Freak me out,

He got out. Dern dog ran away today. The wind must have blew open the yard gate and he took his ball and went cruising. I was gone from early morning and returned late in the afternoon and when I came home he didn't greet me like he has been doing for the last couple of weeks. I called for him and went looking around the house. First place I checked was the pool and hottub. Fortunately I taught him how to get out of the pool last week. Actually he figured it out himself after I threw him in. Took a couple of laps but he found the shallow spot and knows how to get out by himself. Fortunately he's more keen on ocean swimming than pool swimming. Anyway he was gone and I went nuts for a bit. I walked to the park where we play fetch and asked anyone walking their dogs. Nothing. I drove around the 10 blocks around my house. Nothing. Finally I went to the Humane Society to register him as lost. A very nice young lady took me behind to look at the dogs turned in that day. (There were over 40 dogs turned in just today!) Nothing.

After completing the paper work I went back home to look again. I figured he got out, went walking, maybe got frightened and disoriented and hid somewhere. He is a different dog when we walk at night and I sensed if he was ok he would try to make it home after dark. Sure enough about 8PM I was going to drive over to get my bike from my mom's so I could ride around to look for him. I just got in the car and there he was outside my door. I knew not to scold him and just held him to me and I could tell he was very happy to be home. He was thirsty and scarfed down his evening meal without hesitation.

One thing, as we went out for his evening break just now I noticed he is limping a little on his right front leg. I massaged his muscles and moved his joints but he didn't wince at all so I don't know what it is. I'll monitor it over the weekend.

I am so relieved he found his way back home. Now I feel confident if he ever got spooked and ran off he knows his was back. And I already know he is just afraid enough of moving cars that he'll stay off the roads. Those 40 dogs at HHS got me thinking....

Poop Patrol,

Did you ever notice how rude some people are about picking up after their pets? I was driving on Sand Island the other day and this guy with his dog on a leash watched as his dog did his business in the middle of the sidewalk and then just turned and continued on his way. I beeped my horn as I passed but the guy didn't acknowledge his bust. So like a landmine waiting for the cover of darkness it's booby trapped and waiting for it's first victim.

There is this guy that uses a park near my home to walk his dogs. He walks about 6 of them, some on leashes and some not. With so many dogs I wonder if he does it like a job. Anyway he does a complete circle of this park and doesn't have anything to show for it. No bags, no poop, nothing. And this park is private so there are no trash cans anywhere. (I know because I have to carry Beau's stuff all the way home.) I'm not the "dog police" but it irks me to see this because hundreds of kids and parents use the park every afternoon for soccer practice and I feel like calling the cops on him. (Remember, it's 6 dogs, in the morning and in the evening.)

Making friends,

So yesterday I got home fairly early and took him for his walk and a game of fetch. Beau seems happiest when he's off leash and he was going for it with his ball. A smaller, female terrier type dog, like a very small border collie came running up and Beau took a tall, challenging stance. (This is good - better than cowering.) The other dog took a sniff and immediately Beau's tail started wagging and I knew he would be ok. Wordlessly, but somehow communicated, the two took off in a game of chase-master. It was great to see him playing with another dog and his tail wagging furiously. The other owner came up and said her dog loves to play chase and that it was alright for them to play. I was still cautious not really knowing yet if he would get spooked and whatever. But they played for a few minutes and she was called back by her owner. Game over.

(Next time I tell you about you-know-who in my bed.) More progress and life is good.

Some history,

Something I should mention about Beau. Not sure why and I intend to find out but he is very timid. When I first met him he did anything he could to avoid me. He hid behind furniture and ran from room to room. I'm learning about socializing him with everything, from people to other dogs to bags of trash. One afternoon we were walking along a park with some hedges. At the end of the hedge was bags of trash and tree cuttings. It surprised him and he stepped out into the street to avoid the pile. He was very afraid and I wanted him to learn to behave differently. I turned him around and had him walk past the trash again. I did this several times and each time he was less afraid and more confident. I then stopped him at the pile, pulled some leaves off a branch for him to sniff and examine. One last pass and he totally ignored the trash pile.

Next task are those metal covers in the middle of the sidewalk for utilities and water valves. Every time we walked I would step on those covers and the clunking sound would spook him and now he makes a noticeable swerve to sidestep those covers. One step at a time I guess.

Surprises

Beau and I went walking for his evening potty break. It's after midnight and I felt it was ok to go out without his collar and leash. He seemed happy to be able to sniff and explore as he wished without restraints. I was concerned he would bolt at something and not return when I called him. Well he didn't wander too far and when I called he turned, trotted back and took a sitting position right before me. What a surprise! I've been teaching him sit at every street corner before we would cross. Usually I had to force his butt down as he would not do it on his own, ever. But tonight he sat at every(!) corner, on his own, without me saying a word. On one block he wandered around a corner and as a test I stopped and waited. A moment later he came back (down the middle of the street) and was looking for me. When he saw me I turned and started running. He caught me in a few strides and seemed to think it was great fun.

Except for being extremely timid around other people, he seems to be very intelligent. I'm enjoying him more every day and tonight was a very exciting surprise for me.

Beau

This is my first effort at blogging so understand my blundering as we go. Beau is the name of my Labrador. And this will hopefully be a log of our relationship. I got Beau 2 weeks ago on November 24 from a military family here in Hawaii. They got him in Kansas City from a breeder originally from Michigan. They called him Gunner. He is jet black, 51.5 pounds and very lean and muscular. He is AKC register although I have yet to change him over to me.

Still a bit unsure about all this so I'll end here and continue later. Besides I'm burning daylight and I have some things to do.