Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Sadie is behaving better

I don't know where my dog, Sadie, spent her first year or so of life, because we adopted her at Wayside Waifs.  I'm sure somebody treated her well, because she loves people.  I have an idea she might have escaped from a house or yard and run away, because she is very hyper, and one of her worst faults has been that if she gets loose, she runs away and will not come back when I call her.

There has been some improvement in that behaviour.

Cliff and I take a daily walk in the pasture; Sadie more or less stayed in our vicinity unless Buddy, the neighbor dog, showed up:  then he'd lead her away, and all I could do was pray she'd show up again, because call as I might, she wouldn't come.  So I began keeping her on a leash when we walked.

Lately I've given her the chance to redeem herself, and she has actually started coming when I call, both in the yard and in the pasture.  There are exceptions, for instance if a new dog shows up.  She can't resist meeting new dogs.  On Labor Day we headed out to the pasture and, too late, I saw a couple of beagles in the distance.  Sadie saw them too, and ran after them.  The chase was on, and all three dogs disappeared in the woods, with Sadie turning a deaf ear to my calls.  Since I had never seen these dogs before, I had no idea where they might lead my pet... but I had visions of her running across the highway and dying in the same manner as my last dog, Mandy.

So you can imagine my joy when, about five minutes later, Sadie rejoined us.  Hey, it's an improvement, because in the past she would not have given up that chase until she was well acquainted with the new dogs.

Yesterday Buddy came bounding across the pasture; Sadie started into the woods in hot pursuit, but when I called, she abandoned him and rejoined me.

She is also trying very hard not to jump on people; she still gets excited when she sees certain folks (I don't know what it is about my son-in-law, Kevin, and my grandson, Brett, but they send her into a frenzy), but you can tell she is doing her level best to keep all four feet on the ground.

So, she's improving in many ways.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am glad Sadie has come around so well. Scampi is a bit improved this morning.

Anonymous said...

Good for Sadie. She's learning!
Pam

Anonymous said...

She'll learn, just takes time. Happy she is doing well!
Hugs to you both,
Sugar

Anonymous said...

Patience is a virtue...or so they say...glad you have so much...Sadie is a treasure....worth it all...Hugs from KY...Ora

Anonymous said...

My beagle goes crazy when my two youngest boys come home for a visit.  They are the 2 that spent the most time with him when they were still at home.  Now after all these years he remembers and expects them to take him for a walk and play.  I bet there were young boys in her previous life.  They do remember.  Hope you're having a good day...its dark and rainy here.  'On Ya' - ma

Anonymous said...

Good for Sadie. I know that worried you when she ran off and wouldn't come back. Patches didn't want to mind when we first got her. Now she is doing a lot better. Of course she is in our fenced in back yard. She comes running because she knows she will get a small treat. LOL. Helen

Anonymous said...

I think it takes a while for a dog to truely become "yours".  Or put another way for the dog to accept ownership of a human.

Anonymous said...

She is such a sweetie.  Maybe she needs a new toy for her Mom to throw.

Hee hee hee

Anonymous said...

I'm glad that Mandy is improving and not running off and staying gone.  Funny how dogs take to some people and get so excited.  My Lexi is like that.  Weird too, how she seems to take to men more than women.  She loves men..lol

Hugs
Jackie