A Dog Day April Fool
Yesterday was April Fool's day and although we didn't plan to play any jokes on anyone else, it felt as though we were being pranked!
My plan for yesterday was to get out of the house in the early afternoon to take Keli and Penny for a walk around the neighborhood and maybe practice some of Penny's training homework along the way. Later, I planned to take Penny "shopping" for one of our socializing excursions to Petco or PetSmart, and Keli could take a nice nap while we were gone. I hoped to be home by mid-afternoon so I could do the many loads of laundry and other "housework" before 7:00 so I could relax and watch the Mets second game of the season.
In preparation for our walk, I packed the usual supplies including cheese for reward treats. When Keli saw that I had her walking leash in my hands, she was very eager to get going, and circled the table twice in anticipation before I could hook her up. Penny always is enthusiastic about anything having to do with a leash, so she was an easy capture.
We left the house through the garage door -- this time I had both the garage door clicker *and* my front door keys -- I am *not* going to get locked out again!
Anyway, we started out down the driveway and were just getting around the circle of our cul-de-sac when we heard a "woof" behind us. I looked to see who it could be and saw our neighbors' rather large dog loose in the driveway.
"Please don't be out alone" I thought to myself. This isn't the first time a large dog has been loose around here; I like dogs, I just prefer them to be smaller than I am and not able to devour my westies for lunch.
I tried to steer the girls back towards our house so we could make a quiet escape back into the garage, but that was not to be. Loudmouth Penny saw the other dog and started her usual barkiness and Keli chimed in with her own brand of barking and whining. So of course this dog had to run to meet us in our front yard. When we were up close I could see that he looked like a pit bull mix, very similar to my brother's dog Deja, only bigger.
I tried to be calm -- "what would the Dog Whisperer do?", I was thinking. The three dogs were checking each other out and being friendly. I was watching their body language and everyone seemed to be in a good mood, so I thought maybe he'll just say hello and then get bored with these chicks and go home. Uh, no.
Penny decided she wanted to wrestle him and barked in his face. He seemed confused by this little white demon. Then my two started circling around me and my legs were getting wrapped in the leashes. Uh-oh, what if I get knocked over or can't run away . . . so I decided I had at least one, maybe two too many dogs around me. But how do I get these two in the house without inviting our new "friend" inside with them?
That's when I remembered the cheese. So I took out a piece, held it in front of his nose and told him to sit. And he sat. Then he gobbled the cheese. And then he wanted more. He tried to stick his face in my treat bag, followed by some big paws. I think he jumped at me once, too, which only infuriated Penny more. I told him no - off and pushed him away. I tried to make everyone sit . . . no success. And he wanted more cheese.
So I opened the garage door, hoping I could somehow distract him, get the westies inside and get it closed. But as soon as the door was opened he ran in to investigate. This really got Penny worked up. I managed to get him interested in the cheese again, outside the garage. I tossed a couple of pieces of cheese out on the driveway, dragged the girls inside the garage and clicked the remote. It was almost closed when somebody broke the light beam and it started going back up again. I was running out of cheese . . . after several more attempts, we finally got the door closed with our visitor outside and the westies and I safely inside.
Once we were in the kitchen, I checked them both out -- there had been no snarling or teeth baring (except by Penny) so they were both fine. And I was fine, just a little shaky. But we still had our friend outside, wandering loose. I grabbed a handful of biscuits and sneaked out the back door, hoping he would not see where I had come from and return later.
He was actually a very nice dog. I didn't know his name, so I called him "buddy" or "good boy" and offered him a biscuit. His manners could use some improvement, as he snatched it and jumped at me again. But he stayed off when I told him no. And he walked nicely next to me when I said let's go. I walked him home and rang the door bell, but nobody was home.
What do I do now? I looked around and saw there was an open gate to his yard, so I tossed in a biscuit and closed the gate behind him when he went for it. I turned to go home, but a moment later he was right back next to me again. He had jumped right over the fence, which must be at least 6 feet tall.
I was at a loss what to do next -- I couldn't just leave him wandering the streets to be hit by a car or something. So I tried telling him to sit and stay. He obeyed both, until I started walking away and he followed me. I was all out of biscuits by now, but I guess he had decided I was his friend. He walked back and forth with me from his house to mine and back again.
But it was getting late, and I had my own dogs to think about . . . and I thought it was curious that all my neighbors who happened to drive by us (and who know that I own small white dogs) never stopped to see what was going on when I was walking with this big brown dog. Very helpful indeed.
