The day before Easter Sunday, I received a small box from Hawaii. In it were two, rather large, filled, chocolate eggs. Yummm.... I LIKE when my parents go to Hawaii over the Easter holiday. Aloha to my tummy! (Yes, I split the confections with my daughter.)
Easter was such a nice day outside that I wound up chasing my dog, Snickers, around the neighborhood... twice. The first time was in broad daylight. Usually, I let him outside a few times during the day -- first thing in the morning, then right before I leave the house, when I come home, once in the evening and right before bed. If he wants to go out more than that, all he has to do is ask -- he has his own ways of asking without words. Usually, he will stand with his front paws on my knees until I ask him what he wants. Then he barks at me as I walk to the door -- as if to say, "C'mon, you slow poke! Can't you tell that I have to pee? Hurry up, already!" When he wants to come back inside, he scratches at the door.
During the harsh Northern winters where we live, Snickers spends as little time outside as dogly possible. He goes out, does his thing and gets inside as soon as possible. Last winter, I got a little spoiled by that and took the off the dog's "wireless electronic fence" collar. Even though last winter was very mild, Snickers reliably went out and came in without anyone having to chase him. By Spring, he was doing so well that I did not put new batteries into his "fence" collar and did not put it back on him. I had virtually NO problems with him getting out of the yard... until Easter Sunday.
On Easter, when I called Snickers to come inside around mid-morning, he did not come. I ran to get my dog whistle and used it, calling his name. He still did not come. I grabbed my keys, a few liver treats and the .whistle, and hopped in the car. The window rolled down, I called and whistled as I drove down the street. I found him a few acres away, visiting another dog. Then we played "keep away" as I hopped out of the car with the treats, called, and Snickers ran the opposite direction. We did this for about half a mile before I caught him. Fun. (Not.)
I determined I needed to put the dog's collar/electronic fence back on him, but the stores to buy a new battery for it were all closed for Easter. I would have to wait until Monday for the battery -- which meant I needed to let Snickers out without his collar for the rest of the day. He did fine with all potty breaks until it was time for bed. I let him out for his final potty-break, then wound up searching for him in the pitch black of night. I found him at the very back of the subdivision, about 3/4 mile from the house, next to the State forest (where very viscious coyotes reside and hunt at night). Scary.
I made him sit for a "mug shot." Snickers detests cameras but in the event he runs away again, I wanted to have a current photo to show people.
Monday morning, my birthday, I awoke thinking of new batteries for my dog's collar. Unfortunately, I had to wait for the pet store to open (at 10 am) so I could go get them. Trepidatiously, I let Snickers outside to do his morning business. He came back without incident. Still in my pajamas and not really wanting to chase my dog around the neighborhood, I breathed a sigh of relief.
10:00 came and went. At 11:00, I determined that I would let Snickers out to relieve himself then go to get his collar battery, take my computer to ask tech support a question about it, and use my coupon for a free birthday lunch. I let him out. He did not come inside when I called him a few minutes later. I went out searching in my car and could not find him anywhere, so I returned home to alert my daughter that I could not find our dog and grumpliy wait to see if he would come home.
I did not have much hope of finding him, but hoped he would find his way home around bedtime. (Or maybe dinner time?) Of course, I did not want to leave the house to go get my birthday lunch while my dog was missing. So minutes passed as I played solitaire, growing more and more irritated by the situation. My daughter, in her generally cheerful morning mood, noticed I was being unusually unresponsive and asked if I was grumpy because of the missing dog. When I confirmed, she took initiative and went outside to call for him from the driveway. Knowing that was no use because I had already done it, I continued playing solitaire.
Easter was such a nice day outside that I wound up chasing my dog, Snickers, around the neighborhood... twice. The first time was in broad daylight. Usually, I let him outside a few times during the day -- first thing in the morning, then right before I leave the house, when I come home, once in the evening and right before bed. If he wants to go out more than that, all he has to do is ask -- he has his own ways of asking without words. Usually, he will stand with his front paws on my knees until I ask him what he wants. Then he barks at me as I walk to the door -- as if to say, "C'mon, you slow poke! Can't you tell that I have to pee? Hurry up, already!" When he wants to come back inside, he scratches at the door.
