It's OK, Dad, I can get my own dinner....

December 2, 2012 3:15 PM

Never leave a Husky home alone....
posted by HuronBob (57 comments total)

Ha! The joke's on my dog! None of our kitchen drawers are empty enough for that! (although once, as a puppy, she did manage to trap herself on the top of the kitchen table).
posted by bitter-girl.com at 3:33 PM on December 2, 2012 [7 favorites]

He let himself get caught on camera! What a stupid dog!
posted by sourwookie at 3:37 PM on December 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

Ok who let their husky watch the Nikki Van Bergen video?
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:42 PM on December 2, 2012

When my cat Isa was just a kitten she would climb up inside my dresser and nap in my underwear drawer at the top. She was small enough that she barely disturbed the drawers so there was no clue where she'd gone. I spent a good couple of frantic hours searching the first time she pulled that trick.
posted by calamari kid at 3:49 PM on December 2, 2012

Seems small for a husky. Perhaps a Klee Kai?
posted by workerant at 3:58 PM on December 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

But then there's the dog confused by an escalator.
posted by twoleftfeet at 4:08 PM on December 2, 2012 [10 favorites]

My two year old son did this to get to the Easter candy I had put on top of the refrigerator.
posted by JujuB at 4:11 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Around 1:50 at the very end, the reaction of the other dog: Mind. Blown.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:11 PM on December 2, 2012 [9 favorites]

A cat would have totally just jumped up there.
No need for stairs.
posted by Mezentian at 4:11 PM on December 2, 2012 [9 favorites]

After all that he probably just ate a battery.
posted by orme at 4:11 PM on December 2, 2012 [28 favorites]

A couple of weeks ago, my parents brought home a ten month old Husky pup. I think the only reason something like this hasn't happened to them is because the pup hasn't yet learned where the kitchen is.
posted by alynnk at 4:15 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

I like how it stops to consult with the other dog along the way.
posted by elizardbits at 4:22 PM on December 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

Maybe someday this dog will realize it can jump instead of resorting to crate stacking shenanigans. I've seen german shepherds that size clear seven foot fences.
posted by ceribus peribus at 4:37 PM on December 2, 2012

but why jump and get so tired you actually ruin your appetite? clever dog is doing it totally right :D
posted by liza at 4:39 PM on December 2, 2012

That's not collaboration. It's using the other dog as a test subject.
posted by Mezentian at 4:39 PM on December 2, 2012

The other dog is like "Getting on the counter, eh? Yep, getting in the drawer, that's the way. Good luck with that! ...wait, it's not working? Let me try. Yeah, this doesn't work. ..HOLY CRAP HOW DID YOU EVEN?!"
posted by DU at 4:39 PM on December 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

My husky was inside the crate at 13 weeks old, reached through with a paw, pushed up the door latches then pulled them across and let herself out. More lately she's pulled at the crate in such a way that the side walls disassembled, then walked out looking really very pleased with herself.

She also has no idea about sizes, and chases after dogs twice as big as her and jumps on them until they give up and let her win. I am uttely won over by all of this. :)
posted by jaduncan at 4:51 PM on December 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

I was thinking a young husky...but, you might be right about that, workerant.
posted by HuronBob at 4:56 PM on December 2, 2012

Ohhhh, so THIS is why they only let you pull out one drawer at a time on file cabinets.

Drawer stairsing while at work is totes inappropriate.
posted by phunniemee at 4:56 PM on December 2, 2012

I know, so annoying! All the really cool pieces of flair are kept in the cupboard at the very top. Grrrr.
posted by iamkimiam at 5:00 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Huskies are bred to live outdoors. To an Inuit hunter, the idea that you would let them live in the house is frankly hilarious and you get what you deserve.
posted by spitbull at 5:05 PM on December 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

If you have dogs and are dumb enough to a) leave food on a counter and b) then leave the house, you pretty much deserve what you get. I haven't left food (other than crumbs) on a counter or tossed a sock onto the floor since like 1982.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:08 PM on December 2, 2012 [4 favorites]

After all that he probably just ate a battery.