At last, a car turned onto our street and pulled into his driveway. His owner was home! So we walked over and I asked her if this was one of her dogs? She appeared to be in shock and amazement -- and reasonably so, because she explained that she had left him INSIDE the house when she went out, not in the yard. He had escaped locked doors to get outside.
I learned his name is Barney and he is indeed a pit bull mix, probably less than a year old and he had been a stray that they had rescued. And, yes, he does have a jumping problem, which they are working on. Kind of like Penny and her barking . . .
We had to laugh as I explained what we'd been up to for the past half-hour or so. She further explained that he is an escape artist and she usually kennels him inside the house when she leaves, but since she didn't plan to be gone long, she wanted to see what would happen if she left him loose in the house. Now we all know what could happen; and I think Barney will be kenneled for some time to come! At least, I hope so!
A couple of weeks ago, I locked myself out of the house with the two westies and no keys or cell phone. I had gone door to door to all my neighbors, hoping to find someone home so I could call Rich to come home and let us in. No one answered their door -- except when I had knocked at Barney's house. That day, his owner had lent us a cell phone to make the call and even offered to have us wait inside with them. She was so nice and we were so grateful for her assistance.
It felt good to be able to return the favor.
After it was all over, I returned home to find my two silly girls anxiously waiting by the back door. But no "accidents" in the house, even though it was well past time for Penny to go "out". I took a few minutes to collect myself, and we continued with our original plan to walk and then go shopping. The walk was pretty uneventful and when we were done, Keli was very obliging and as soon as I turned on her music and took out her treats she jumped in her crate to nap.
Penny and I headed out to Petco, since it was so late and I wanted to get out and get home before 5pm. The last time we went to Petco there was so much car traffic and so many people, it was overwhelming for both of us. This time was much quieter and the people and dogs we met were mostly friendly and understanding that Penny was just learning how to be out in public politely. And she was a little bit better behaved. We spent about 30 minutes inside the store and then we walked up and down the sidewalk of the strip mall for a while, just to see who we could meet and greet.
I'd give her a B- for this outing, mainly because she barked in the face of a little girl who had just finished telling her mother how cute she was, but "if she bites me, I'll bite her back."
Just another day in Westieland . . .
My plan for yesterday was to get out of the house in the early afternoon to take Keli and Penny for a walk around the neighborhood and maybe practice some of Penny's training homework along the way. Later, I planned to take Penny "shopping" for one of our socializing excursions to Petco or PetSmart, and Keli could take a nice nap while we were gone. I hoped to be home by mid-afternoon so I could do the many loads of laundry and other "housework" before 7:00 so I could relax and watch the Mets second game of the season.
In preparation for our walk, I packed the usual supplies including cheese for reward treats. When Keli saw that I had her walking leash in my hands, she was very eager to get going, and circled the table twice in anticipation before I could hook her up. Penny always is enthusiastic about anything having to do with a leash, so she was an easy capture.
We left the house through the garage door -- this time I had both the garage door clicker *and* my front door keys -- I am *not* going to get locked out again!
Anyway, we started out down the driveway and were just getting around the circle of our cul-de-sac when we heard a "woof" behind us. I looked to see who it could be and saw our neighbors' rather large dog loose in the driveway.
"Please don't be out alone" I thought to myself. This isn't the first time a large dog has been loose around here; I like dogs, I just prefer them to be smaller than I am and not able to devour my westies for lunch.
I tried to steer the girls back towards our house so we could make a quiet escape back into the garage, but that was not to be. Loudmouth Penny saw the other dog and started her usual barkiness and Keli chimed in with her own brand of barking and whining. So of course this dog had to run to meet us in our front yard. When we were up close I could see that he looked like a pit bull mix, very similar to my brother's dog Deja, only bigger.
I tried to be calm -- "what would the Dog Whisperer do?", I was thinking. The three dogs were checking each other out and being friendly. I was watching their body language and everyone seemed to be in a good mood, so I thought maybe he'll just say hello and then get bored with these chicks and go home. Uh, no.
Penny decided she wanted to wrestle him and barked in his face. He seemed confused by this little white demon. Then my two started circling around me and my legs were getting wrapped in the leashes. Uh-oh, what if I get knocked over or can't run away . . . so I decided I had at least one, maybe two too many dogs around me. But how do I get these two in the house without inviting our new "friend" inside with them?
