So I'm a knitter. I've been knitting for several months now, and I've never had a problem mixing yarn & basenjis. They just aren't interested.
Until I bought sock yarn. For non-knitters, sock yarn is a much thinner yarn, and it tangles pretty easily.
I crate Callie & Lola only about half of the time when I leave the house. I left Callie & Lola out one day while I went to work two weeks ago. When I came home, one or both of them had discovered the joys of sock yarn & had obviously had quite a time with it. 2 balls of yarn completely covered an entire room. It took me over 8 hours to untangle & wind into balls. It had been torn in a couple of places, so I ended up with 4 balls instead of 2. I set all 4 balls down on the table when I was finished, and Callie immediately snatched one & ran off. At least I knew who the culprit was.
I took it to the yarn store today to ask advice and to get it wound back into neat balls.
I came home, set my knitting bag on the coffee table, and went into another room to talk on the phone for a few minutes. Callie came into the same room I was in to cuddle, so she wasn't unsupervised for more than a minute or two, tops. When I finished my phone conversation, I returned to my knitting bag, only to find ALL OF THE NEATLY UNTANGLED AND BALLED YARN ALL OVER THE ROOM!!!!!!!! ARGH! She literally did not even have TIME to do this! I can't imagine it will take me less than 8 hours to untangle again. I'm considering shoving her in a box, wrapping it with duct tape, poking an air hole in it & overnighting her back to her breeder. Only problem is, the durn dog would manage to escape the box no matter how secure I made it.
These crazy little dogs….. :rolleyes:
Oh this is too cute!!! Were you too mad to take a picture or two? 
is the sock yarn wool? i find dogs/cats are especially attracted to animal fibers. I had several "Dat momma's" conversations with Zest about my wooly creations. Otherwise, I think you need to knit faster. Or spray it with bitter apple?
Oh this is too cute!!! Were you too mad to take a picture or two?
The first time around, before I realized it was going to require 8 hours to fix, I wasn't too made to get a picture. Today, however, I'm a little angrier. Also, immediately after this post, I made myself a glass of chocolate milk & then let the dogs out to potty. When they came inside, in the time it took me to lock the door, Callie had run into the living room & started helping herself to my FULL glass of chocolate milk!!!
And yes, the yarn is merino wool. I hadn't considered that everything I've used before is synthetic. That solves the riddle then. Thanks, agile.
hehehe..Pippin just stole my handmade (by me) wool scarf the other day..yarn is yummy..I saved it though but it was slimy from him loving on it so much..
This is so funny to those of us who have similar experiences. Thank you for sharing this story. It is priceless <g>.</g>
Basenjis love shetland wool because it has a strong sheepy smell until it is washed as a garment. I've also knitted with mink and fox yarn which I can assure you is madly attractive to the little loves. Coned yarn is almost impossible to untangle especially as they bite right through several layers of wound wool! Trust me, Carrie I'm an ex-knitter now. And no, AgileBasenji, you can never knit faster than a Basenji can unravel!!!
Ugh. I am still untangling & have found 10 ends so far, which means it is now in no less than 5 pieces. If I can't learn to keep the yarn put up, I'll either have to become an ex-knitter or an ex basenji owner 
Sorry for laughing…. but can't help it... looks like my house in 10 seconds if they get a roll of TP!!!!
and yes.... lesson to the human... take out that newspaper, roll up... smack yourself over the head 10 times and repeat... I MUST NOT FORGET, I MUST NOT FORGET
LOLOL, put up your yarn.
Callie is telling you it is too dang cold in Ohio and she wants to move back to Georgia. Did I tell you it's been in the 70's and sunny? I've been wearing shorts and have had my windows open all week. What was that you were saying about being snowed in a few days ago? :p
tanza, I was telling the knitting shop owner a little bit about basenjis & how destructive they are & how I should have known better. She seriously gave me a look like "You are crazy!" while her mouth was saying "You are very nice." I really got a kick out of that.
Debra, yes, I know. I just can't seem to break the habit. This is also why I refuse to pay more than $2 for a pair of underwear that I know will last anywhere from 2 days to 6 months in my household.
And yodeldogs, yes, I've heard about the lovely weather in Georgia. From every friend I have down there. Multiple times. I think yall are trying to tell me something 
Hmmm…I am thinking that Callie is the one that is related to Ivy, right? Goes back to Select dogs somewhere in there? Yeah...relentless...insufferable....brilliant in an evil way....sound right?
Everytime my sister visits, she brings her knitting bag, and sets in on the floor. And then she is amazed and aggrevated when the dogs get into her yarn...she has labs....
quercus, Haha she must be. She is out of Select's Lothlorien Elentari (out of Moses) co bred by Tracy & Becky I think.
Not to mention, her breeder Chris did some crazy "super puppy" thing with the pups during their early days that has created a litter that is too smart for their own good.
Its insanity with her some days. Lola just likes to chew on inappropriate things; you can tell there is no intent behind it other than chewing on something yummy. Callie just likes mischief, plain & simple. She likes to push limits & see just how much she can get away with before I notice.
I suggest a big hook high on the wall to hang your knitting bag. Or return to synthetics!
Thanks for a funny (not to you) story. You will laugh about it…some day.
After Nicky destroyed the THIRD pair of my glasses, I started keeping them in a kitchen cabinet. I was the one who left them on a table, within her reach. She was just a dog who loves the crunch of expensive plastic. My bad.
Did you take a picture?! That yarn Basenji! Sorry, I meant "darn Basenji".
Been there. My dogs tangled and chewed up two balls of sock yarn and a skein of alpaca!! I have to be very careful when I bring yarn into the house. Spencer is very sneaky and will try to get it even when it is far back from the edge of the counter!! One time he had so much of it wrapped around himself that I had to cut him out of it!! I only knit on my lunch break at work now…..
i store most of my wool in Sterilite containers gotten from Target. Of course my basenjis are usually pretty good about leaving the wool sculptures. It's the toys that belong to the wool dogs that Zest likes to steal. Tiny, tiny 1/2 inch balls and the like.
Of course the whole time I'm frustrated with her, I'm also trying not to laugh. And I also have to keep telling myself "I'm the slow learner… this is MY fault. This is not her fault. Its mine. Mine only."
But alas, I am less easily trained than they are
And I posted a picture of the yarn destruction on the first page I think...
While it has been warm (neighbor was SUNBATHING SATURDAY!)… don't move down. Give me colder winters and keep the humidity please. And the tornadoes and fire ants.
