A few weeks ago, blind Cedar began getting out of his crate in Widget's House during the night. I'd walk in first thing in the morning and find him out in the middle of the floor, with a nice pile of poop left for me to clean up. We put all the dogs at Widget's House in crates for the night, because there's no way you can leave 20 dogs loose in a building unsupervised for that long -- think frat house with an open keg. (Or "Animal House," with Trooper filling in for John Belushi.) Some will get into the trash, some will pull the food bags off the shelves and gorge themselves sick, and others, like Cedar, will take a moment to relieve themselves indoors. And some will do all three.
You get the picture.
Cedar, like most of the dogs there, sleeps in a giant crate, which has an annoying twist-handle feature that usually confuses people the first time they try to actually use it. And to open it, you need to push a tab on the outside and twist the round handle at the same time. It is, in short, a much more difficult and fool-proof locking mechanism than you find on smaller crates -- I presume because it's designed to contain the much bigger dogs who would typically use this size of crate.
So the first time I found Cedar loose in the morning, I figured I must have forgotten to lock the crate door latch the previous night.
The next time I found him loose, I thought, what the @%$@%?! I knew I had double-checked the latch the night before.
So then I stuck an extra metal pin (you can see them in the corners of the door in the photo) in the lower right hand corner of the door, into the hole where the crate door's bottom pin slides when you close the latch. Wedging it in tight would make it impossible for him to get out, right?
Fast forward three days, and there he was again, out on the floor by himself. How on earth? We had never had a dog get out of one of these crates before with the door properly locked. And now Cedar was routinely getting out, even with extra precautions.
I added a pin to the right corner hole in the top of the crate door. Double-wedged, that will work!
Um, no, not exactly. Out again.
Okay, a third pin in the lower left corner of the door.
Nope.
I would walk into the building, find him wandering around, look at the poop on the floor, and want to pull my hair out.
I finally realized I was being outwitted by this blind dog on a regular basis, and there had to be a mechanical explanation. I got down on my hands and knees and examined the latch mechanism with a flash light. And then I saw it: The tab you depress with your thumb before turning the handle was bent ever so slightly ... and if you hit it just right, even from inside the crate, the latch would pop loose. After that, it was just a matter of pushing with determined paws to force the door open, regardless of how many extra pins were wedged in the holes.
Following that "eureka!" moment, I moved Cedar to a different giant crate and ... case solved.
You know those bumper stickers that say "My border collie is smarter than your honor student"? At this point I felt I should make a bumper sticker that says, "My blind dog is smarter than I am."
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Still No. 1!
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This is a classic! Is Alayne going to get the bumper sticker made for you for your Christmas Stocking? You never know!
Warm hugs to all,
ginger, Tobias & Tlingit
Posted by: ginger | December 02, 2009 at 08:20 AM
Too bad for The Great Hound-ini that his baffling escapes are now thwarted. But hurray for you in outsmarting the culprit, Steve.
Posted by: moon rani | December 01, 2009 at 09:26 PM
That is hilarious & how silly you must have felt being outwitted by a blind dog. And, the dogs still in their crates were probably wondering why he was getting to party by himself!!! Trooper as John Belushi is definitely an image I could imagine. Well, Cedar, sorry the night time parties for 1 have ended, at least, for the time being!!
Posted by: Colleen & Sweet Kitty Erin | December 01, 2009 at 04:04 PM
Cedar must have been bored doing all that quantum physics in his head....mechanical engineering...so much more practical!
Posted by: Roxie | December 01, 2009 at 02:22 PM
OK Question
As you were looking over the latch system to figure out what was wrong was Cedar was he watching you like a Blind dog does??
LOL he might have you figured out.
Great Story
Posted by: Eric | December 01, 2009 at 01:52 PM
It's okay Steve, my dogs out wit me on a regular basis. :)
Posted by: Amy A | December 01, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Steve, I feel your pain. After having two wolves who were escape artists and a Border collie who learned to open the refrigerator, I've decided they are not BAD dogs, they are just very helpful. They help me to identify the weak point in the fence (so that I can fix it) or they show me that the towel hung on the refrigerator door handle can be pulled to open the door (so I can find a new place for the towel).
It's like saying "We have a problem here, Mom. See?"
Posted by: Linda | December 01, 2009 at 10:50 AM
This story cracked me up! Thanks Steve and of course, Cedar!!! He looks so small in the crate and he's a big dog!
Posted by: Shirley * James/Portland, OR | December 01, 2009 at 10:20 AM
I wonder what all the other dogs thought when they realized Cedar was "free"!!!!
And I have to apologize. I laughed out loud at the part about you always finding a pile of poop. Sorry !!
Posted by: Lynn (in Louisiana) | December 01, 2009 at 09:47 AM
Great last remark! ; )
Cedar-dini, wonder when he'll strike again?
Posted by: boundforglory | December 01, 2009 at 09:12 AM
Those horrible latches on the 700 crates also break faster than the traditional ones. One can imagine
the wear and tear rendered at shelters that have to use them.
I sell crates for a living, so will be stealing your new knowledge
to pass on to clients.
Thank you for a great story!
Posted by: Janet Huey | December 01, 2009 at 08:26 AM
I always wondered how you handled the critters at night. Sorry Cedar, your evening escapades are now at an end....until you figure out your new cage!
( I can SO totally see Trooper in the Belushi role, too!!)
Posted by: Debbie | December 01, 2009 at 07:36 AM
I love these stories and I love the fact that you had the modesty (or should I say you were proud enough of Cedar) to admit to this! =)
Posted by: JC | November 30, 2009 at 10:48 PM
When ya gotta "poop" ya gotta...well you get the idea. Can't do it in your own bed unless you're 2 YO or less ....LOL
Posted by: Craig from Great Falls | November 30, 2009 at 10:23 PM
When a dog's gotta go....a dog's gotta go!
Posted by: Ev | November 30, 2009 at 07:32 PM
Welcome back! We've missed your ongoing sagas........always brings a smile (and chuckle)! Never a dull moment at RDR.
Posted by: Leila - Washington | November 30, 2009 at 07:25 PM
VERY funny!!
Posted by: Adele in the Bronx | November 30, 2009 at 07:23 PM