That's when I remembered the cheese. So I took out a piece, held it in front of his nose and told him to sit. And he sat. Then he gobbled the cheese. And then he wanted more. He tried to stick his face in my treat bag, followed by some big paws. I think he jumped at me once, too, which only infuriated Penny more. I told him no - off and pushed him away. I tried to make everyone sit . . . no success. And he wanted more cheese.
So I opened the garage door, hoping I could somehow distract him, get the westies inside and get it closed. But as soon as the door was opened he ran in to investigate. This really got Penny worked up. I managed to get him interested in the cheese again, outside the garage. I tossed a couple of pieces of cheese out on the driveway, dragged the girls inside the garage and clicked the remote. It was almost closed when somebody broke the light beam and it started going back up again. I was running out of cheese . . . after several more attempts, we finally got the door closed with our visitor outside and the westies and I safely inside.
Once we were in the kitchen, I checked them both out -- there had been no snarling or teeth baring (except by Penny) so they were both fine. And I was fine, just a little shaky. But we still had our friend outside, wandering loose. I grabbed a handful of biscuits and sneaked out the back door, hoping he would not see where I had come from and return later.
He was actually a very nice dog. I didn't know his name, so I called him "buddy" or "good boy" and offered him a biscuit. His manners could use some improvement, as he snatched it and jumped at me again. But he stayed off when I told him no. And he walked nicely next to me when I said let's go. I walked him home and rang the door bell, but nobody was home.
What do I do now? I looked around and saw there was an open gate to his yard, so I tossed in a biscuit and closed the gate behind him when he went for it. I turned to go home, but a moment later he was right back next to me again. He had jumped right over the fence, which must be at least 6 feet tall.
I was at a loss what to do next -- I couldn't just leave him wandering the streets to be hit by a car or something. So I tried telling him to sit and stay. He obeyed both, until I started walking away and he followed me. I was all out of biscuits by now, but I guess he had decided I was his friend. He walked back and forth with me from his house to mine and back again.
But it was getting late, and I had my own dogs to think about . . . and I thought it was curious that all my neighbors who happened to drive by us (and who know that I own small white dogs) never stopped to see what was going on when I was walking with this big brown dog. Very helpful indeed.
At last, a car turned onto our street and pulled into his driveway. His owner was home! So we walked over and I asked her if this was one of her dogs? She appeared to be in shock and amazement -- and reasonably so, because she explained that she had left him INSIDE the house when she went out, not in the yard. He had escaped locked doors to get outside.
I learned his name is Barney and he is indeed a pit bull mix, probably less than a year old and he had been a stray that they had rescued. And, yes, he does have a jumping problem, which they are working on. Kind of like Penny and her barking . . .
We had to laugh as I explained what we'd been up to for the past half-hour or so. She further explained that he is an escape artist and she usually kennels him inside the house when she leaves, but since she didn't plan to be gone long, she wanted to see what would happen if she left him loose in the house. Now we all know what could happen; and I think Barney will be kenneled for some time to come! At least, I hope so!
A couple of weeks ago, I locked myself out of the house with the two westies and no keys or cell phone. I had gone door to door to all my neighbors, hoping to find someone home so I could call Rich to come home and let us in. No one answered their door -- except when I had knocked at Barney's house. That day, his owner had lent us a cell phone to make the call and even offered to have us wait inside with them. She was so nice and we were so grateful for her assistance.
It felt good to be able to return the favor.
After it was all over, I returned home to find my two silly girls anxiously waiting by the back door. But no "accidents" in the house, even though it was well past time for Penny to go "out". I took a few minutes to collect myself, and we continued with our original plan to walk and then go shopping. The walk was pretty uneventful and when we were done, Keli was very obliging and as soon as I turned on her music and took out her treats she jumped in her crate to nap.
Penny and I headed out to Petco, since it was so late and I wanted to get out and get home before 5pm. The last time we went to Petco there was so much car traffic and so many people, it was overwhelming for both of us. This time was much quieter and the people and dogs we met were mostly friendly and understanding that Penny was just learning how to be out in public politely. And she was a little bit better behaved. We spent about 30 minutes inside the store and then we walked up and down the sidewalk of the strip mall for a while, just to see who we could meet and greet.
I'd give her a B- for this outing, mainly because she barked in the face of a little girl who had just finished telling her mother how cute she was, but "if she bites me, I'll bite her back."
Just another day in Westieland . . .
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