I woke up this morning to unexpected good news. Someone wanted to buy an old domain name I haven’t used in years. We negotiated and in an hour or so I had my emergency fund for the big road trip in my Paypal account. Talk about serendipity! As a friend pointed out when I told her about it, “The Universe wants you to go on this trip.” Thank you, Universe!
In other news
I had quite a scare last week when I let Scout out of the van in the morning and soon heard her going ballistic. She barks at pretty much anything unusual but this was way beyond that. I looked outside and saw her chasing a coyote through the mesquite, but it wasn’t exactly running away. It seemed to be taunting her.
Just the night before, I’d watched a video by vandweller guru Bob Wells about the down-sides and dangers of owning a dog on the road, so I was freaking out.
Coyotes have this little trick, see
They send one or two out from the pack to lure a dog away from camp, and then they all enjoy an easy lunch. It happened once before when we were camping in Big Bear when Scout was still a puppy. That time, she came back to me when I called. Not this time.
I grabbed Scout’s leash and ran after her in a panic. Except I’m old and out of shape and running for me looks more like fast walking and lots of huffing and puffing. I called and called as I ‘ran’. By now, she was out of sight but I kept calling and ‘running’ in the direction of her barks.
And then Scout stopped barking
My heart nearly stopped too. But I didn’t hear any yips of pain so there was still hope that they hadn’t gotten her yet. I kept ‘running’.
Suddenly, she came toward me out of the mesquite bushes, a happy smile on her face. She had performed her self-appointed duty of guarding my friend Linda’s desert property, and was quite proud of herself. I was so relieved I nearly sat right down on the ground.
After that terrifying experience, I’ve stopped letting Scout run loose in the morning. Instead, I’ve been taking her for a long walk, first thing, to give both of us some exercise, and also to case the neighborhood for coyotes. They’re pretty nocturnal here, so I’m hopeful they’ve bedded down by the time we come back. Then, Scout is free to roam but she mainly hangs around camp acting like a proper guard dog. She takes her responsibility seriously.
But I’ve been worrying
We are bound to encounter more wild animals on our big trip, not just coyotes but wolves and even bears. We’ll be going through grizzly country, for crissake.
I want to let Scout run free as much as possible when we are away from cities, but I can’t trust her to come when called and I know what a trigger another animal can be for her. I’ve taken her through two training classes, but I can’t blame Scout for her lack of discipline. I haven’t worked with her the way I should have.
So when I came across an ad for an online class with a service dog trainer that promised to teach me how to get her under control, on- and off-leash, I jumped at it. It’s a cheesy sales page but I watched a two-hour webinar with this guy and came away convinced that if I do the work with her in the next eight weeks, I’ll never again have to worry about Scout running off and getting herself killed.
The class starts Monday
We’ll be working on this during the trip too. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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I know that desperate feeling and because of my dog’s prey drive that can’t be squelched with any command, I never let him off leash. But what will happen when we go on the road? And there are two cats coming with me. Sigh…
On a more positive note, I love your story about the bonus money that will be such a boon when you are going on your big trip. Fantastic! Oh, and I hope your and Scout have lots of success with the class.
I’m off to walk my beast and I can’t find his prong collar, so I sure hope nothing really tempting walks across his path; he has dragged me across the pavement a time or two. Ouch.
I hope you are strong enough to hang onto your dog, Linda. Scout is ALMOST stronger than me but thank goodness I got one of those front-pull harnesses that holds her back a bit.
The bonus money is already gone, alas, but it went to important things for the trip, like registering the van at our new address in Arizona, freeze-dried and dehydrated food, and so on. I was able to cut my monthly expenses, such as auto insurance and cell phone/internet by $160/month, which will go into replenishing my miniscule emergency fund.
Scout is not unlike her master. She is seeking the freedom to run and explore, unchained by a society full of laws, rules, limits, boundaries, etc. But, as we all learn, while we are freer than most, we still have to abide by certain disciplines or we could be “eaten.” So, as you’ve continued to learn, LaVonne, I trust this course will be a good thing for both of you. Living free, my mantra, is wonderful – but, there are pitfalls and no one is ever 100% free.
That is so true, Ed, thank you!
Dearest Lavonne, and scout too, hello from New Zealand.
I’m one of those people that dogs like, well cats too actually and chickens, but that’s another story.
The thing I do differently than most people is trust the dog even a big barking jumpy dog, I trust that they are just doing guard duty. So I let them do their duty and let them guard me too, this confuses the owners sometimes, because the dog is not guarding them. The reason in many cases is the owner does not treat the dog as a dog but as a child or even like a robot.
If you are genuinely worried by wild animals like wolves, get a new collar for scout, a big wide thick leather one with metal spikes sticking outwards. The reason for that is wolves got for the neck/throat, and with “dog tags ” and the wide collar, it will be much more difficult for a bite to be effective in that area.
As far as bears are concerned, dogs are not stupid they know bears are a threat, and will help you avoid them.
You could try a dog whistle, that can work over long distances, just remember to praise scout every time he responds to the whistle, good dog.
If your dog is dragging you, there is only one way to fix that behavior, its the learning to sit and stand, and to walk on only when you do. 100% the ONLY way that works, is to correct him every single time. He will get it in a few hours if you have patience. Short lead, SIT, press ass down, GOOD DOG. Release lead a little, UP, lift dog up, GOOD DOG. repeat, repeat, repeat. From UP, WALK, move forward at your pace, if he goes too fast, short lead SIT. GOOD DOG. Always GOOD DOG. If he is all wiggly and wanting to rush off, SIT, GOOD DOG, sit yourself down with him, put one hand on his shoulder with a tiny bit of pressure like a little bite from your hand, hold that until he calms down. GOOD DOG. Then you get up compose yourself, and begin again.
Good luck, and GOOD GIRL.
One last thing if you are tense the dog will be doubly tense. practice being calm for you and your dog.
Blessed be.
BFG
Thank you for the tips!