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Sparky frightened the be-jesus out of me!

Dublin

Well-known member
Last night Sparky frightened the living cr@p out of me. He's been very good (training wise) & I thought I had recall sorted with him - he's good when I call him in the house & in the park.

Clearly I was wrong.

Last night I went out the front to put water in my car & Sparks as allways comes to the front door & I shut the porch door so he can still see me but isnt loose, then Mark came out to me & Sparky followed, then walked to the back of my car - I called he & he legged it accross the road! I was still calling hiom but he could see people in the distance & was having none of it - he went across 2 roads (not main ones & no cars fortunatly!!) & when he got to the people luckily they could see me running along behind & caught hold of his collar.

My poor heart was almost out of my chest with fear as there are some assh*les that like to rally cars round my estate & have almost hit kids - I could just imagine one coming round the corner & Sparks wouldnt have had a chance.

When I got hold of him I didnt know whether to yell at him or kiss him! (so I took him back in & ignored him for a while which he didnt like at all!)
 
I thought I had recall sorted with him - he's good when I call him in the house & in the park.

I will never trust any cavalier for recall.Daisy seems to be good,until she has a mind to follow my husband or take after a cat.When a cat appears she loses all reason!
Thankfully someone caught Sparky for you.they can really put the heart crossways in you.
Sins
 
Dont trust a cav.My mum has dementia,they were over last June.She opened the FRONT door and sent Alfs out.She thought the front was the back garden.I had to run after him.So dont trust a Cav or a woman with dementia.Thats my thought for today.
 
Oh you must have got a real fright Sonia!

I have a bit of OCD I think when it comes to doors in our house :rotfl: I always have to make sure the dogs are in a closed room before I even entertain the idea of opening the front door. Millie gave us a fright once or twice and I have learned from then!
 
I am usualy a bit OCD about the doors, but obviuosly was a bit complacient about the dogs being well trained & obeying me! - Wont happen again - the door will be firmly shut with the dogs on the other side! - Ive learnt my lesson 110%! Trouble is that he's just too damn friendly! Cass would never have moved from my side - although saying that she was fast asleep in her bed aftr a heavy playing session with Sparky!

Oh Justine that must have been awfull for you - at least I only had a loose dog to contend with!
 
They really are something aren't they!!!

You must have got such a fright!

I am obsessive about doors too and I nearly have a nervous breakdown when visitors come to stay! Most of them forget about the doggies when they go to the door.

Far and wide can be heard my cries of..MIND THE DOGS! or CLOSE THE DOOR!!!!

We have had a few 'frights' too with escaping dogs.
 
I am obsessive about doors too and I nearly have a nervous breakdown when visitors come to stay!

hahaha! I thought I was the only onle that thought that!
I especially hate it when the visitors look at you (with that chilled out/complacent look on their faces :mad:) like your completely neurotic and paranoid over a door being opened!!
 
The little scamp. You must have gotten an awful fright.

I'm a bit OCD about the doors also, many a person has been left stood outside the front door while I round up the doggies.

My OH works for the emergency services and when his alerter goes off he's only concerned with getting out as fast as possible. I'm always terrified the dogs will get out. Thankfully they haven't tried it yet, I think the loud beeping distracts them :rolleyes:
 
Gosh Sonia, thank goodness Sparky was safely retrieved. I can imagine how you felt as it has happened to me in the past, although not with Rufus or Toby. I used to have a Welsh Springer who was very willful, not to mention artful at finding ways to escape - I can still recall the sick feeling when she was loose and I was in hot pursuit.

I am paranoid about not letting Toby or Rufus out by accident and I never let them off the lead anywhere near a road. Toby is pretty good and never goes far from me, but Rufus, despite a gold star at training classes, is an airhead the moment he sees a cat or rabbit :dogwlk: - selective hearing or what!
 
hahaha! I thought I was the only onle that thought that!
I especially hate it when the visitors look at you (with that chilled out/complacent look on their faces :mad:) like your completely neurotic and paranoid over a door being opened!!

I know that feeling. My friends think I'm crazy, they honestly think that its just a quirk in my personality. I am also constantly heard shouting WATCH THE DOG, I really dont trust anyone else with Lady's wellbeing besides my parents.

