Scare This Morning And Lesson Learned!

[Guest psdirector]

So DH had to leave early this morning to go to a seminar. Of course, once he was up and gone, our boys were UP. Lots of licks on my face, throwing stuffies around, and the general excitement of, "Get up, mom!" . So I got up and got ready to take them downstairs. Our morning routine is that we go downstairs and the boys go round the corner, through the kitchen and into the breakfast/ family room area where our back door is so that I can let them out into our fenced yard. My dad moved in with us a few weeks ago with his toy poodle, and as I came to the top of the stairs behind Hutch and Tibbs, to my horror the front door was wide open and he was getting ready to take his dog out. Tibbs - being a very regimented, "I love my routine" greyhound - went around the corner as he was supposed to and headed for the back door. I yelled for my dad to shut the door, but too late - Hutch was out the front door and across the street before I could even get the words out. THANK HEAVEN we live in a very quiet cul-de-sac and THANK HEAVEN there was a man walking his dog across the street and Hutch ran right to them to say hi. I asked the man to hold him and when I got to them, Hutch was happily standing there being petted and looking quite happy. I thanked the man profusely and led Hutch home by his tag collar, holding it tightly. We were so lucky. If that man hadn't been in our cul-de-sac with his dog, Hutch would have been gone.

 

So, lesson learned. Needless to say, I will not let them out of the bedroom again before I check to make sure the front door is CLOSED. I was so scared. Hutch, of course, was none the worse for the experience, except he probably wonders why his mama has been hugging and kissing him a whole bunch extra today. I am also determined to get them 100% on their WAIT command. They are good about waiting for their food now and I've started the WAIT command at the back door, but now I see how terribly important it is - that and a reliable recall. The boys will come 100% of the time when I merely open the back door to get them back inside, but I have no idea if they would come when called at the front door.

 

Scary.

 

Pat

Edited May 19, 2013 by psdirector

[Rickiesmom]

A heart-stopping story with a happy ending, thank goodness. Hugs to Hutch, and of course Tibbs too!

[kolarik1]

Thank goodness you got him...by any chance, could you put up a baby gate, one of those walk through ones in your front door so if your dad does happen to have the door open again your pups won't get out?

[Guest psdirector]

We have baby gates everywhere else - one at the front door would make perfect sense. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Guest june]

So glad everything worked out OK. Very scary indeed!

[Batmom]

So glad all ended well! Second the suggestion of a gate. We have one in our foyer so that you have to pass through the gate (which closes automatically) before you can open the front door. A determined dog could push through if a person forgot to latch it, but it is a big help.

[krissy]

Glad everything worked out well in the end.

 

Every time I read a story like this I am always glad I never have these momentary panics. Open doors don't worry us at all here which is the way I like it. I dislike heart attacks. I hope your heart recovers quickly with lots of tail wags and kisses from the culprit!