TGIFritz
For example, when he
escapes our yard into the greener pastures of the
neighborhood and harasses all the neighbor
dogs within 30 seconds flat, I'll call out to him,
"Fritz, COME!" He stops, looks at me and thinks "If I
go to her, I'll get water and I am really thirsty
from running so fast. I'll probably get a nice treat
and belly scratch for obeying. I'll be able to rest
on my nice soft doggie bed. On the other hand, if I
don't go to her, I'll be free to go wherever I want!
I won't be stuck behind that dumb gate. I can play
with the german shepherds down the street and I might
score some refried beans and tortillas from the
neighbors. Yeah... I'm gonna stay out here, lady. You
can chase me if you want, but you know I'm faster
than you."
At this point, it doesn't matter what I have to offer
- treats, water, toys, affection, a cat - he will not
come. I'm going to have to catch him which means
sneaking up on him ninja style while he's in a
neighbor's yard and sealing off all the possible
exits so that he has no option but be caught and drug
back home.
One time we had some friends over at our house and
Lightning McFritz took a 3 second window of
opportunity to escape through the open screen door. I
took off after him. Our friend Paul Hoover was hot on
his tail through the door and stayed with him until
he made the costly error of going into a fenced yard
with easily sealed exits. He had no where to go
but was not about to get caught. He darted back and
forth laughing at me while I tried to grab him when,
suddenly, Paul took a flying leap and tackled him
football style. I'll never forget the look on Fritz'
face as Paul flew toward him in slow-motion, arms
straight out like super man. His eyes got real wide
and his mouth dropped open in shock. Yep, that was a
great day.
Humans-1/ Dogs-0