Guess who had a walkabout tonight?
And it was my fault, too. He wanted to go out so I just opened the back door and let him out. Just like I do for Zeke. I was engrossed in a conversation so I wasn't even thinking. About a minute after I let him out, I looked outside to see him walking along the trees at the back of the property. It was then I realized I just let him out without putting him on his cable. Totally idiotic move on my part. And it was just then that I saw him crawl under the trees and disappear in the property behind mine. I quick put my shoes on, grabbed his leash, and bolted out the door. I had to find a way thru the trees to the other yard, which ended up being thru tall, thick brush and bird-ox. I couldn't see him but I could hear his tags jingling. It took me a few minutes to locate him; he was across the street that's behind my house. I was calling him but you know that terriers don't respond if they don't want to.  He then ambled a few houses away from me as I was walking towards him. But for some reason, he turned around and walked back towards me. Not to me, mind you, but close enough where I could reach out and grab his harness. Don't know why he came back towards me or why he didn't bolt when I reached out for him. Maybe it's his age. I hooked him on his leash then walked him back around the block to the house. There was bird-ox all over my shirt & his leash but none on him. Stupid me and crazy terrier. |
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| Had to look up bird-ox plant as I had never heard of it. Here we call it Burdock: Arctium sp. Nasty plant with those seed heads!! Painful to remove. So happy you got him back!! Thankfully it wasn't so dark you couldn't see him. Remembering The Great Escape where 6 dogs escaped, I well remember the heart beating madly until all were home again. Of course Sam had to fall into the neighbor's swimming pool.......in November. Thankfully he was tall enough to hold himself up. |
| The dreaded "walkabout"! I swear it will take at least 30 years off your life! Skye does that to me on occasion. She is the St. Bernard/Australian Shepherd. I will go on for years about how great my dogs are trained but just as you said when she is "free" like that kind of free her selective hearing kicks in and I might as well be invisible! She is on a cable also - a plastic covered metal one but she snaps it when she see's certain wildlife worth going after. That or her collar. I never leave her unattended so I am always right there but yep adrenaline rush and fear grab ahold. It's like she is in her own little world and when she is done she snaps out of it and does as I ask of her. Has to do her "job" first.....Only problem is my yard and it's environment isn't a safe place to do so. Anyway, the feeling and emotion that goes with it is the exact same you felt last night! Scared to death! |
| That is one thing I dread. Sprocket hasn't so far-Ted, middle child (34) used to quite often-never found where he got out. He is a small brown dog with a head 1 end, a tail the other and 4 legs is what I say when asked what he is!! Lurcher and lab in him on 1 side forgot the other.xx |
SheepieBoss wrote: Had to look up bird-ox plant as I had never heard of it. Here we call it Burdock: Arctium sp. Nasty plant with those seed heads!! Painful to remove. So happy you got him back!! Thankfully it wasn't so dark you couldn't see him. Remembering The Great Escape where 6 dogs escaped, I well remember the heart beating madly until all were home again. Of course Sam had to fall into the neighbor's swimming pool.......in November. Thankfully he was tall enough to hold himself up. No, it was full dark. It's difficult to see him at night because so much of him is black. He blends right in to lawns and other greenery. |
Sonny, Skye & Steel wrote: The dreaded "walkabout"! I swear it will take at least 30 years off your life! Skye does that to me on occasion. She is the St. Bernard/Australian Shepherd. I will go on for years about how great my dogs are trained but just as you said when she is "free" like that kind of free her selective hearing kicks in and I might as well be invisible! She is on a cable also - a plastic covered metal one but she snaps it when she see's certain wildlife worth going after. That or her collar. I never leave her unattended so I am always right there but yep adrenaline rush and fear grab ahold. It's like she is in her own little world and when she is done she snaps out of it and does as I ask of her. Has to do her "job" first.....Only problem is my yard and it's environment isn't a safe place to do so. Anyway, the feeling and emotion that goes with it is the exact same you felt last night! Scared to death! That's what Brick does. Selective hearing. And it's not that I'm worried about him wandering, I think he'd come back home. Every time he's gotten loose, he never really traveled too far away from the house; no more than a block or so away from the house. It's that he has NO street sense. He'd run right out in front of a car. If there were no cars, I wouldn't worry so much. Brick used to break his cables, and his collars, when he'd hit the end of the cable. That's when I ditched the collars with plastic clasps and now use traditional style collars, found super duty cables, and I use removable chain links to hook the cable to the hand rail and then to him. He's broken the clasps that come with the cables. With the real collar, super duty cable, and removable chain link, he hasn't broken free. |
