Dad used to have a tradition where every Sunday after church he’d take his dog Hamlet for a run in the woods down along the railroad tracks. Dad would walk a mile or so along the tracks, and Hamlet would go four or five, running ahead, running back, crashing through the woods, and jumping into the creek. They’d come home after an hour or two and Dad would cook Hamlet a fried egg. It was a weekly ritual and one that they both looked forward to.
Wylie and I don’t have any railroad tracks nearby, but we’re working on setting up our version of the tradition. This afternoon we repeated our no-leash experiment and while Wylie did some sniffing around the yard, I pulled weeds in the flowerbeds and the garden, tied up the tomato plants, and did various other bits of yard work. About the only time I got nervous about Wylie being off the leash was when someone walked through the park behind the house with her dog. Much to my surprise, and completely unlike other dogs you see out in their yards, Wylie was content to just watch them go by.
I’ve fallen into a habit the past few weeks of going out for ice cream on Sunday evenings. When you bring your dog along, one of the fun things Bruster’s does is they’ll give you a free “dog sundae” (a scoop of vanilla in a dish with a milk bone or two). So tonight I took Wylie along.
Wylie seemed to enjoy going out for ice cream. Perhaps we’ll do this again too.
Category Archives: Wylie’s Tale
Woof!
Visiting the Great Outdoors
Wylie doesn’t get to spend much time outside. He was a stray at the age of six months which is how my brother happened to find him at the pound and that pattern continued over the eight years that Wylie lived with Steve. Pretty much anytime he was left in the backyard, Wylie would take off in a flash, almost as though in his world, fences were a figment of someone else’s imagination. Sometimes he’d be gone for days at a time; on one adventure he was gone for two weeks and just as Steve and his wife were about to give up hope, Wylie approached a police officer and “turned himself in.”
Several months after Wylie joined me in Maryland, I stepped outside to talk to a contractor. We stepped around to the side of the house and a few moments later, Wylie pushed the screen door open and bounded past us with a huge smile on his face. (Dogs may not be able to smile, but Wylie managed it anyhow.) Since then, I’ve been afraid he’d run off and get hurt, and have tried not to let him go anywhere near the door without a leash on.
The problem is, even though I’m doing this for his own good, and I’m pretty sure ol’ Wylie knows I care, I still end up feeling badly that he doesn’t get to spend a lot of out time outside doing all the usual “dog things.” No rolling around in the grass, no chasing the squirrels (and the squirrels around my house are getting cocky, they need some chasing), and no digging up the garden. (OK, I’d probably be annoyed if he dug up the garden, but I’m sure he’d like to try it anyhow.)
That’s not to say that Wylie doesn’t get to go outside, I usually take him out when I’m doing yard work (except for mowing the grass, I don’t want him sniffing the mower). But when I’m doing yard work, he’s still on a leash. Oh sure, it’s long enough that he can go and lay down in the garden (he seems to prefer that to lying under the tree), but he can’t wander around at will and do anywhere near as much sniffing as he’d like.
So this evening we tried an experiment.
From time to time over the past year, when Wylie and I were coming in from the backyard and he was walking along next to me, I’ve taken the leash off for the last 10 to 20 feet. He tends to stay close to me and by the time I’m heading in, he’s ready to go in too. So far, it hasn’t been a problem.
So tonight we went out to the backyard without a leash. Wylie immediately headed out into the yard, but when I called for him, he trotted back right away and sat next to me while I made a phone call and checked my email (hooray for wireless technology).
After about 10 or 15 minutes I got up and closed both gates on the theory that if Wylie did decide to bolt, perhaps I could grab him before he got under the fence. Wylie spent some time wandering around the yard, sniffing some of the bushes and just generally exploring, as dogs like to do.
After perhaps half an hour in the yard, I decided to head in. I whistled twice for Wylie and he followed me back inside. He never even thought about wandering off.
I think we might do this again soon.
News from Camp
The latest from “Camp Barkalot” is that the kids are getting along splendidly. Aside from the expected snitching from each other’s food bowls there don’t seem to be any major dominance games going on. So far, neither of them has got his head wet again, but that’s not for a lack of trying. They’re both learning to keep an eye on what the other one’s about to do and jumping away if need be. (Wylie seems the more likely to jump away, Riley hasn’t quite caught on that he doesn’t want to be in the middle of that.)
