Old Lessons Relearned
Ellie and I have been thoroughly enjoying the warm weather. This is her first spring, but Yuki definitely knows that it's much warmer than usual for this time of the year. As a result, Ellie and I have been going for 1-2 mile walks each morning. Ellie knows that when she sees me get the baby stroller that it means she's going to be going for a walk! She shakes and whimpers with excitement as she waits for me to get the leash and is all smiles when I finally open the door.
One of the things that I have noticed, since beginning these daily excursions, is how important it is to make certain that pets are leashed, fences are in good repair and that you have a recall that your pet will respond to. It seems that we encounter wandering dogs on a near-daily basis in our city and, to be honest, it frightens me. The dogs themselves don't frighten me, but I'm worried that I will see one get hit by a car.
Yesterday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the sky was bright blue and dabbled with big, puffy white clouds. We walked a different route and Ellie had some fun running around (on leash) at a small park. On our way back, however, I noticed a woman walking with an off-leash golden retriever. At first I thought that she was taking the dog for a walk, but as she tried to get him to follow her into the driveway it was obvious that he was not paying any attention to her. My guess is that he ran out of the door or yard and she had retrieved him. Why she didn't hold him by the collar once she reached him, I'll never know. As soon as she moves toward him, trying to get him to follow again, he takes off toward the street. She yells frantically at me, asking me to walk back down the block so that he won't try to cross the street to see us. No sooner do I turn around than she runs at him, causing him to dart across the road and narrowly miss being hit by an oncoming car. I didn't see if she managed to catch him after that, but I'd like to think that he made it home safely.
Today was a different scenario, but the same lesson was nailed home. I had let Yuki outside to pee, securely attached to his lead and well within the boundaries of my yard, when suddenly I saw Yuki's ears perk up. He started staring at the row of bushes that sit at the edge of my lawn and I knew what was going to happen. I hurried down the steps and tried to get Yuki inside, but he started barking. Sure enough, the little Yorkie across the street starts yipping away and comes flying through a hole in the neighbor's fence. The owner starts bellowing his name, but by this time he's flying across a very busy street (during after-school traffic, no less) and completely ignoring his owner. The dog, luckily, survived the trip across the road, but then I (and apparently his owner) lost track of him. The owner looked at me like it was my fault as I hurried Yuki inside, even though this is the fourth or fifth time his Yorkie has escaped the yard and run over to bark at Yuki. Hopefully his owner has found him and gotten him home safely.
Both of these situations could have been avoided and it bothers me, even now, thinking about what could have happened. I worry, not just because I love animals, but because it could have been my dogs running into the street. Neither Yuki nor Ellie has a completely reliable recall and it has always worried me. Luckily, Yuki's obedience class starts soon and it will be the very first thing I ask the instructor about. I am also signing them up to be allowed into the local dog park. It's not a terribly active park so we will, no doubt, be able to practice off-leash recall there on a regular basis. I do, however, check their collars, leashes and leads every time I get ready to let one outside. Our yard, with any luck, will be fenced in by the end of the summer. Hopefully I'll be able to get them both trained and safely contained in a fenced yard by August.
My apologies for the wordy post. :P Hopefully I'll have cheery news and lots of pictures the next time I update!
Comment
-
Comment by Snickmom on March 16, 2012 at 10:41am
-
Sandy, it is funny that you say that, I am uncoordinated, too. When I was 20 I took my dog to obedience class and tripped over my own feet while trying to weave through cones LOL! I have a terrible time being consistent, too. One way to work on stuff outside is to buy some clothes line rope (cotton rope about 1/4' thick) knot a carabiner on one end and use it like a long leash; if they don't come you can reel them in.
-
Comment by Sandy Stickney on March 16, 2012 at 9:46am
-
Hi Jen, having a solid recall is one of the things that we have had trouble with, and I hate to even test them on it for fear that they will ignore me. We are not all that great at dog training--it really does not come easy to me--i am not coordinated, nor am I all that smart when it comes to how to train them. I had a couple incidents with corgis darting out the door on me (and they happened to not have their collars on--now they always have collars on as that was a lesson learned the hard way!), and it was difficult to get them back under control (and scared me to death as we live close to a busy road.)
We have worked very hard on the wait command, and they haven't escaped in quite some time as a result, but I still worry that if I did have a situation where I needed them to respond to recall that they would choose to ignore me. I only practice recall in the house, even though I know you are supposed to practice it in various situations, but I am so afraid of a fail. And even at 2 years old, they get treats every time they come when called.
-
-
There is a dog on our street that often gets out. We live in a quiet neighborhood, but still, it only takes one car, or for him to wander further than usual. My kids have returned the dog twice, and the owner is like "oh yeah, he gets out all the time" Now we don't bother but it makes us mad. Our animal control has come to the sensible conclusion that a stray dog with a tag should be returned to its owner rather than being taken to the shelter. So, we don't have the threat of calling the pound when the dog gets out. Guess we can just hope the little guy stays lucky.
-
Comment by Bev Levy on March 15, 2012 at 5:12pm
-
It is hard to stop them once they are focusing on something else. Training a recall needs to be worked on all the time. However, I have had good luck with mine by yelling No and then calling Come. No seems to stop them in their tracks. My doberman responds better to Sit and then will stay. I am amazed also at how lackadaisical many people are when their dogs are loose.
-
Comment by Ludi on March 15, 2012 at 4:56pm
-
Ugh, the stress I have from reading about those two encounters. :( The most important thing I ever continue to work on with Ace is his recall. We live in an apartment complex so we've no yard to worry about, but I do think that having one makes a LOT of dog owners lazier than they should be. I see dogs driven to their wits' end by the lack of stimulation and exercise just bark their fool heads off at passers-by from behind their yard fence. These same dogs would likely bolt for freedom the instant they discovered it - leaving a potentially grisly aftermath behind them.
Some days I long for having a yard, and when my husband and I look for a house it'll be one of the main selling points, but for now I am happy that Ace has learned to grow up without the luxury of one. And more importantly, that I have been a diligent owner who doesn't rely on the yard to loosely contain a high-strung dog.
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
You need to be a member of MyCorgi.com to add comments!
Join MyCorgi.com