| Might want to invest in some reflective collar, harness, etc for your wandering boy. If this becomes common, consider a Lojack, LOL! hmm, where to put the batteries....hmmmm. |
| Brick used to break his cables, and his collars, when he'd hit the end of the cable. That's when I ditched the collars with plastic clasps and now use traditional style collars, found super duty cables, and I use removable chain links to hook the cable to the hand rail and then to him. He's broken the clasps that come with the cables. Skye does exactly what you said...it snaps as she hits the end of the cable. Both collar and cable. Not both, one or the other. This doesn't happen often but once you have had it happen to you ONCE IS ENOUGH! I don't understand the removable chain links part, I have never seen them. Can I get them at the pet store? Also, she isn't snapping the cable at the hook, she is snapping the actual cable right in the middle. I wrap mine at the bottom of a huge pilar. I also already buy the size made for a 80-110lb. dog. She only weighs 65lbs. Her collars are always leather. I used to buy the rolled leather ones to save her neck hair but this last time I bought a very expensive super thick one and figured hmmm bald, knotted up neck or like you said babe who get's hit by a car?! The road is kind of far off but she runs like lightning and as I said before she is in her own world and has no experience with moving vehicles. She doesn't at all require a choke collar and honestly I think the other dogs would get their teeth stuck during play. I started Steel right out with the thick leather collar because I am expecting similar behavior from him just to be on the safe side. If I don't get it than thank goodness but the poor boy has no shawl left just little tiny hairs where it should be. Haha. I keep Skye in the house when the animals are present and have been taking Steel out to see what he will do and so far he just sits down and stares. Maybe I will get lucky. |
| This is a removable chain link: You can buy them at a hardware store. It hooks on the end loop of the cable (not the clasp) and then on the d-ring of the dog's collar or harness. The cables I buy are rated for up to 200 lb dogs. Remember, it's not just the weight of the static dog. When they're running and hitting the end of the lead, the force on the cable is MUCH higher than their static weight. |
| Oh I am all over that! As I said she hasn't broken the clasp YET but I'm not waiting and with a set up like that - Holy cow I think when she got to the end she would snap herself right onto her toochie rather than snap the clasp! I got the thickest of the cables the pet store had. I will get online (my favorite way to shop) and get the thicker one you spoke of. I assumed I was getting the thickest available, silly me! Of course dogs weigh over 110lbs! Poor Sonny will have to visit a chiropractor from dragging that thing around. Might have to leave the current one out for him, just don't want a tangled up mess. We'll see how it goes.... Thank you a ton! I feel like I need to mention I have an invisible fence I just don't use because I don't like it and Skye will run through it in these cases anyway. Also that I take them all to a baseball field regularly to play and run as it is enclosed and they can run free full speed. They don't get the "short end of the cable" all the time! Again, thank you so much for your help! |
| So happy brickel return to you. That's scary. |
| Oh, Bricky! Not a good way to stay in your dad's good graces! Glad you got him home so quickly. |
| So glad all is well! When they decide to have an adventure--our hearts nearly stop!! |
| Apparently this adventure isn't over yet. I found a fully engorged tick on Brick's muzzle Saturday morning. About 9.5 days after his walkabout. I suspect he picked it up when he shimmied under the arbor vitaes, but that's just a guess. Of course I removed it with a tweezer; the thing is the size of a watermelon seed. Vet said there's really nothing to do other than to monitor him for lethargy. And to clean the bite with isopropyl alcohol, which I did. I've also been putting bacitracin on it, too. I'd like to get the tick checked for pathogens but there's no lab around here that does that. I'll have to mail it. Yes, I saved it in a ziplock bag. I've never seen ticks where I am now. The state hasn't had many reports (if any) for my village. It's very suburban; almost urban. The houses are within 8-15 feet of each other; small yards (20 x 30); and lotsa concrete & asphalt. And I guess this means that I have to spray the yard. <sigh> |
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