Of course, the true ruler of the roost is neither Wiley nor Rylie, but Terry. Wylie learned to respect The Beak a few years ago, but Riley is a fast learner. He tried to get a close up look at Terry on Monday while she was in her cage. I don’t think he actually got up to the bars, but she lunged anyhow. Riley then decided to take another look, this time standing several feet away with several large objects between him and the bird cage…
Despite having fun at camp, Riley definitely misses his humans. He just can’t get enough attention and wants to be in the middle of everything. As a result, Wylie is just that much more eager for attention too. This gets to be “interesting” when I take them for walks. When he goes for a walk, Wylie wears a harness which goes over his head and then his forelegs go through a pair of loops. Normally, it takes about 30 seconds to put this on. But like I said, Riley wants to be involved with everything. When I tried to put Wylie’s harness on him on Tuesday night, I first had to extricate Riley who’d somehow managed to get his head through one of the leg loops.
Heading out the door with a dog has always been an adventure. Wylie’s a bundle of energy waiting for the door to open so he can get out. Riley’s the same way and they’re both straining to be the first out. (I’ve learned to push the door open while standing behind them. That way I’m somewhat less likely to get trampled.)
This morning the two of them went flying out the door and on the way off the stoop Riley demonstrated a new trick. At first I thought he’d pulled so hard that the collar had either come undone or else the ring had pulled loose. No, instead he’d somehow managed to slip out of it altogether. I briefly envisioned myself spending the morning chasing Riley all over Germantown but fortunately he lived up to what his humans had told me and came bounding back as soon as he was called. Of course at that point Wylie managed to pull his leash out of my hands and I now found myself worried about spending the morning chasing two dogs all over Germantown. Happily, neither of them was willing to abandon his new friend that easily and I got them back on the leashes and under way with a minimum of fuss.
And that’s the latest installment of the News from Camp. Probably Thursday they’ll be working on their Arts and Crafts projects, making either beaded lanyards or possibly duct-tape-and-dog-hair wallets.
A Few Cards Short
I’m watching my friends’ dog Riley for a few days. The introduction between Riley and Wylie went fairly well, though I have to admit I’m getting a little tounge-tangled over their names. On the plus side, if I give either of them a command, they both pay attention.
Last night I took “the kids” out for their evening walk together and after bumping into each other a few times they finally got the hang of the two leashes. They were walking along, sniffing everything they came to. About a quarter mile into the walk, Wylie came up from behind Riley, sniffing away and quite oblivious to the fact that Riley had a leg in the air.
Yes, what you’re thinking happened is exactly what happened.
About a half mile later, Wylie had his leg in the air and Riley tried to do the same thing.
At this point I don’t think either one of them is playing with a full deck.
Haiku for Pet Owners
The dog’s long black hair,
On my light khaki Dockers.
Oh no! The big date!
Surprise!
One of the best parts of my new job is that I get to surprise Wylie. For the past two months I’ve been getting home an hour or two earlier than I used to and when I open the bedroom door, Wylie pops his head up as if to say, “Hey! You’re home early. How did that happen?”
I like surprising him. 🙂
Oh Boy! Dog Food! That's my favorite!
I keep Wylie’s food in a plastic bin by the front door. The manufacturer promotes it as a way to keep pests out of the food while also keeping the food fresh. I’m more concerned about Wylie getting into the bag and knocking it over than I am about any sort of pests. As for freshness, the food doesn’t generally sit around long enough for that be an issue. (And is freshness really an issue with kibble?)
The main selling point for me was that the container seemed somewhat unlikely to fall over and create a mess for me to clean up. Open bags of dogfood aren’t generally all that stable. As a bonus, if anyone ever opens the closet door, they’ll immediately get the impression that I’m somewhat organized. That impression won’t last any longer than it takes them to look at the odds and ends stacked on the living room sofa, but those few seconds in between are what I’m shooting for.
Wylie’s usually pretty indifferent to the evening routine. We come back from our pre-dinner walk and while I go and get his dinner ready, he runs upstairs and jumps on the bed. He’ll get around to eating dinner in his own time.
