August 02, 2003
Me? Bad?!
11:00 p.m.
Dusty and I had another 'moment' this morning, but this time she was only narrowly a 'good dog.'
Every morning, I take Dusty to the front yard to go pee. Our front yard is elevated from the level of the sidewalk by a few feet, which makes a good barrier for the dog. I've trained her to stay in the yard and we do a 'sit' at the stairs with a release before I allow her to leave the property (always on leash).
This has allowed me to gradually give Dusty the freedom of off-leash in the yard, so she can range around and find a good spot for doing her business. She sees squirrels and other dogs all the time, but has always remains on the property. This morning, though, she broke our little contract.
As I opened the front door, Dusty dashed out but instead of going into the yard, she dashed down the steps and onto the sidewalk. She had one foot in the street (where cars usually park), when I screamed "Dusty! COME!".
She *did* come immediately, thank goodness, and it took all of my self-control not to scold her. Instead, I praised her for coming, then scooped her up and held her. This incident scared the daylights out of me and needless to say, Dusty will be on-leash in the front yard from now on until she can prove herself reliable again. Time to get that flexi-lead out again, I guess.
Why did she do it? I think she saw a squirrel. And she's been a bit squirrely herself lately - probably something to do with adolescence.