Since we've had the perimeter fence up (this will be its second year in use) I cant imagine life without it. I may not have the dogs as well trained as before to stay on their own property for an extended period as they were before but the trade off is well worth it. At least now I know our neighbors are not getting unwelcome visits and the dogs closest to us are not occasionally getting their toys snatched! Mercury LOVED to do that!! Sneaky boy...I like to plan for everything and have a few fail safes in place just in case something were to go wrong. Raising the pups with the fence seems to have solidified the lesson that when they play it is to be in a specific area and Ive rarely, if at all, seen them test the fence. Of course they are usually too busy play fighting with each other to bother or digging up some old bone hidden away during the winter.
It goes to show that they are very happy and content especially when I'm in there with them. If I'm out of the yard it gives them reason to find me and can lead to sneaky escape behavior.
But seeing Calypso slip her collar the other day and gleefully playing in the yard well before I realized she was loose showed that she really knows her boundaries and I that I can trust her to stay within the safety of the yard in an emergency. I can only imagine how much she teased her brothers and sisters over and over showing everyone how special she was to be off her line!
Mercury also had an interesting experience the other day...He was in the house when a friend arrived and while I talked out on the porch Mercury decided he wanted to go outside. Boreas, who was also in for the day, decided he wanted to go out as well but couldn't make up his mind whether he wanted to be in or out. I decided to leave the door open for him to decide, which he did... over and over and over again! Silly pup...
Mercury on the other hand checked out the yard, waited to see if I was going back inside and then gave up and wandered off into the woods. I watched the area he entered and called him back, waited, called again... no Merk. I told my friend I had better go look for him and we parted ways, which was best, since Merk is extremely shy of strangers.
I went into the woods were I last saw him, called again, no answer... then I noticed a loose dog in the dog yard. It was Mercury!! He had crawled under the fence and broken back into the yard!!
I guess it goes to show that all the years we have set up, built and maintained as much of a haven for the dogs as we could that its finally paying off. If the dogs are content to stay within the safety of their home and love it so much that they would rather break in than run off... I really cant think of a finer compliment!!
Posts
