One of Ziggy's skills is to untie knots. I discovered this when I had her long line out and it got all tangled. I gave up unknotting it in frustration and left it on the ground, where she picked it up. Within minutes, all the knots were undone.
She did it again last night with rope toy that had a ball knotted on the end. It took her a little time, but soon it was all apart. "Look! I made two toys out of one!" Sure, Ziggy.
One of my biggest fears is that she will discover she can climb out of any fence. Catahoulas are known for climbing trees, and she has the best tree-climbing claws of any dog I've ever seen. Better than a bear, even. She can turn her paws and extend her nails significantly, and she uses her paws and nails to manipulate objects all the time, very much like a cat.
My backyard is a 6' high wooden fence. Ziggy could be out and over it in no time ... if she wanted to. Thank all that is goodness and light that she doesn't want to, that she would rather come inside to the air conditioning.
Ziggy's very best friend is a golden retriever named Gus. From the first time they met, they were so happy to be together. He adored her - he's the one dog I know who barks at her to get her attention and she uses calming signals to make him mellow. He's not hyper or anything, he just loves Ziggy so very deeply.
Gus's owner's husband didn't like having a dog and so she left Gus with her sister in the country. And he ran away. And they never found him.
This is devastating to think of the sweetest puppy ever being lost and hurt somewhere. I wish that I had convinced her to let me take him. Gus was a roamer, probably in part at least because he wasnt neutered until he was nearly two years old. He was left alone outside a lot, and so he learned to dig out and escape. Looking for adventure and love.
And he wasn't microchipped.
Do I sound judgmental? Maybe I am a little bit. MOstly because I want to learn from the mistakes and not lose Ziggy.
Ziggy has pretty good sense - she knows where her bread is buttered. And when we go out hiking, I let her run off leash because she always stays near. But ... what if she doesn't once? What if she follows a flock of turkeys and loses me?
This is a balance I have to strike. We both really enjoy off-leash time, which i never do in the city or near roads. Except when at the cabin and I let her off and once or twice she took off towards the main road to check out the neighbor's garbage or something. She's so funny - she saw something that caught her attention on the first drive in and she was obsessed about investigating ever since. And she comes back, always. Once I started my truck and started driving toward the road and she came bursting out of the forest.
One thing Ziggy cannot abide: being left out of anything fun or the potential of an adventure, which my truck often provides.
Ziggy stays with me because she wants to - she remembers life as a stray and she knows regular feedings (when I remember!) is better. She lets me catch her when she gets loose. She no longer tries to run out the front door whenever it's open but instead only wnats to go out when she's on leash.
And she has a very strong healthy fear of roads. She always pulls when we're crossing a street because she doesn't like to be in them, and I don't stop that. I want her to keep her good sense about the danger of cars.
So, her adventures will be managed to magically untied rope toys and leashes, and off-leash walks in the forest that I have sanctioned. Here's to never losing her!
She did it again last night with rope toy that had a ball knotted on the end. It took her a little time, but soon it was all apart. "Look! I made two toys out of one!" Sure, Ziggy.
One of my biggest fears is that she will discover she can climb out of any fence. Catahoulas are known for climbing trees, and she has the best tree-climbing claws of any dog I've ever seen. Better than a bear, even. She can turn her paws and extend her nails significantly, and she uses her paws and nails to manipulate objects all the time, very much like a cat.
My backyard is a 6' high wooden fence. Ziggy could be out and over it in no time ... if she wanted to. Thank all that is goodness and light that she doesn't want to, that she would rather come inside to the air conditioning.
Ziggy's very best friend is a golden retriever named Gus. From the first time they met, they were so happy to be together. He adored her - he's the one dog I know who barks at her to get her attention and she uses calming signals to make him mellow. He's not hyper or anything, he just loves Ziggy so very deeply.
Gus's owner's husband didn't like having a dog and so she left Gus with her sister in the country. And he ran away. And they never found him.
This is devastating to think of the sweetest puppy ever being lost and hurt somewhere. I wish that I had convinced her to let me take him. Gus was a roamer, probably in part at least because he wasnt neutered until he was nearly two years old. He was left alone outside a lot, and so he learned to dig out and escape. Looking for adventure and love.
And he wasn't microchipped.
Do I sound judgmental? Maybe I am a little bit. MOstly because I want to learn from the mistakes and not lose Ziggy.
Ziggy has pretty good sense - she knows where her bread is buttered. And when we go out hiking, I let her run off leash because she always stays near. But ... what if she doesn't once? What if she follows a flock of turkeys and loses me?
This is a balance I have to strike. We both really enjoy off-leash time, which i never do in the city or near roads. Except when at the cabin and I let her off and once or twice she took off towards the main road to check out the neighbor's garbage or something. She's so funny - she saw something that caught her attention on the first drive in and she was obsessed about investigating ever since. And she comes back, always. Once I started my truck and started driving toward the road and she came bursting out of the forest.
One thing Ziggy cannot abide: being left out of anything fun or the potential of an adventure, which my truck often provides.
Ziggy stays with me because she wants to - she remembers life as a stray and she knows regular feedings (when I remember!) is better. She lets me catch her when she gets loose. She no longer tries to run out the front door whenever it's open but instead only wnats to go out when she's on leash.
And she has a very strong healthy fear of roads. She always pulls when we're crossing a street because she doesn't like to be in them, and I don't stop that. I want her to keep her good sense about the danger of cars.
So, her adventures will be managed to magically untied rope toys and leashes, and off-leash walks in the forest that I have sanctioned. Here's to never losing her!
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