Runaway dog!

So, as you know, I moved in with my boyfriend about two months ago (holy crap! it's been that long already?? Wow - time really flies when your life is great!) and as you could imagine, it was an adjustment for everyone. Especially our pets. Well, my pet anyway. He is a 7 year old Jack Russell Terrier named Roscoe, but normally we just call him 'Dude'. Saving ROSCOE for when he's naughty... Maggie is Geoff's dog, and she is a Great Dane. She is probably the coolest dog I have ever met! She is 7 as well, and the two of them get along great!

Anyhow, The Dude has always liked to get up on the furniture, sleep with me at night (even getting under the covers to keep warm) have his 'bones and cookies' all to himself and one of his favorite past times was to run off and go visit the neighbors. Well, The Dude no longer sleeps on the bed, he has his own bed. He is actually doing really well with it, he knows at bedtime just where to go and that it is just for him. Which is good. We actually have dog beds all over the house for them, two in the living room, one in the kitchen two more upstairs in the bedroom, and we even put one out in the garage! Hey - who wants to lie on cold cement? Sometimes they even share a bed, which is really neat because of the size difference.

Of all his behaviours, the one I like the least is of course the one he decided to not give up on his own...and it drives me nuts! He is as fast as lightening when he runs, and once his nose is down is is consumed with following the scent he's found, and it takes an act of congress to break his concentration long enough to get his attention so we can tell him to come back. Sometimes he does, sometimes he doesn't. When we moved one of my concerns was that we live so close to a busy road, was the dog running out and getting hit.

We decided to get a 'training' collar. Now, initially I was concerned that I was going to be hurting him, but let me tell you, any shock he might get from that collar is FAR less than the pain he'd get if he ran out into the road and got squashed by a car tire... Well, so far the collar works great - when it's turned on and actually on the dog... ARRGGGHHHH!

We've been busy in the yard the past few weekends getting mowed, raked, weeded, etc.. Getting everything tidied up for the winter. We've been cutting down dead trees, stacking the wood, getting a brush pile ready for burning, etc. We love to have the dogs out running around with us letting them hang out and do their doggy thing. They love it too. Last weekend, we trimmed the hydreanga tree, and had all the blooms sitting in 5 gal buckets awaiting their fate. The Dude hung out by those buckets for about 5 hours watching the bumble bees weave in and out and all around. He was completely mesmerized by them.

I told him what a good boy he was, and went inside to get something to drink, and when I came out, he wasn't there. I walked around calling to him, but no dog. Geoff called him, no dog. I had the 'remote' to his 'training collar' in my pocket and I pressed the 'warning' button - this emits a short beep to let him know that if he doesn't show up in T-Minus 5 seconds, he's going to get a zap from his collar.

This usually gets him back very quickly. Well, not this time. I walked the entire yard, and up and down the street in front of the house, pushing the warning button. Fearful the entire time that he would come darting out into the road and get hit. After about 15 minutes I started to change my attitude from being worried, to being downright cross. Another 15 minutes later, I was wayyyyy past cross, and onto being mad. After about 10 minutes of being mad, and cussing a blue streak at a dog who couldn't hear me, I decided to get in the car and go looking up and down the road.

I drove around our neighborhood holding the remote out the window pressing the 'warning' tone to see if I could see him moving in anyones yard. Oh - did I neglect to mention that when he ran off it was dusk?.. Little brat...

After 30 more minutes of wasting gas, and driving around aimlessly, I decided that there wasn't anything I could do. I mean, I can't just start walking through people's yards with a flashlight now can I? I was over being mad at this point, and was back to being worried. The dog has never been out alone all night, he is in a relatively new area, he has really bad eyesight at night, and we live on a busy road. I prepared myself to have a sleepless night, and went home. After sitting and brooding for a while, I decided that I needed to go to bed, but first I would send an email to my friend Wendy at the ARL and the local police department.
I told the dispatcher who was taking my call, the information on where I lived, what the dogs name and temperament was just in case they got a call, and as she was getting ready to end the call, who should come running around the corner and up on to the porch, but the dog! I couldn't believe it!

Never in his entire career of running off, has he decided to come back on his own. I was shocked. The dispatcher I was on the phone with, suggested that the mere threat of the police out looking for him was enough to make him want to come home in a hurry!

I quickly went from being sad to happy, and greeted the dog with open arms and the suggestion that he not run off again because it wasn't in his best interest. I 'beeped' the collar and I think he got the point. He hasn't run off since then, but I know that nothing is forever - and when he gets his courage back again, I can already assume that he will take full advantage of the moment that my back is once again turned.

Look at that face, how can I stay mad? He really is a good dog, he just likes to go around the neighborhood when it isn't really convenient for him to do so. It's not convenient for me either, and that is why the collar is on ALL THE TIME NOW. I will watch him and if he gets too close to an area that he should be staying away from, I don't bother with the 'warning' now, it's all about the 'zap'. Seems to be working.

He's pretty smart too... Now he knows that my bark is a lot less offensive than the bite of his collar...

Rock on with your bad self,

H

P.S.

Recently, Geoff found this cartoon - and we tried it out.

Well yeah... We're tools like that, so of course we tried it. When they misbehave, when we want their attention or sometimes just to be pains in their butts - we exclaim loudly "HEY!" their responses seem to be appropriate for the action, normally they both come running! If you have a dog, say it to them and see what they do...