Dusk after a thunderstorm

We are currently suffering from a tropical depression - strong winds and torrential downpours. A couple of days ago we had the most severe thunderstorm I have ever experienced. The lightning was flashing every few seconds and the thunder, rolling around the mountains, was deafening, even to someone with my impaired hearing. As our electricity supply went off and then came on again the lights went on and off and so did the gentle hum of the fridge. I was thankful that I had switched off and unplugged my computer as the storm must have been directly overhead.

The dogs hated it and were petrified with fear. I thought it was magnificent! When it was all over I took the photo below.

I freely admit that this photo has been 'doctored'. There isn't really any water in the foreground, just the road. But I think it looks more dramatic like this!

Who's in charge of the asylum here?

Every time I try to exert some control over Lazarus he somehow manages to leap-frog me and remain 'top dog'. This example is typical of the kind of thing he does.

The dogs' cushion which sits in a corner of my study dates back to 1998. Over the years it has been pee-ed on, thrown up on and, finally, chewed to within an inch of its life. As I am currently taking 3 weeks' break from client work I decided it was time for an overhaul.

Having stupidly taken my most of my old sheets to a flea market about 6 months ago I had to buy some furnishing fabric with which to renovate it. However once I took the permanent outer cover off I realised that the inner cover, which actually contains all the foam rubber pieces, needed to be replaced as well. I had enough old sheet left to make this and, once I'd managed to transfer all the stuffing, stitched the last side firmly and put the cushion on a chair where, I innocently thought, it would be safe from doggy depradations whilst I made the new outer cover.

The next day I wandered into the dining room for something and saw what you see above. Laz, who can now jump in one go straight onto the dining room table, had seen what looked like a comfy place to sleep and launched himself into it. Thankfully, at the moment anyway, he seems to realise that it is somewhere to sleep and not something to chew, but it really demonstrates how excellent he is at problem-solving, particularly when the 'problem' has been created by me!

When he does something dastardly I can't whack him a) because this isn't, and never has been, the way I discipline my dogs and b) because he's so small that I might hurt him unintentionally.

Scolding him and shutting him outside for a period have little effect. He is chastened in the moment but is soon strutting around again, insouciant as ever, determine to show that 'the world is his, and everything that's in it'. And usually succeeding. Suggestions, anyone?