? Not a problem to him!
So we moved on to lemon juice. While one of my kiddos wiped lemon juice diluted with a bit of water over the furniture, chatting happily about saving us all from an empty house, the B.P. slurped happily away at the bowl of lemon juice with water.
I’m beginning to think he has no taste buds.
Time went on and various pieces of furniture began to look a bit splintered. Then, on Memorial Day, a store near us had a sale. And a very nice sale it was. After the Veterans’ picnic at the local park, we checked it out.
Oh my! They had a beautiful wooden rocking chair, on sale for half price. I love wooden rocking chairs. My older young’un loves them. We could only afford one, but it had to come home with us.
Today I painted all areas of the wood that will not be touched by human skin with a cayenne pepper-water mix. B.P. looks at it with disdain. He sniffs near it with care. He gives frustrated grunts.
But so far it has lasted much longer than the sofa, or the rugs, or the stair railings. I may actually have achieved a victory, of sorts, but that’s assuming we don’t all find ourselves gasping in pain from the cayenne on our hands, or our pencils or our keyboards. We will see!
1 November 2016 Bitter Apple Update
The rocking chair has survived pretty well. The rest of the furniture (except the sofa and one recliner) survived pretty well also. B.P. has not only survived, he has thrived. He has even learned some manners, which he has to relearn on a regular basis. Nonetheless, he is a much-loved member of our little family.
Unfortunately, Head Brat, our labradoodle mix, has used his senior status and superior life experience to teach B.P. some bratty ways he had not heretofore known about. Gotta love us older and wiser types, huh? Just be careful about taking our advice because it may get you in trouble.