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Dear Marie,
I'm sorry not to respond any sooner; I just found
out I've got mono and haven't been up to too much writing. Funny, I thought it
was the dogs wearing me out! But I'm glad I've got a real excuse now for all the
fatigue I've felt for weeks.
Anyway, I appreciate your and others' frankness
about the Pyr temperament and your care in speaking forthrightly to me from your
experience. Still, there is some range of opinion here on the list about
fencing, walking, leashing, etc., and I'm taking all of that in. I'm being
more consistent with the leash, particularly in our own yard, where Sugar
wants to take off from me and bark at a neighbor's door (just inside is a very
loud terrier) or run a kind of loop from house to house through the woods. I can
see her patrolling larger and larger yardages.
However, when we actually go out for a walk or
hike, she is different, off her own territory and in a different mode. I let her
(and other dog, Katie) run along with me up to a neighbor's rugged steep yard
and waterfall, and they chase each other in circles and always come back
when I call. Incidentally, when we walked earlier today, Sugar went to
the frozen pond to drink some water. The OFF ICE command (which someone wrote to
suggest) worked well; I let her walk right along the edge, which was thinning
considerably, and it cracked and she fell through (about three inches down!). I
wanted her, even though I'll be training OFF ICE!, to see what she was messing
with.
Suzanne
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2002 1:42
PM
Subject: Re: [pyrnet] Re:
pyrnet-l-digest.20020112
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2002 10:43
AM
Subject: Re: [pyrnet] Re:
pyrnet-l-digest.20020112
I'm also thinking of putting an electronic
fence around the whole nearly-acre property, and I recall the discussions
about the pros/cons of such fences in the recent past. In my situation,
could it work?
I just recieved a call just yesterday from a
woman who wants to rehome her female pry because her dog would
not stay in her yard with an electronic fence. What does this tell me?
Electronic fences do not work long term. I'm sorry, but they don't.
My girls love to run and romp in the woods, and
I'm having a hard time being content, myself, with tethers and the idea of a
small run. Moreover, an actual wooden or metal fence would look really odd
in our neighborhood, with mostly open wooded yards; my husband is dead-set
against it; and the costs are prohibitive for us.
Suzanne
Most of the people here have been very frank
with you about the pyr temperament and behavior. If your husband is dead set
against the type of fencing these dogs need in order to be safe. Then your
only other responsible choice is to walk your dogs on lead. The dogs may not
like it. And you may not like it. But if you continue to let these dogs run
in the woods. It is only a matter of time until they are lost, injured or
killed. A dog on the loose is a dog in jeopardy. Plain and simple. I know
this because I do pyr rescue. I have seen dogs who get lost and are starved
down to the bone. My own Valentino is just such a dog. Dogs that are injured
being hit by cars and the owners don't want to take responsibility for the
injuries they caused by being irresponsible. Dogs that won't stay in their
unfenced yards. I've heard every excuse in the book. And the greatest
majority of these dogs in rescue could have been prevented had the owner
done what was in the dogs best interest. Instead of their own. Please don't
think I am trying to be harsh or unkind. But with me it is more important
that the dog or dogs be protected. I do not tell people to take unwarranted
risks with their dogs. Risks that can be prevented. And all it costs is a
little inconvenience for the owner.
Marie, Valentino and angel Beau
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