Runaway Dog Again

This is the third time my dog has run away in less then 6 months. This time my husband was out playing catch with her when her ball rolled under the fence. He decided to go get the ball and unlatched the gate, Kai is nothing but clever and knows when a novice is around. She was out the gate in a flash. I learned this later. I had been checking e-mails when my husband said the dog is out. I thought he was telling me she was outside not outside of the gate, so I continued to check e-mails. It dawned on me that I had not heard them for awhile so I went to check, no husband, no Kai. I grabbed a leash and started yelling. Now Kai is as stubborn as the Boston mix she is when it comes to getting her to come to you, once she has gained freedom. My husband pulled up next to me in the truck and said he was going to go up the hill to get in. But I knew that I needed to be on foot. While I was walking through an alley, a friend said that her family had Kai cornered at their house, but we saw her on the corner and I called to her. She came to me but realized I had the leash and took off again. UGH. Across a busy street where she almost got hit. I have been told that if you stop chasing them, they will come to you. To that I say HAH. This dog does not play that game, nor does she come to you if you sit down, say you have treats or any of the other things dog trainers tell you to do. If you use a stern voice that just makes her run faster. She is very fast. So after I sat down, pretended to have sweets, turned my back on her, she preceded to run back across the street, in front of a white truck and almost got hit again. So do you yell, stop to the dog as they are in the street, I did not because I thought she might stop in front of the truck. Finally, I crossed the street and Kai had walked into a place that was blocked. At first she tried to get around me, but I uttered the word BALL and she came to me. She was not happy when I put the leash on her and less happy when my husband pulled up and I put her in the back of the Explorer. When we got home it was into the crate. Jim and I let her stay there while we went out. So she got plenty of exercise, because before she ran away and had us chase her for 30 minutes, she had gone on a 20 minute walk and played ball with my husband. She needed a time out and so did we. Today, I am working on come and stay and sit. We went for a long walk and at each corner I made her sit. I love this dog tremendously and would hate for her to get lost, or worse get hit. I really miss my Boston on days like that, she loved being inside, unless she escaped through the front door. Then is was a simple word that got her back into the house, CHEESE. I need to find a trigger word for Kai because it does not seem any of the tried and true commands work.

Out of the Crate

Usually when I go somewhere, and the weather is bad I put Kai in her crate. She uses this time to take a nap. Today I decided to see how she would do if I left her in the kitchen without being penned up. I thought like a dog and moved everything away from the edges, took all breakables and put them away, removed hats, gloves and shoes, moved the chairs away from the table and hung placed the hanging curtain out of reach. When I went to leave I grabbed my purse and she headed to the crate, but I did not lock her in. She looked confused but went in her crate anyway. When I walked out the door she stuck her nose out of the crate but did not leave it. 1 1/2 hours later I came home, no pee, no poo and no torn up things, she passed the test. The only thing she did was to move her bed closer to the gate that blocked her from the rest of the living area. Now I may have interrupted her thinking up and escape plan but I was very happy that she kept the place in tact. I am not sure how long things would last if it were longer, but we will build on that time to see how she does. Of course with her not in her crate the bird definitely will need to be in her cage, sometimes I forget. A new cornerstone, even if it was only once. Of course, she immediately ate a mechanical pencil when I released her from the kitchen. One step forward, one step back.

Snow dog

I remember when we first got Kai it was a cold March weekend and snow was blowing everywhere. My husband said you need to take this dog now because we would not be driving back. How could I leave her after she gave me hugs and kisses? We brought her home and she was a little frightened, but she has acclimated quite nicely. She hates rain but loves snow, maybe it was where she was kept in western Virginia. But she loves being out in the snow. Tuesday we had our first snow. It wasn't much, just an inch, maybe, but she was out running around that evening. I took a video and all you could see was a black dog flying past the outdoor light and then nothing. She blended so well with the dark. We call her our little ninja because she can be on you in the dark and you cannot even see her. The next morning she was outside again playing in the snow, throwing a sock, a shoe or a ball in the air and chasing it. She would stop every once and awhile just to stick her nose in the snow. I also took video of this, but I am not sure how to post it here, but I will try and figure it out. I am glad she loves the snow, because I can let her out and she enjoys herself. In the rain I have to entertain her almost every second. Or suffer the consequences of her eating anything she can get her mouth on. Yeah snow, Yeah Kai.

