My Dog Abby

Let me tell you about our dog. We got Abby from a shelter when she was about seven weeks old. We thought she was a black lab. She definitely has some black lab in her but is not pure. She is about the size of a lab puppy so people think she's a cute puppy - and she lets them think that and plays the part accordingly.

She is very cute and thinks people have been put on this planet in order to pet her and make a fuss of her. When visitors come to our door, she makes a fuss of them, takes them a shoe, and gives them so much attention it is difficult for them to get further than the front door...

Recently she has been escaping from our back yard. I think that the snow has been so high right at the far end of the yard that it is easy for her to jump over our neighbor's fence and off out into the big wide world. We get calls from people all over the neighborhood asking if we've lost our dog. Usually we haven't noticed...

One time a young lad brought her home. He had her on a leash and he walked from his house around the corner to return her having found her in his back yard. Nothing unusual about this, you say, and maybe not. However, he had walked around here in bare feet. Again, a little strange, but not that weird, but, there was seven inches of snow on the ground and the temperatures were sub zero! Poor chap. I refused to let him return home without letting him use some boots that belonged to my older boys.

Another time Abby escaped, she was found on the golf course - which although not very far, is quite a way for her to travel alone - she must have been out for quite a while, and again, we didn't notice.

Apart from her adventurous spirit, Abby has a problem with sharing toys with other dogs, especially one particular toy: a squeezy rubber ball with a squeaker and a tail. Most dogs love this toy, but Abby more than most. We used to use this toy to get her to come to us when she was first let off the leash. She would be allowed to run around and when we needed her to come to us we would squeeze the ball and she would come running. Once the leash was attached to her, she would be allowed to carry it home.

Why wasn't she allowed the ball when off the leash, you ask? Well, once that ball is in her mouth, she is impossible to catch. Love, money, all the treats in the world, nothing will bring her close to you... well not close enough to catch anyway. On a number of occasions she has followed one of us (not me, I know better!) home from the golf course because the person walking her didn't believe me when I said she wouldn't be caught with this ball... and they couldn't catch her...

On a number of occasions when at the Dog Beach, Abby has stolen a ball like this from other dogs - which makes it very embarrassing when she can't be caught and the ball can't be returned. Varying dog psychology tricks have worked - usually only once! You know, ignoring her until she puts the ball down to play with it, and then leaping upon her, asking someone else to catch her (good ploy), appearing to leave without her and she drops the ball in order to bark... and leaping upon it... etc etc. I have stopped visiting the dog beach so often, because of this.

However, last weekend, I took Abby for a long walk. It was so nice to not have to much snow and ice around. We wandered down to the dog beach, thinking nobody would be there since it was still very cold. However, guess what? there was another dog there, with a ball like this and you guessed it, Abby got hold of the ball and ran up and down the beach like the cat who got the cream! The person whose ball it was had to leave, and I couldn't catch Abby. She would come close to me, but far enough away that I couldn't reach her and if I moved a smidgen she would growl and run away... and it would keep happening. I thought I would be on the beach forever. I had no phone, it was cold, she was shivering... People came with their dogs and would try to catch her for me... and couldn't... and people went. I was there ages. Eventually this man came on the beach with his dogs and Abby went up to him, he petted her - no growling, leaping away - so I asked him to grab her collar which he did. Hooray! I had hold of the pesky dog once again. However when I tried to remove the ball from her mouth she pulled away from me - picture this - one hand on the collar, one hand on the ball and Abby pulling away - I went sprawling... but still holding the dog! Eventually the leash was back on, the ball was removed from her grip and we walked home - with Abby constantly trying to get hold of the ball... like I felt like letting her have it.

I think I'm going to avoid the dog beach completely until we get her trained to be nauseated by even the thought of this ball (we did return that ball a couple of days later!).