Nah, a sweet potato.
posted by curious nu at 5:26 PM on December 2, 2012 [9 favorites]

I agree with workerant that this is an Alaskan Klee Kai. My current dog is very bright and could probably do something like this, but I used to have a Siberian husky who was baffled by doors that weren't opened quite wide enough for him to walk through. He fell on the pretty, not brainy, side of the gene pool.
posted by Molly Razor at 5:28 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you have dogs and are dumb enough to a) leave food on a counter and b) then leave the house, you pretty much deserve what you get. I haven't left food (other than crumbs) on a counter or tossed a sock onto the floor since like 1982.

Given the camera, the empty draws and the presence of foods, I suspect this video was as staged as the moon landing.
posted by Mezentian at 5:53 PM on December 2, 2012 [14 favorites]

I think this house has just been built and is yet to be moved in to, due to the empty drawers, lack of anything at all on any of the counters or walls, and hard hat on the shelf.
posted by NerdcoreRising at 6:01 PM on December 2, 2012

That was actually Neil Armstrong's final test before they sent him into space - they removed the metal stairs to get into the ship and left only a filing cabinet outside. Took him a few hours, but he figured it out.
posted by mannequito at 6:07 PM on December 2, 2012 [8 favorites]

I think this house has just been built and is yet to be moved in to

Wow. That really is one hell of a smart dog. And I thought the cat a few posts down had it going on ...
posted by maudlin at 6:08 PM on December 2, 2012

At first I was wondering if I should be letting my cat Trilby watch this with me. Then I realized he can open every cupboard in my house already and he just would have jumped up onto that counter to get the food anyway, so he didn't learn anything new or dangerous. Whew.
posted by orange swan at 6:11 PM on December 2, 2012

My mastiff can just lean her head on the counter and take whatever she'd like, leaving only a trail of drool behind; no need for such undignified shenanigans.
posted by ThatSomething at 6:20 PM on December 2, 2012 [6 favorites]

Note to self...do not let Linus see this. : )
posted by SisterHavana at 6:22 PM on December 2, 2012

I liked the part at about one minute where he pauses and totally considers the situation. "I know I figured this out once before, what was the trick?" Then he remembers THE OTHER DRAWER!!!
posted by SweetTeaAndABiscuit at 6:52 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

I found this on a related video; dug it!
posted by NiteMayr at 6:58 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Aw, poor thing. If she lived at my house, all she'd have to do is ask the Pit Bull for help. My Zoe has springs in her ass, and can hop up on the counters, washer, and pool table from a standing start.
posted by MissySedai at 7:17 PM on December 2, 2012

Sorry, but that dog is retarded. Or some other PC way of saying that it is not very smart.

It could just jump up on the counter and have its way with whatever is up there.

OR, like my dogs, it could cringe in fear of what would happen if it even looked with desire at what was on my counter top. My dogs are loved and affectionate, but they will not approach the dinner table or enter the kitchen for any reason whatsoever.

There is a place for pets, and that does not include eating or food preparation areas.
posted by Uncle Grumpy at 7:49 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wait until that dog learns what's in the fridge.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:53 PM on December 2, 2012 [5 favorites]

My mom has a Black Lab that will demolish anything on the counter. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for the head-slowly-rising-above-something gag from the cartoons but it's hilarious to watch this big black head slowly rise over the countertop like a submarine periscope on the hunt for snacks, then he sees you watching and does the slowly-sink-back-down thing. Never fails to totally crack me up.

He also figured out he was big enough to jump up on the counter once but wasn't bright enough to figure out how to get back down so she came home to find this enormous dog sprawled on the counter surrounded by food and debris from stuff he'd eaten, laying there like OH THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE WHAT DO I DO?! and she had to call the neighbor to pick him up and put him back on the ground because it was just too far for him to jump down, apparently.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 8:11 PM on December 2, 2012 [15 favorites]

I had a friend in West Vancouver with a very large male Siberian Husky. My then-girlfriend and I would occasionally house sit for them, and thus dog-sit. He was an awe-inspiring dog. We were all distance runners, so he outweighed all of us. He wouldn't so much get walked as take you for one. He went where he pleased and then took you home. There was no issue with leaving him outside a shop or restaurant. He would sit, and people would walk a very wide berth around him. In the park, he would chase squirrels. The difference is that he would catch them, and kill them in a spray of blood and entrails.

