A weary owner of two Dachshunds discovered an ingenious hack that prevented the two tiny pups from slipping through the gaps in the patio fence on a holiday.
When the mischievous duo tried to escape through a fence and follow another family dog, it caused a lot of trouble.
Helen Blakemore from Norfolk was forced to find a quick solution and found an amazing opportunity to use simple tools in her caravan.
Digging through her kitchen cutlery drawers, she found that a spoon and spatula worked brilliantly to use as a wedge to spot the naughty pups from escaping again, writes The Mirror.
(Image: Helen Blakemore)
The pair were on holiday with Helen and her two children, Oscar and Megan, at Tattershall Lakes, Lincolnshire, where the Dachshunds enjoyed watching dog walkers and ducks pass by their gates.
Helen didn’t expect that Maple, one, would try to escape, while Dottie, three-year-old, is a timid leader and has wide shoulders.
Helen said: “Maple gets up to everything but Dottie doesn’t normally, but it was Dottie who escaped to follow a family walking a dog, then Maple squeezed through after her to follow.
“We never expected them to go off following another dog down the road. My son and my daughter ended up trying to catch them.
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“Maple came back to my daughter but Dottie just carried on running. Every time my daughter ran one way she would run the other way.”
Helen had already attached a blanket over one end of the gate but this wasn’t enough to stop them from disappearing.
She tried to wedge the cooking utensils through their jumpers but that didn’t work either.
Helen managed to thread them through their harnesses flawlessly, providing entertainment for the entire family.
“Dottie kept trying to turn around because she thought there was food on the spoon which was comical”, Helen added.
(Image: Helen Blakemore)
“And every time she shook herself, she sounded like a one-piece marching band, because the spoon would hit her jacket and the fence.
“But at least it stopped them from getting back out again.”
When Helen shared her inspired hack in a Facebook group, users loved the “genius” idea.
Even though it started as a last-minute holiday hack to stop the dogs from disappearing, it may have started a trend for other dog owners to use.