Had a little cry this morning ..... Took Dexter out over the dunes,he never goes far away from me so he was close enough for me to see he was rummaging at something......he didn't respond to Leave it ,or his whistle .....when I caught him up,it was a DEAD CAT!oh god,I nearly had a heart attack,he wasn't munching but he was moving it with his nose....my brain did a quick click to the possibility it had been poisoned....... I did everything wrong,I roared at him,ran at him,stamped my feet at him to clear him off away from it :'( :'( :'( this isn't the worst though......he just looked at me,backed away and ducked his head like he was being told off by another dog and then LEGGED it like a rocket away from me :'( :'( :'( until he was a little dot on the horizon... When I realised he wasn't just running for the sake of it and was actually doing the off,I whistled him,nothing,I called him a couple of times....nothing!he stopped on the crest of a dune and looked back at me and just stood there,I did all the clapping,star jumps,running in the other direction,nothing,he just stood there looking at me .......then disappeared over the dune.....seriously he was about 200m away,I could just make him out in the dawn light.i thought by the time I got to him,he could have been just as far away again,I knew he'd ignored his recall signal so I just gave him one short pip which I've been using to make him look at me before I point which direction we are walking in......he came flying over the dune at a gallop right back to me.....oh I was so relieved,I thought I'd scared him away from me , I wouldn't frighten him for the world. I was digging the chicken out of the treat bag as he was flying towards me and I gave him about a handful in one go...( for coming back,obviously the cat and the running away was history!)then had a little weep as we walked back ,he was a bit subdued until we got back to civilization but regained his joie de vivre when we got back to the park. I did it all wrong didn't I :-[ but I was so terrified he would start to eat the cat in the time it took me to get to him and put him on the lead We don't often have 'dead' things to deal with ,Dexters disgusting habits usually begin and end with cat poo x
Re: Guilt ridden! Don't worry!!!! We don't expect our dogs to get it right in a new situation and so we shouldn't expect ourselves to either. When Obi sniffed a snake earlier in the year I did it all wrong too. Not sure what came out of my mouth but it wasn't a recall cue. Next time I'll do it differently and I'm sure you will too Go easy on yourself about it Dexter will be fine. He's probably just under the impression that you wanted to eat the whole cat yourself
Re: Guilt ridden! Aww poor Angela, what a fright! Try not to beat yourself up, the main thing everything is okay and Dexter is safe. I don't blame you at all for your reaction, you had cause for being afraid, what with the poison situation. Don't worry, you'll do better next time....if there is a next time! Hopefully not! Now the challenge will be to avoid that spot in the future so as to avoid the carcass again....will that be possible?
Re: Guilt ridden! You poor soul! Don't worry you've just given both of you a bit of a shock but it'll be fine. You've kept your boy safe and you'll handle it differently next time xxx big hugs for you both now to practice that leave it command xxx
Re: Guilt ridden! Much sympathy. I made such a show of myself when Charlie got a dead fish on the beach after reports the river that drained onto that beach was polluted. The memory is locked in my "learn your lesson then never think about it again" box! Magic word is the thing. Ever since dead seagull-gate (last August, I think) I've been working on "eureka" - been roasting a chicken twice a week for 7 months (the freezer is full of dishes made with left over chicken). Eureka means "a whole roast chicken is here and you're going to get a big warm hunk of it, complete with skin and juicy bits". It had better bloomin' work when I need it!
Re: Guilt ridden! Too right Barbara......that's our nemesis...smelly ,revolting things that can possibly be eaten.... :-[ :'( At the end of the day,he's not an absconder and he's always comes back so stopping his curiosity to keep him safe was my priority but his little face when he started to run away from me.... Julie,I'd forgotten about that ...of course,I've just put a chicken in to roast now so I'll find Pippas training and get cracking on that ,thanks x Lisa I tied a load of poo bags in the bush and a piece of white nylon rope that I found lying around so there are markers so we can avoid it .....I've realised now though I only put them in from the approach I made ,I'll put some more in next time I'm there!its felt safe this little bit of desert because I see tracks ,camel droppings,rabbit /hare droppings and other little furry feet tracks and never see anything dead so I've reasoned that it isnt too high on the risk factor of poisonings .......oh well,lessons to work on,need to do some good recall revision too ,there was quite a few recalls ignored in the whole fiasco!this morning we've done some clicker practice of some tricks we are learning and he's had a toilet walk with me ,walking beautifully to heel...hopefully because he loves me and not because he's scared to do wrong for me ??? Thanks everyone,have a good Sunday x
Re: Guilt ridden! Just thought to add,if I wasn't such a wimpy weedy,scaredy cat ( excuse the pun ;D) the responsible thing Would be to go and shovel it up into a garden refuse sack and skip it....but I can't :'(......and neither can Chris ;D!!!! X
Re: Guilt ridden! Nothing is more forgiving than a dog. Your experience of today has made me remember the great Scotch Finger incident of 1999 (substitute a Scotch Finger for the dead cat and you basically have the same scenario). I can laugh about it 15 years later.