Whenever he was at Park Royal in West Van and he'd manage to get away from you, he'd go straight to Safeway and (knowing how to work the door) would go inside and head straight to the meat department. It wasn't a nice experience for the people there.

I'd be terrified to own the dog, but he was a character.
posted by jimmythefish at 8:28 PM on December 2, 2012 [7 favorites]

Cats have no need to jump on counters for food. They have servants.
posted by arcticseal at 8:33 PM on December 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

Cats may have no need to jump on the counter for food, but they will, because they are cats and they know they are not allowed on the counter.

Cats are jerks like that, and that's why they steal sausages.
posted by Mezentian at 8:44 PM on December 2, 2012

Havoc was pretty keen on opening doors and going where he pleased. He had his patrols to perform around the house... doors be damned. Crates couldn't keep him in either. He wouldn't stay contained. Malmutes are smart like that.

I remember way back when the McRib was brought out in 1990. We couldn't stomach them... and thought that the patties would make a quick treat for him. I clearly remember him looking down into his bowl... sniffing... looking back up at us all and growling deep and long. He would have none of it. He knew crap food when he smelled it.. and he was quite offended.

We gave him far more credit after that... he always did love high quality dog food.

If he was small enough to climb on counters I imagine that he would have. But he was bigger than us all... 200 pounds of muscle and fur.

I miss that dog.
posted by PROD_TPSL at 9:15 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

(I think the dog I house-sat for was a cross or a Malamute, not a Siberian. Just did a bit of reading and the Siberians seem to be too small for what he was).
posted by jimmythefish at 9:24 PM on December 2, 2012

We have scientifically determined that the only safe place to leave food in our kitchen is in the microwave. When I say "scientifically" I mean that over the years the dogs have narrowed it down for us over the years by snatching food from every other surface in the kitchen, including on top of the microwave. That may not sound impressive, but the microwave is mounted at eye level and the dogs are medium sized - the size of a large husky, let's say (and yeah, that is not an American/Siberien Husky in the video).

They are food-finding geniuses...mostly. They have also been known to open cupboards to steal a box of crackers...and then eat only the box.

We had to electrically fortify the trashcan with a Scat Mat. They figured out how to step on the pedal. The only thing the Scat Mat really taught them was not to step on light gray area rugs.

Anyway, the microwave-as-safe hypothesis tends to lead to confusion with roommates when I insist on storing cake in the microwave. I don't have dogs in my apartment - it's just habit after all these years. The cat-driven equivalent is roommates finding it weird that I throw floss in the toilet.
posted by maryr at 10:54 PM on December 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

PS: jimmy, I love, LOVE the northern breeds, but that dog sounds terrifying. Our dogs were not born hunters, but between two of them, they managed to catch a chipmunk or two. My mother prides herself of discovering this and getting the corpse away from them (They were still at the "Why'd it stop playing?" phase) before they discovered what she called "the cream filling". That dog you sat for should really not have been allowed to chase squirrels. =(
posted by maryr at 10:59 PM on December 2, 2012

My little sister once baked a cake and left it on the counter. Our standard poodle who is normally very well-behaved apparently couldn't resist whatever it was and jumped up on the counter and devoured the whole thing so completely that we thought someone had just moved it. No crumbs or anything.

The pleasure of eating the cake had to be traded for the pleasure my sister took in sitting on the couch and lecturing the dog as she lied on the floor groaning from having eaten too much.
posted by Space Coyote at 11:31 PM on December 2, 2012

My mother prides herself of discovering this and getting the corpse away from them (They were still at the "Why'd it stop playing?" phase) before they discovered what she called "the cream filling". That dog you sat for should really not have been allowed to chase squirrels. =(

Eh, I feed mine the shot partridges I have. She just knows that she's never to bite anything unless I tell her to do so, so she doesn't.
posted by jaduncan at 11:39 PM on December 2, 2012

maryr, after living with a counter-surfing greyhound, we now refer to the microwave as the Dog Safe.
posted by shiny blue object at 3:32 AM on December 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

? Whatever kind of breeding the dog had, my ex had some kind of huskey-looking dog. It was the most serious dog I ever knew. But she was as sweet as could be, with people. She learned that if I said "Yabba dabba Do!" she'd jump up and tap her front feet on my chest (I'm 6'2") and spin around mid-air, even while chained. Wish I'd had a video cam, back then. Can't think about silly things like food on a counter, with her. More concerned with food still breathing. She didn't mind hunting for herself. My neighbor was very nice about his muscovy ducks.
posted by Goofyy at 3:57 AM on December 3, 2012

