This is a new experience for us. Sam and Cannan never left the yard without us.
Max and Cooper only go next door because they think it's part of their yard and
will stop dead in the middle of chasing a cat just because we said so. Murray
comes to me with jubilation when I kneel and hold my arms out wide for him. But
Bernoulli... This is a dog who lives for the moment the door
is opened, the moment the leash breaks, the moment we go insane and think he
might stay in the yard this time. He always leaves by the same path...the back
corner of our yard connects to the back yard of the 'cat house'. This is the
house where, apparently, all the neighborhood cats hang out. I know they don't
live there, because I know where they live. But Chad counted 9 of them on the
porch and they were zipping all over the yard trying to find hiding places when
they saw Bernie coming.
They shouldn't worry too much. If he thinks we are getting close to him, he runs off in another direction anyway, so he'll never actually catch a cat until he learns to open the door for himself and sneak out. He seems to enjoy exploring that whole street and every yard in it, too. Friday he hit every yard at least twice before he got tired of running around and went to our front door. Did I mention it was wet and misty out? Did I mention Chad and I followed him the whole time? Did I mention he had 1/2 an hour of energy to burn up before he quit? No? Did I mention I'm ready to fence the entire property?
I always thought running was a learned habit. I figured as long as a dog is kept in a fence and on a leash for the first several months of his life, he'd know the boundaries of his yard and stay within them. Not when he's unsupervised, but at least while I'm out there calling him and playing with him. But Bernie plays keep away with everything. He runs the moment he gets the chance, does 'escape and evade' any time he thinks he has something he isn't supposed to have (which he is usually right about), and absolutely insists on being upstairs when we want him down and downstairs when we want him up.
I mean, generally he's a good dog. Very sweet, comes when I call him, goes right to his crate when told to, sits when asked...but this running thing...it makes me crazy. My imagination starts going and I just know I'll end up watching him get run over or eaten by a neighbor dog or shot by a dog hater...yet I can't just go home and wait for him, either. It just seems...wrong...somehow. I feel compelled to follow him, to try to trap him, to repeatedly call him and order him to do what I know he won't. Once he realizes he's outside and not leashed, he just ignores every command that he so quickly obeys otherwise. It's so frustrating! And he's so damned happy when he gets home. Argh.
Anyone got an invisible fence system they don't want??
They shouldn't worry too much. If he thinks we are getting close to him, he runs off in another direction anyway, so he'll never actually catch a cat until he learns to open the door for himself and sneak out. He seems to enjoy exploring that whole street and every yard in it, too. Friday he hit every yard at least twice before he got tired of running around and went to our front door. Did I mention it was wet and misty out? Did I mention Chad and I followed him the whole time? Did I mention he had 1/2 an hour of energy to burn up before he quit? No? Did I mention I'm ready to fence the entire property?
I always thought running was a learned habit. I figured as long as a dog is kept in a fence and on a leash for the first several months of his life, he'd know the boundaries of his yard and stay within them. Not when he's unsupervised, but at least while I'm out there calling him and playing with him. But Bernie plays keep away with everything. He runs the moment he gets the chance, does 'escape and evade' any time he thinks he has something he isn't supposed to have (which he is usually right about), and absolutely insists on being upstairs when we want him down and downstairs when we want him up.
I mean, generally he's a good dog. Very sweet, comes when I call him, goes right to his crate when told to, sits when asked...but this running thing...it makes me crazy. My imagination starts going and I just know I'll end up watching him get run over or eaten by a neighbor dog or shot by a dog hater...yet I can't just go home and wait for him, either. It just seems...wrong...somehow. I feel compelled to follow him, to try to trap him, to repeatedly call him and order him to do what I know he won't. Once he realizes he's outside and not leashed, he just ignores every command that he so quickly obeys otherwise. It's so frustrating! And he's so damned happy when he gets home. Argh.
Anyone got an invisible fence system they don't want??
list!
