Another Day, Another Dash

Came home last night to two happy puppies. Fred seemed back to normal and lively. Was pleased to see that his grazes were starting to scab over a little.

Let them run around the yard a little before letting them inside. It seemed to me that Fred was very rough with Elsie when they played. Constantly rolling on her and going all gangbusters at her, growling etc. She's a good dog though and seemed to take it in her stride.

I ended up having an early evening and decided to give them dinner a little early - you could still see some light in the sky. But they seemed really interested in my dinner so I figured they must be hungry.

Fed them, and then decided that it was getting cold so I went into the bedroom to get a jacket. When I stepped back into the living room - no dogs.

The little demons had run off after they'd eaten. Usually that means they've gone to do a pee. But this time no amount of shouting their names brought them back.

Very miffed and upset. Got on my gumboots and did a quick trek up the hill and down part of the driveway. No sound, sight or hair of the dogs.

Having to constantly keep an eye on them like this is emotionally exhausting. They could be anywhere, and as I'd learnt on Monday, even shouting doesn't necessarily bring them back. If they're off in chase mode or just too far away they won't hear me.

Half an hour of fretting and I decided to ring the neighbours in case my puppies make their way over. He was very sympathetic and understanding and said he'd leave the light on and the gates open in case they turn up.

Spent the evening fretting over them and trying to think of anything else but them. Fell into an exhausted sleep at 11 but still constantly checking the back door in case they come home.

Got woken up just after midnight by Freddie drinking from the water bowl. Let him in, but then realised that Elsie wasn't with him. Got worried. I thought dogs ran in packs? How come she wasn't with him? Aren't they supposed to look after each other? What happened to Elsie?

Crawled back into bed but slept with an ear open. Got woken up at 1am by whines. Elsie's back.

Got woken this morning by a gentle lick on the nose. *sigh*

They're absolute terrors those puppies. Yet somehow they still manage to melt your heart. Damn dogs.

I checked each of them over when they came home, but they smelt fine - didn't seem like they'd rolled in anything, and they were clean - so no wildlife damaged in the process.

Almost makes me think they just went out for a 5 hour stroll. grrrrrr. All the while I stayed at home worried and terrified that something had happened to them, but with no way of keeping tabs on them.

I've started looking at electric fences, but gosh they're expensive. The good ones look to be around $600-$800! Maybe I should see if I can get a tracker on them as well. *sigh*

Ironic really. You buy a 100 acre plot thinking there'll be enough space for the doggies to run, and then they dash off the property and you sit there terrified of where they are and end up looking to pen them in.