It really is amazing what dogs get up to when left alone. Dog sings along as it plays the piano.
posted by Sailormom at 4:22 AM on December 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

Well, my six-month old husky just committed her first in-house crime. I left her alone so I could watch Bob's Burgers, and she ate a book of Sappho's poetry. I have a feeling that's a statement of some sort.
posted by RedEmma at 5:29 AM on December 3, 2012

I'd be terrified to own the dog, but he was a character.

I like dogs but a hetero-chromatic husky taught me a lesson when I was a teenager that I never forget.

While I was noticing its different coloured eyes it decided to playfully bite my face off. It's jaws closed on my head and left puncture wounds about 1 cm away from each eye. I think he just wanted someone else to have a mask.

Now I don't ever put my face within reach of any dog.

Dogs on kitchen counters don't make me feel good.
posted by srboisvert at 6:00 AM on December 3, 2012

Whoah! Sailormom, that dog looks so much like my dog, except my dog's eyes are blue and she has a luxuriant plume-y tail (here's a photo of her with a shorter haircut, here's one with her coat a bit longer that shows the same apricot tint on the bottoms of her ears as maestro piano doggy). The size, body shape, face, coat and everything is just so similar!

We don't have a piano, but when my husband plays his harmonica our dog sings along, with feeling. I really have to make a video of that.
posted by taz at 10:39 AM on December 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yes. The microwave is the Food Safe. If the dog manages to pull that down and get it open he deserves whatever's been stashed inside. Or the oven, I suppose, but with my dog that is its own set of problems.

My New Mutt is, I think, part Lab and part Border Collie, which means that he creatively and energetically gets himself in all kinds of stupid dog trouble. He isn't allowed in the kitchen unsupervised for longer than it takes to grab a drink of water, because he decided to take the oven apart. Something enticing and charred had fallen into the pan under the burner on the stove. He pulled the coil up, wedged his nose under, and licked half the drip pan clean -- the half he could reach. Then, just to be sure, he licked the stovetop all across the front and between the pans, everywhere he could reach without climbing up onto the thing. Which I am sure he will do someday.

"Ma? Did you start cleaning the stove today and then forget halfway through?" I already knew the answer, though. "Where's the dog?"

"HI. THE STOVE WAS TASTY SO I FIXED IT. I BROUGHT YOU A BALL. HERE YOU GO."
posted by cmyk at 11:31 AM on December 3, 2012 [3 favorites]

I know I'm just projecting but your dog looks so happy taz.
posted by Sailormom at 11:58 AM on December 3, 2012

jaduncan - It's not the consumption of another animal I worry about. There's a world of difference between catching & killing and receiving an animal to eat. The latter cements the dog's place in the pack hierarchy. Like you said - permission. The former makes me worry about small cats in the area. I'm glad our dogs never got to the "cream filling" because I don't think they ever realized that they'd successfully hunted the poor idiot chipmunk. It took *two* of them, a mini-pack, if you will, months of being taunted by that chipmunk (it seriously sat on our deck and stared at the dogs through the glass when they were inside) before they caught it. They were not natural hunters*. Foraging though, damn, they had an instinct for that.

*Samoyeds are some of the laziest pack-driven dogs I've ever seen. High energy until about 2-3 years old after which they effectively become throw rugs. Lazy grins, stupid as fuck in obedience classes, brilliant at rule-breaking. They love people and are pathetic little suckups once they figure out who alpha is - and they are more than happy to be betas. They are bro dogs. In the most fuzzy and huggable way.
posted by maryr at 12:44 PM on December 3, 2012

Epic Husky Photobomb
posted by homunculus at 1:53 PM on December 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

Uncle Grumpy: Sorry, but that dog is retarded. Or some other PC way of saying that it is not very smart.

It could just jump up on the counter and have its way with whatever is up there.

An animal that problem-solves by altering its environment is "retarded". I'm gonna guess you're not in the field of cognitive research.
posted by IAmBroom at 4:00 PM on December 3, 2012 [3 favorites]