And I am not just saying that because the whole neighborhood saw my underwear.
Clem is a Golden Retriever. She is a sweetheart.
She lets kids ride her and she cleans up the kitchen floor. That is her best trick.
My dad trained hunting dogs for a while and it is his motto that a dog is always learning something even if the owner isn't meaning to teach it something.
Apparently Clem somehow learned running away is fun.
Early on I tried to teach her not to leave the house even if the door was wide open. This is possible. My dad's dog would not leave the house unless someone told her, "Ok." I was diligently teaching Clem this, but sometimes when I was getting gum out of someone's baseball pants, or taking a hair dryer out of a sink full of water children opened the door and Clem went out it.
In our old neighborhood she was rewarded by ten or twelve elementary school kids chasing her around. They would chase her round and round the block and then three or four of the kids with the most endurance would show up on our porch with a smiling Clem. If I could read Clem's mind I would bet she was saying, "Look. I brought you all these kids. You like kids. I am a good dog. Good dog!"
Apparently all those kids chasing her was positive reinforcement because now when she gets out she is ready for a chase. She won't ever try to run away. If I turned around and went back in the house she would just lie on the front lawn and wait for someone to come by. Hopefully someone who would chase her.
Yesterday when I got home and opened the garage door she came barrelling out of the garage. I didn't realize someone had put her in there because of a possible storm.
Side note - Apparenetly we also taught her that she would be safe in a storm if she hoisted her 65 pound self up on top of the first dining room table I have ever owned. and ran back and forth on it leaving claw marks down the length of it. Yes. That will protect her from a storm. For sure
Back to the issue, the best method in the new neighborhood for catching Clem is to chase her around the block on the bike until she gets tired and then she will gladly let herself be leashed. I hopped on Tanner's Mongoose and went after her wearing my work clothes, a wrap dress and three inch pumps. It looked like a storm was coming. I had to go catch her, because she didn't have any access to a dining room table and therefore would be totally unprotected in the event of a storm. It was very windy.
Another side note - What is with the Texas wind lately? It is brutal. (That was not a complaint. If it is not cold I am not complaining.)
The good news is I was wearing girl boxers. The bad news is everyone in the neighborhood knows I was wearing girl boxers. ARGH. I was hoping to make it a few weeks before I exposed myself again.
Oh who am I kidding. I would rather play chase than be ridden too.
What weird things does your pet do?