Re: Guilt ridden! Bless you. We have all made crazy mistakes with our dogs (and kids!!) Forgive yourself, you do you best. You were scared stiff for the safety of your lovely Dexter. Plan ahead for next time and train the 'swap one tasty treat for another' action lots! (My pooch adores tripe sticks above all things, so I have one (well wrapped, they stink) ready to swap in such emergencies. It happened - she found a poisoned rat the other day - yuk yuk yuk!
Re: Guilt ridden! Sending you big hugs Angela and tummy rubs to Dexter for coming back I'm sure you will do it differently next time, we all do things in the spur of the moment without thinking xx
Re: Guilt ridden! Just tell yourself it is better to have a dog who was temporarily scared than a dog dying in agony through poison. x
Re: Guilt ridden! What a panic Angela. Glad all is well and your best buddy is safe. I think we have all been there in some shape or form (minus the desert of course) so don't beat yourself up about it. I know you were so scared about the poisonings a month or two back. You have to do what is best for your boy. xxx
Re: Guilt ridden! Poor Angela. But i agree better a dog that got a bit of a shock than a dog that ate a poisoned cat. Hes forgotten all about it by now! Actually your experience has made me put train Leave It better with my two in my Training To Do List...
Re: Guilt ridden! Oh Angela, when we are put in a stressful situation we rarely react the way we think we will and you were worried about a 'cat snack' - yuk on all levels do not carry this round with you on subsequent walks as it's over with now so lock it away You have to take a few steps back with Dexter's training and yes use the 'magic word", blimey I had forgotten that I am going to crack on with that too . Nobody has had more mishaps than I have with Charlie, him leaving me trembling with worry and fear in fields for upto an hour whilst he went on his tour of the countryside and I don't mind admitting I have felt total despair The point is we are all learning every day with our dogs and I bet even the best trained dogs and working dogs have naughty moments even if we don't get to hear about them I hope you are OK and Dexter will forget so don't worry. Sending you lots of hugs Angela and Dexter xx {xxooxx}
Re: Guilt ridden! [quote author=charlie link=topic=5275.msg66449#msg66449 date=1396777688] You have to take a few steps back with Dexter's training and yes use the 'magic word", blimey I had forgotten that I am going to crack on with that too . [/quote] Oh blimey, yes - the magic word! I keep meaning to work on it... starting tomorrow. No, really, I mean it this time. Clare
Re: Guilt ridden! I like the idea of the magic word but I wonder if it will come to us in a crisis?? I mean, you only use it for those emergency situations, right? And in those situations you are not exactly thinking clearly all the time. I can just see myself using every OTHER word but the "magic" one in that situation...
Re: Guilt ridden! I think you would surprise yourself and just blurt out your 'magic' word in an emergency :-\ What's your magic word going to be?
Re: Guilt ridden! I'm going use my magic word! I've worked, and worked, and worked, on it. I'm banking on it! I know that the next time he starts to eat a dead seagull I'm going to shout "Eureka! Eureka!" - and, just like he does in the kitchen, when he has nothing whatsoever else to do, he is going to come galloping towards me for his roast chicken! I've imagined it! I've dreamed about it! It's going to work! In theory. :-\
Re: Guilt ridden! Well done Julie that is impressive . I am ashamed to say I forgot to start training, what with all the other training it completely slipped my mind :-[ I am going to make a massive effort to train this with Hattie & Charlie as no doubt there will be an emergency and I want/need to be prepared. The only word that sticks in my mind is Cookie so I think I will go with that and I will remember it
Re: Guilt ridden! What a horrid experience - but really Angela, you did the right thing. You know stray cats (and dogs too) get poisoned where you live. You HAD to frighten Dexter away from it. I think he probably knows now you really REALLY don't want him sniffing dead cats… He'll be fine, and so will you. No guilt - you did the only thing you could in the circumstances.
