SADIE UNLEASHED

Sadie is 5 months old. She has been a remarkably good puppy and so smart. Two of those 5 months she has spent living with us. When we brought her home she stuck by us without any effort on our part. Her smallness and vulnerability insured her presence right at our heels and her insecurity about her new home motivated obedience and good behavior. We considered ourselves fortunate to have a next door neighbor's young St. Bernard/Lab mix puppy as a playmate. Together, they would play tug, engage in mock fights, run in circles around each other and speak their doggy hearts to one another. But there has been a huge change in the past week or so and our habits are sure going to have to change to meet the challenge.

It has been rather easy to out smart Sadie into coming when I call. Lately, she loves her pal Daisy so much that she becomes deaf to my calling and lately, she'll start running toward me when I call and within 5 feet of coming all the way, she turns and runs back to her friend. Our day usually begins with a greeting at the crate door and a race down the stairs to the back door...out the door for a pee and poop over behind the garage pad. She does her business and together we trot back to the kitchen door to go inside for breakfast. I've tried to keep the first morning outing all about the business. Yesterday and today have been gorgeous and sunny and Sadie has suddenly changed her tune. She has trotted out the door and headed toward the bathroom spot and half way there, she turns around and races over to the neighbors house ignoring all my calls and whistles. Sadly, I am resigning myself to the fact that Sadie unleashed may be a dangerous proposition. She loves her freedom. She runs with all her heart and throws herself pinecones to bat and chase along the icy crusted snow. She leaps in the air and sails over the bigger dog with the greatest of ease. She is an acrobat and full of happy energy and her friendship with Daisy makes us smile. They are so comical and so far, when they play together, they stay up at the back of the house. But when I call and call and she ignores me totally, I get frustrated and have to plot ways to draw her near so I can ambush her and pick her up to carry her home.

I have headed up the woods path because she can't resist an outing. I have lured her with bits of hot dog and even Daisy comes when the hot dog container is waved in the air. I make them sit for their treat and I always treat them immediately if they have come to my call. I have thrown myself in the snow to encourage a rumble and when she's not dodging me, I grab hold of her and carry her home. But now , when Daisy is out, Sadie has begun to sense when I want her to come home and she won't have any part of it. Freedom is a wonderful thing but dangerous if the dog doesn't mind your commands. I believe her hormones are kicking in now that she is nearing her time to be spayed. She started humping Daisy. Guess that officially makes her a teenager. Her hunger for freedom and her obession to be with her friend reminds me of parenting my boys.

They, the boys, needed to practice flapping their wings and certainly, they needed freedom to explore their environment and engage what life brings them on their independent path. Sadie needs that same space and trust...but until there is obedience, I walk a fine line between trust and mistrust. And I find that reflected in Sadie's response to me. She too walks a line between trust and mistrust. Now she grabs her treat and runs away..unsure if I'm going to grab her and bring her into the quiet boring house when she only wants to hang with her friend. Alas, I fear the days of going outside unleashed for excersise and freedom is going to end. It's dangerous to give a teen all the freedom they desire and foolish to trust them without question...be they dog or human . It would be ideal if they could be relied on to do what you ask, but in reality, it takes long and patient trial and error to create the kind of devotion that makes an animal want to mind. It looks like Sadie will need to be leashed when we go outside and taken places where she can run free. Her dates with Daisy need to be determined by us and not by her. I guess it's only natural to feel a little sad about moving from the all loving mother to the leash wielding teacher but I've got my eyes on the prize and it will not be a dog who does what she wants willy nilly. Nope. It will be a dog who comes when called...and one who can tolerate the leashed walks around town as easily as the romps in freedom through the woods.