Freedom - sweet freedom!

[CallisMom]

Okay - is Calli an atypical Cairn - or most likely (what I think) the classic rescue doggie?

As I had written earlier - she chewed through her original harness early on giving herself freedom. We now have a new harness and will use it if we are ever going to walk near a road (which is rarely but she is a great leash walker now).

She roams at home FREE. Every so often she will start to wander into our neighbors forest area but if you disappear on her - she will immediately return home! Even if there is a strange doggie! She will bark hysterically but if you leave - she will NOT venture any further. (If you are there - she will run full throttle). Even in the heat of new doggie thrill - she will constantly check to make sure one of us is nearby. If strangers walk through the woods (as happened yesterday - some boys lost THEIR dog) - we weren't outside so she didn't approach them - just stayed on the deck barking hysterically. Of course when I opened the door to come out - off she went to the edge of the woods. We didn't used to let her out on her own. But we started to realize that she will NOT wander. And I am not worried about the cyotes because if she is outside without us she will - EVERY TIME without fail - hang out in her favorite place - under the deck digging or playing with one of her toys she has hidden or napping. I feel like we have "normal" dog! We can let her out by herself to do her business and she will come back when she is done. . .

We also have a family farm we go to almost every weekend. It is 400 acres in the catskills. At first we were a little worried - if she was going to dash - this would be the place. Nope - she will NOT leave the perimeter of the house at all. If we all go for a walk she is always right beside whoever is in front - but continuously running to even those in the rear to make sure they are "okay". Even when she is running down hill full throttle with the kids - she will suddenly stop, turn around, run up to make sure I am okay, and then continue down with the kids. It is killing me! We can go for a walk in the woods, by the stream, by the pond - she will NOT leave our sides. We can even go for an unleashed walk down the road there (it is a dirt road with hardly any traffic - you can hear a car long before they get there so it isn't easy to grab the dog if need be) and she will walk right by our sides as if she is on the leash (she even heels alot of the time and everything).

I am waiting for the free spirited Cairn to make the famous cairn dash or wander away!! And it isn't like we haven't had our fair share of temptations - lots of wildlife - frogs/chipmunks/squirrels/mice/deer, strange doggies, strange people, strange cows . . . All I can think is that she has that rescue dog mentality. We had a rescue dog years ago with the same separation anxiety and many friends have had rescue dogs - all the same way. I was thinking that maybe because she was so young when we got her that she might be all Cairn . . . but I guess not - maybe 4 different places in her first 12 weeks of life was enough!

But don't worry - even when she is alone outside I still am monitoring her. And we do have a bicycle horn that we use sparingly (just enough for training - maybe once ever 2-3 weeks). We will honk the horn twice (it is really loud) and she comes flying - no matter what - whether there is a dog, a person, a mouse . . . she knows she is getting a very special homemade treat (like ground turkey in tomato sauce or chicken with carrots and peas). We always make sure we have some on hand in case of an emergency (so far we haven't needed it - but we have it just in case).