I think I took it further than ever though last weekend when my sister who lives in Dublin was christening her baby. All the family travelled up to attend but I really didnt want to leave Lady with ANYONE. So I decided that Lady's safety and wellbeing was more important. That really did raise eyebrows!!! Right or wrong though I had peace of mind for the weekend knowing she was safe and happy. I wasn't going to stress her out for anyone. And my father agreed, he is as bad, if not worse than me. :roll:
 
Rufus, despite a gold star at training classes, is an airhead the moment he sees a cat or rabbit :dogwlk: - selective hearing or what!

A cavalier an airhead - no way! :jump: That perfectly describes Sparky! I often tell people he has 'blonde days'!!!
 
What a scary thing to happen, thank goodness all ended OK. I am convinced that Cavaliers do have 9 lives. :jump:
We live on a very busy main road and when Cinders was younger she saw a dog on the other side of the road - shot out of the front door which we had just opened to take something out to the car, dashed across the road with my OH in hot pursuit and there they both were standing dazed in the middle of the road! Lucky they chose the moment in between traffic light changes so there were no cars or lorries hurtling down. Since then we have always been extra careful and ensure both of them are safely shut away before the door is opened.

Minnie has excellent, but selective recall, she chases birds - whether they are on the ground or flying in the air, doesn't matter. So having had a few very scary incidents she stays on flexi-lead unless we are in a fully enclosed and unescapable area. :dogwlk:
 
oh how scary! so glad nothing bad happened. I learned never to fuss at them when you catch them, though, if they have been running away. I did that with my first dog, and after that, if he got loose, he would run himself into the ground to stay away from you. He even got grazed by a car once running from me. I apparently made Bandit think that finally coming to me is what got him punished. In a fence, or in the house, he'd come right to you when called, but outside of the fence, he was GONE and you could forget it!
Pixie seemed trustworthy and didn't run off. She'd stay right with you. Bandit, however, has such a hunting drive that he would not even hear you call! When we take a walk, he turns to chase every car that goes by, and when he is focused on a bird or something, he won't even take a treat from your hand!

I saw somewhere a great piece of advice for getting a reluctant dog to come to you. The advice said to turn your back to them, crouch down and pretend you are digging and investigating something interesting on the ground. They will come right over to investigate with you. I have tried it in my yard with my dogs and it works like a charm! If you don't believe me, try it! Of course, this won't work if one is racing headlong the other way and paying you no attention, but if they are paying attention to you at all, or are dodging or trying to stay out of reach, it could be handy.
 
Minnie has excellent, but selective recall, she chases birds - whether they are on the ground or flying in the air, doesn't matter. So having had a few very scary incidents she stays on flexi-lead unless we are in a fully enclosed and unescapable area. :dogwlk:

This reminds me of Maddie. She would always chase birds whether on the ground or in flight. The trouble was, she thought all aeroplanes were big birds! :razz: I remember on one holiday she took off after a bird, lost it but saw a plane and all we could see was a little white dog dashing along in the distance! A conservative estimate was that she went about 3/4 mile until she realised she couldn't catch the pesky thing, then turned tail and came back to us. Luckily it was nowhere near any roads, but my heart was still in my mouth! Thankfully she's outgrown it somewhat, in fact if we have her favourite toy she doesn't focus on much else.:lotsaluv:
 
I have to say, this is my one complaint about Cavaliers in general...they CANNOT be off-lead. So, for people out there thinking about a Cavalier- if you want a dog you can just take out in the front yard and play with the kids, etc...FORGET IT!!!!!! Only a handful of Cavaliers can be trusted off lead, EVER, unless they are in a fenced area or far out in the country...and I don't even know about then! :eek:
 
That must have been a terrifying experience!! So glad it all turned out okay. One thing I learned when we went through basic boot camp with Dottie is that you should practice recall on a daily basis with a "jackpot" of favorite treats when they do come back to you when they get out and you call them back. Also, as with our children, we tend to be so terrified when they get away and could get hurt, that we scold when they return. Make sure that when they do respond it is with praise and happy hugs and goodies.

Dottie got out the front door, not long after we had been practicing the recall, and like any typical Cavalier, she was off to chase the next door neighbors cat. I SCREAMED in a very EXCITED voice "COOKIE!!! COOKIE!!!, and she made an about face and raced back to the house. I praised her and she got her jackpot of yummy treats one after the other. Now, I protect that word and use it when I need her to respond NOW!

As one of the others said, never trust a Cav off lead, but sometimes they just get out, so practice, practice the jackpot and praise upon returning over and over. Worked like a charm here, even getting Claire to do it now!
 
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