This evening was special though. I’d just bought him a new bag of dog food and this evening I poured it into the storage bin. Wylie was fascinated by the entire procedure and by looking at his eyes, you could see what he was thinking: “For me? All of that’s for me?!”
Wylie’s very excited right now. I think he’s decided this means he gets to stay here for another month.
I hope he’ll stay quite a bit longer.
How Terry and Wylie saved Christmas
It’s been mentioned before that Wylie gets excited when he sees deer. A lot of people assume it’s because he wants to chase after them, but that’s not at all true. The reason he gets excited is that Wylie is a member of the S.L.E.D. team and he wants to talk to the deer to see if they’ve heard any news from Santa’s reindeer.
S.L.E.D. (Santa’s Little Elf Dogs) is a world-wide organization of dogs who every Christmas keep an eye out for Santa and are on standby to help out in case the jolly old elf should encounter difficulties. It’s been a long time since Santa’s had any serious problems, but it’s well-known in canine circles that it was only the delaying tactics adopted by the Grinch’s dog Max that allowed the Grinch to hear the Whos singing and have his change of heart about the holiday, leading to his decision to bring all the gifts back to Whoville. As a part of the S.L.E.D. team, Wylie is inspired by Max’s example and is always ready to help Santa out. Continue reading How Terry and Wylie saved Christmas
Houndini
Wylie’s always had a penchant for escaping. When he was living with Steve and Rhonda, he’d get out of the yard several times a year and not return until he was good and ready. One time, he was gone for more than a week; just as Steve and Rhonda were starting to think he might not be coming back, Wylie walked up to a police officer and “turned himself in.”
Fences have never been much of a barrier to Wylie. I’m not sure he even slows down for them. A couple years ago, I left him in the backyard while I went around front for a few moments. I returned to the backyard just in time to see him shimmy under the chain link fence and pop up on the other side. Knowing Wylie’s background, I hadn’t been counting on the fence for much. He was still anchored to the deck by a long piece of clothesline hooked to his collar. As he stood there pondering his next move, I sized up the situation and determined that the rope was about three feet too long. (Or, from Wylie’s perspective, at least 10 miles too short.)
Of course, it’s not just fences that Wylie escapes through. Within a few months of his attempt at going under the fence, he succeeded in escaping for four hours by pushing the screen door open. Over the past four years he’s also demonstrated his resistance to being penned up by breaking the latch on his crate; mangling the door on his cage; and on several occasions, trying to dig his way out of the bedroom!
With all the meetings during the final run up to Oktoberfest, plus a number of other evening events, Wylie’s late-afternoon walk was frequently cut short throughout the month of September and it wasn’t long before he noticed the pattern. Pretty much anytime I’d come home and immediately take him out, he knew that meant I was going to leave again shortly afterward.
Wylie wasn’t happy about being left alone so often, so in order to express his displeasure, he started slowing down about a quarter mile from home, trying to make the walk last as long as possible. Not a complete halt, more of a pausing to smell every blade of grass.
The weather last Monday was wonderful. It had been two days since the rain, I’d managed to get out of the office at a reasonable time, and for the first time in several months I was finally going to get a chance to mow the lawn!
Before mowing the grass, I wanted to take Wylie out for a walk. But it was already 6:00, there wasn’t a whole lot of daylight left, and I really didn’t want to waste any of it.
Wylie read the signals exactly the way I should have expected.
This time though, instead of stopping to smell the grass, he dropped behind and laid down in it. I turned around just in time to watch as he let the harness slip up over his shoulder. If I hadn’t turned just then, I’d have missed it.
Fortunately, Wylie’s pretty laid-back these days. Instead of running off like he did when he pushed the screen door open, he just sat there and looked at me as if to say, “Ha Ha! Fooled you!”
Quite the escape artist that one.
Oh Deer
Wylie and I were about 2/3 of the way through our evening walk, we saw a car turning onto a side street and slowing down. I thought they were slowing down to look for a parking spot, but it turned out that they were watching a group of pedestrians.
There were five of them. As Wylie and I watched, three adult deer and two fawns crossed the street and went into the park on the other side.
For the next half mile, Wylie looked in the backyard of every house we passed, looking for more deer.