Friday, May 02, 2008

how to be 30 minutes late for a 60 minute obedience class

So RileyTheDogDogDog was scheduled to have his very first obedience class this morning at 11am. At 10am I let him out into the yard to wander around a bit and take a whizz. At 10:10am, I called him to come in so we could head on out.

No dog.

Well, no dog in the back yard.

Now, if you'd like a reference to what my yard looks like, click here (but scroll past the first two photos, because that aint me). My yard is basically a long flat skinny landing strip right along the house (which I just lined with raised beds/planter boxes this week), and then there is a retaining wall that holds back a steep hillside which is my yard. At the top of that hill, is the fence enclosing my yard. It has wooden slats run that run through it for a bit of privacy. And beyond the fence with the slats, is more big hill, and it is at the top of that hill where the TrampolineGuy lives. So in between me and TrampolineGuy is this huge open field. It is home to wild bunnies and lots of birds. In other words, a playground for dogs. A "Field Day". (I know...boooooo....hisssssss).

Ok. So, no dog in the yard, and I haven't yet figured out where the hell he went.

I see something moving beyond the slatted fence. Something white and fluffy. Something that can't hear me, but is probably intentionally ignoring me. Something that had found a hole under the side fence into the neighbor's yard, only to then discover yet another big hole in her fence leading up to the field. Something that when it is listening, either can't find its way back into the yard, or something that is possibly just outright taunting me in it's own doggie way, because he sure aint coming back by lure of love or dog cookies.

I'm not going to waste your time going into all the recovery details, but let's just say it took 2 cookies, 5 adults, 3 tissues (I was so pissed I needed to cry), 45 minutes, and about 187 cuss words to get the friggin' dog back.

2 comments:

Janice in GA said...

Oh man, there's nothing so frustrating as trying to catch a dog that doesn't want to be caught! I've been amazingly lucky (knock wood!) in that when I've had dogs get out of the fence, they haven't gone far and/or they've come right back home.

Long years ago, I drove up to the house we were renting and was greeted by the two dogs I had then running to the car. That kinda freaked me out, because they were SUPPOSED TO BE inside the tall wooden fence!

After praising them to the skies for being good dogs and not running off and getting hit by cars, I put Ivan in the house and went out looking for the spot where they got out. But it was a huge fence.

So I asked Sasha to show me where she got out. After looking at me a few times, she walked to the back of the lot and nosed the board that was loose at the bottom.

I showered her with praise and cookies, put her in the house, and fixed the loose board.

She was the smartest dog I ever knew, and I still miss her.

kasiaiscarly said...

my beagle does this quite often. he always goes to the rabbit warren that is in a neighbors yard and then runs when you go over there because he knows he is in trouble! good luck with the fence repair :)