Made you look!

She was in the same room as I was, so I didn't think anything of it. First mistake, when you have a baby lab in the house.

Skritch, skritch, skritch.

I stopped for a minute, listening. It sounded like one of her beef knuckles, or beef leg bones. The baked ones from the pet store, that the vet and the breeder said were safe for her to chew on.

I went back to working on my laptop.

Skritch, skritch, skritch.

I got up, and went to look. I peered around the corner, but (second mistake) didn't go around the corner. She was licking the wall. I didn't see any damage, just her wet tongue marks on the wall. So I said, "No!" and gave her one of her approved chew toys (15 of them strewn around, at least 3 within her reach at the time).

I got back to work. Laughing Boy came out and sat on the couch to watch TV. Banana Dog jumped up on the couch to greet him.

"What are you chewing on? Give!" He looked, and it was a swatch of paint, layers of white, green and orange. Wait, those are the colors under the paint in the front hall...

Jumped up to look. Yup.

She actually ate through the plaster down to the lath. Paint and plaster and all. All eaten. Oh, a few crumbs on the floor, but the rest was dog snacks.

Fortunately, Laughing Boy is in the process of refinishing the front door (behind a gate, where she can't reach) and walls, and we'd already tested all the paint layers for lead. Lead free, at least.

But how - and more importantly, why - does a dog with 15 chew toys, 3 real bones, 2 compressed beef and bone-meal bones, and a full bowl of dog food all within 15 feet of her EAT A WALL.

I guess I should be grateful it wasn't drywall and fiberglass insulation like this friend of a friend's lab. I sprayed the wall with the bitter spray they're supposed to hate, and gave her a "No!" scolding. For all the good it will do.

Sigh. I know I mentioned it, but I LOVE her play pen.