Back to the dog park

We finally went back to the dog park, after months of not wanting to freeze. Kai was a little shy at first, but then started to warm up. Just like a kid having too much fun, it was hard to get her to leave after 1 1/2 hours. Then we came home and went for a walk. It is 4:30 and she is asleep. She did not even bother me when I started pulling out the chicken so I could fix dinner. I am thinking that I need to take a break from the house everyday for an hour just to wear her out. I am too boring, and can not play with her every minute of the day. We left after she started getting up in dog's faces. she wanted to play but I saw her hackles rise up and I am not sure why. There were 10 dogs at any given time while we were there. More and more people kept showing up with dogs. The dogs already in the fence would all rush toward the gate for butt sniffing. Which of course make the other dog get defensive. For the most part Kai hung back in this scenario waiting for the dog to get approved by the other dogs before engaging. There was one dog and I am not sure why but she ran immediately to the dog and tried to greet the dog, but this called the dog to start growling. Usually Kai backs off but she just kept trying to get her to play. Well we are both tired and now I must stop writing and start cooking. Tomorrow is another day and I hope the sun is shining, Kai definitely needs the exercise and she does not have my son to run with around the block. Stupid college gets in the way of fun play.

Sad puppy 1/10/2014

I have a sad dog, Kai is very much missing her boy. For the past several weeks whenever she wanted to play she would run upstairs, go into my son's room and steal something so that he would chase her. Or she would run up to his room, jump on him and bark. Then she would run all over his bed, which meant she stepped on his head, back, stomach, etc. He would finally get up and kick her out of his room, then she would again grab something and make a run for it. I am not as fun. I play but I do not run all over the back yard chasing her, just a little. I do not take her for long runs on her leash. I take her for long walks. So yesterday while my son was packing up things Kai was lying on her cushion watching him. She would not get up and she did not follow me into the TV room for our usual cuddle session. Today, she is still moping, though she did get my son up and she had a little race time with him. It is raining and I do not walk in the cold rain anymore, since I fell. I have played wrestle mania with Kai but she keeps looking up the stairs expecting the boy to come down them. Poor sad puppy. Currently she is on a terrorist binge of grabbing things that she knows are a no so that I will chase her around the house. I have managed to wrestle, plastic, toilet paper rolls and a pen from her grasp. This usually entails bribery. I am hoping the weather breaks so I can get at least a small walk, need the rain, prefer snow in the winter, but really would welcome a little exercise. I am sure Kai feels the same way. There is always tomorrow.

New Year

Kai has now been with us for 10 months and is now 15 months old. Wow time certainly does fly by quickly. She has grown in many ways but is not too big. She still has trust issues especially when it comes to men. The other day my daughter had a friend over who Kai seemed to like, that is until he decided to fall down the steps. This scared Kai so much that for the rest of the day she barked at him. When he went to leave she walked him out the door and then stood in front of the back door. I think that she would not have let him back in if he had come back. Noises, blankets and quick movements still make her jump. She was only 5 months old when we got her something drastic must have happened to cause her to still be so skittish. On a positive note she is such a joy to watch, if no one plays with her she makes her own fun. She hates being left by herself and is always full of enthusiasm when we walk in the door, she is still not allowed the run of the house. When we leave she is either in the back yard or in her crate. Even when I leave to go to another part of the house she finds something to tear up, even if it is a receipt of the table. One day I hope that we can leave her in the kitchen without finding a disaster, maybe this year. She is such a loving dog and I really love that we got her. She has started playing catch a little better. We gave her a ball that she can drop more easily, on cold days I roll the ball in the house and she runs and gets it and brings it back to me. Outside she still has to remember to come back and she is a little more reluctant to release the ball. I am not sure why but we are making progress, albeit slow. New Year new adventures, and hopefully I will be able to get her out on a walk more often after I finish recuperating after that last fall. Was able to get her for a short walk and then she wanted to play, I think that will be my new goal for when we can not walk a long time, short walk and then play fetch. Plus I need to get her back to the dog park for socialization as she has started really being obnoxious when it comes to dogs passing the gate. She sounds vicious but she really just wants to play. She needs a buddy, besides me.