During the harsh Northern winters where we live, Snickers spends as little time outside as dogly possible. He goes out, does his thing and gets inside as soon as possible. Last winter, I got a little spoiled by that and took the off the dog's "wireless electronic fence" collar. Even though last winter was very mild, Snickers reliably went out and came in without anyone having to chase him. By Spring, he was doing so well that I did not put new batteries into his "fence" collar and did not put it back on him. I had virtually NO problems with him getting out of the yard... until Easter Sunday.
On Easter, when I called Snickers to come inside around mid-morning, he did not come. I ran to get my dog whistle and used it, calling his name. He still did not come. I grabbed my keys, a few liver treats and the .whistle, and hopped in the car. The window rolled down, I called and whistled as I drove down the street. I found him a few acres away, visiting another dog. Then we played "keep away" as I hopped out of the car with the treats, called, and Snickers ran the opposite direction. We did this for about half a mile before I caught him. Fun. (Not.)
I determined I needed to put the dog's collar/electronic fence back on him, but the stores to buy a new battery for it were all closed for Easter. I would have to wait until Monday for the battery -- which meant I needed to let Snickers out without his collar for the rest of the day. He did fine with all potty breaks until it was time for bed. I let him out for his final potty-break, then wound up searching for him in the pitch black of night. I found him at the very back of the subdivision, about 3/4 mile from the house, next to the State forest (where very viscious coyotes reside and hunt at night). Scary.
I made him sit for a "mug shot." Snickers detests cameras but in the event he runs away again, I wanted to have a current photo to show people.
Monday morning, my birthday, I awoke thinking of new batteries for my dog's collar. Unfortunately, I had to wait for the pet store to open (at 10 am) so I could go get them. Trepidatiously, I let Snickers outside to do his morning business. He came back without incident. Still in my pajamas and not really wanting to chase my dog around the neighborhood, I breathed a sigh of relief.
10:00 came and went. At 11:00, I determined that I would let Snickers out to relieve himself then go to get his collar battery, take my computer to ask tech support a question about it, and use my coupon for a free birthday lunch. I let him out. He did not come inside when I called him a few minutes later. I went out searching in my car and could not find him anywhere, so I returned home to alert my daughter that I could not find our dog and grumpliy wait to see if he would come home.
I did not have much hope of finding him, but hoped he would find his way home around bedtime. (Or maybe dinner time?) Of course, I did not want to leave the house to go get my birthday lunch while my dog was missing. So minutes passed as I played solitaire, growing more and more irritated by the situation. My daughter, in her generally cheerful morning mood, noticed I was being unusually unresponsive and asked if I was grumpy because of the missing dog. When I confirmed, she took initiative and went outside to call for him from the driveway. Knowing that was no use because I had already done it, I continued playing solitaire.
Half a minute later, I heard my daughter open the door and... the jingle, jingle of dog tags. My daughter reports that she heard Snickers from a distance and called to him as she walked towards the sound of dog tags. She saw him followng along behind a couple of walking strangers. When he heard the sound of his sister's voice, he RAN directly to her. (I suspect he must have known he was lost and hoped the strange humans would lead him home. Silly dog.)
With a sign of relief, we headed out to get my free gyro and a new battery for Snickers' collar. But that is not the end of the story because after the battery was installed and the collar applied to my little escape artist's neck, I let him outside to let him discover that his collar was working again. Minutes later, I received a phone call from a neighbor down the street (in the opposite direction Snickers usually goes).
"I'm just calling to let you know that I saw your dog heading down towards the end of the cul de sac," she said.
Aaaarghh. After all that, I installed the new battery and the wireless fence did not work properly. I took my daughter with me and we chased him down... again. Then we came home and fiddled with the collar. I think it is working now... I think.
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