The Little Pack

Just recently chased Cheyenne down the street. In flip flops. Again. But this time, I had Dixie and Jackson with me. And my husband had no awareness of the crisis in progress. But I should back up and explain. Cheyenne always refused to leave the yard even when she was on the leash and did not have her the electric collar on. To take her for a walk in the neighborhood I would have to put her in the car and park on the side of the yard. So, one day I decided to try to leave the yard with her on a leash.  She was very apprehensive, but trusted me and was ecstatic to discover that she was able to leave the yard with me. Since then she been really excited to go for walks with me. Until. The disaster of the other day.

I decided to just take Jack and Dixie and come back for Cheyenne. I thought it would be fine if she stayed in the yard while we went. Unfortunately, because I was leaving the yard she thought the magic of me was in place and proceeded to walk right through the electric fence. I heard it beep, I told her to stay and she walked through it like nothing. Fantastic. She was so amped that I don’t think she even felt the shock. Then it was as though the world was her oyster and she took off down the street, kicking her back legs out straight behind her like a deer. I was calling her and calling and she did not hear me. I had Dixie on the leash and started running, in my flip flops, no phone. Dixie was not keeping up with me. My running seemed to encourage Cheyenne to run faster. I began flashing back to the last time she ran away. By now I was screaming.  Oh and praying. Because as we’ve established I become quite the believer during times of stress. Against all my better instincts, I stopped running. Inside I was completely panicked. I couldn’t believe all the work I have done with was crumbling.

I stopped to see what would happen. She slowed. I think she was just super-excited to be on a walk and be able to be with Jack. I kept screaming her name and telling her to come. I scooped up Dixie and calmly (ha!) walked towards Cheyenne. Somehow I caught her attention and got her to come to me. I put her on Dixie’s leash and carried Dixie back. And thanked God that Dixie is small enough to carry. I took off Cheyenne’s collar and threw it in the yard. My heart was pounding out of my chest, but at least she came to me.

I have been worried that she would leave the yard but I think that she thinks there is some sort of magic that occurs when I escort her out of the yard and she has not tested it. This whole event has given me reason to pause though.

We have been teaching Dixie to be on the electric fence outside and she is doing really well with it. My thoughts on electric fences are still to come, but it has been a life saver with Cheyenne. Jackson and IO are not on the fence, but Dixie has had a bad habit of chasing cars. She is doing really well, and no longer chasing cars or kids on bikes. We are starting to leave her outside by herself for several minutes at a time. Her confidence level is soaring. She is so happy to be able to run and chase Cheyenne. After everything she has been through, it is fantastic to see her happy and healthy.