Chloe scared me to death!

[SkyeSue]

Get the picture - Chloe and I are walking through the forest (a new one to us) and actually she is  charging about, not walking!); its a cold but fabulous day. Id done a few sucessful recalls to the whistle and primed her with sausage so felt quite confident about her disappearing into the forest for a minute or two now and then.

We were almost at the top of the tree line, and all you could see for miles were mountains in one direction and the narrow straights that run under the Skye Bridge in the other. I just felt so happy and blessed to have such a wonderful dog and live in such a  wonderful place.

Just as I was musing on the idea of posting on COL asking how many folk feel comfortable about their dog being completely out of sight  I started to realise Chloe had been out of sight for longer than usual. I whistled her, nothing. I called her, nothing. I tried to stay calm but felt the panic rising. I kept calling and whistling for probably 10 minutes and nothing. So I sat on a boulder and cried my eyes out. She was lost for ever in my mind and would probably die in these hills (even though we were actually only about 2 miles from the road, it just seemed so remote.) Got my mobile out to try and get help of some description, but no signal...so had to go further up the path to get a signal and foned my pal to tell her to get the local radio station onto it....I thought, at least if she did make her way back to the road and she was spotted by someone who was tuned in they would rescue her. And then, just as I was trying to explain to Annie where exactly I was, Chloe came charging up the path  . She was absolutely soaked to the skin and I suspect she'd gone in the nearby river, there were plenty of peat boggy bits by the path, but nothing that would have got her that soaked. I just got down on my knees and hugged her, still crying my eyes out.  I couldn't help it. I know that would have probably stressed her out (she already seemed a bit stressed, but how much of that was about the state I was in...I don't know.)
Obviously, she was put straight back on the lead and she walked perfectly by my side all the way back to the car.
I'm happy to report, she's fast asleep, chin on the hearth, and none the worse for her experience.
And I've just about managed to calm down!
I don't think I realised quite how much I love and need her until faced with the possibility of losing her. Its a very powerful bond we have with our dogs isn't it.
Sorry about the long post...thanks for reading

[Sarah.H]

Oh god what a scare! I was thinking the other day that I might post on here about how good Millies been lately, and she too then disappeared! I'll forgive her though as she just ran off the wrong way by mistake. My OH had a tearfull message about me losing the dog, and then 5 mins later me giggling saying I'd found the little b****r  .

At least Chloe found you again  . I'll bet she'll sleep well tonight!

[Mundyboy]

Pleased you have Chloe back OK.  It has to be a real nightmare to loose your dog on a walk.  In her mind she was just having a good time and knew you would be waiting for her.  I have 'lost' Jenni for nearly 10 minutes (although it seemed longer)  I stood in one place and kept up with her whistle.  She came back at a pace of knots and from the smell of her she had been having a fine time!  Some time they seem to get the wind in their ears and they are off.  I am beginning to read the signals now and when I think Jenni has a feather under her tale keep calling her back or slip the long line back on to her.  I know just what you mean about loving them.  I can not read the sad tales on here 'cause I start to think 'What if that was my dog'  Daft aren't we?  Pleased you are OK.  

[SkyeSue]

Pleased you have Chloe back OK.  It has to be a real nightmare to loose your dog on a walk.  In her mind she was just having a good time and knew you would be waiting for her.  I have 'lost' Jenni for nearly 10 minutes (although it seemed longer)  I stood in one place and kept up with her whistle.  She came back at a pace of knots and from the smell of her she had been having a fine time!  Some time they seem to get the wind in their ears and they are off.  I am beginning to read the signals now and when I think Jenni has a feather under her tale keep calling her back or slip the long line back on to her.  I know just what you mean about loving them.  I can not read the sad tales on here 'cause I start to think 'What if that was my dog'  Daft aren't we?  Pleased you are OK.  

Thanks Mundboy. Its interesting that you say "she knew you would be waiting for her". This is exactly what my friend Annie said to try and reassure me when I phoned her up. But dogs do sometimes get lost don't they? We read about it all the time on here. So how long would you wait in one spot until you started panicking, as a matter of interest 

[Mundyboy]

So how long would you wait in one spot until you started panicking, as a matter of interest 

  I think I would stand 20/30 minutes.  The dog will be worried and I know from watching her when she can not see me that she back tracks and keeps cutting across the path until she picks up my scent.  I also think she just might make it back to the cottage on her own as if I have walked a path twice with her she knows that path if we take it again even if it is weeks since we last walked it.   

[beebee]

What a worry, so pleased it was alright in the end

[skyesmum]

What a fright for you!  Skye disappeared chasing a deer a few weeks ago and I just stood there shouting and whistling and blubbing............  She came back covered in mud and gave me the biggest welcome ever!  I think she got a bit of a fright too when she realised that she had gone so far away that she couldn't find a trace to sniff her way back to me.

I know what you mean about loving our dogs, I just don't know what I would do without my beautiful girls....

[JennyBee]

Poor you   I’d have acted in exactly the same way - I dread the thought of Brodie disappearing on me.  To be on your own as well in such an isolated spot, it must have been awful.  Hopefully in future she’ll stick closer to you - it sounds like she got a bit of a fright too.  Glad you feel better now

[emderpenguin]

Not a good thing! Kye used to regually disapear (usually over a great distance of open field) but he's got much better now and doesn't tend to go out of sight for very long.

I know how you feel though, we nipped out to the shops once night and came home to no Pepper.. looked all over the house, checked the garden.. no sign! (although I could have sworn I heard her bark when we walked in the door...)

Was just about to go rusing around the neighbour hood when we opened the kitchen cupboard for OH to get his warmer coat... and there she was! She'd nipped in un-noticed as we'd got coats from there to go to the shops. I was so releived!

[SkyeSue]

Thanks everyone.
Don't you think there's some training issues to be addressed too? I would imagine the ideal would be to have her on a long line in the forest till her recall is better? But its just so not feasible. Extendi lead is as bad/worse. Should I be walking her through new places just on an ordinary lead and not letting her off? Nightmare scenario!!

[Mundyboy]

I try to use the long line for training only - not to walk with, but I do have it in my pocket just on case the wind changes when we are out.  I would let Chole off lead on new walks.  If the walk is new she will, hopefully, stay close.  She has to get used to running and returning.  Mundy stays close all of the time whereas Jenni is off and running.  She is from working stock afterall.  Few of us are professional and using our dogs for real work.  What do we want/expect?  I just want to know, like you I dare say, that my dog has had a good walk and is happy to come home with me.       (in fact I will give you 2 'cause you have had a bad day   )

[Countrygirl]

I know how you feel though, we nipped out to the shops once night and came home to no Pepper.. looked all over the house, checked the garden.. no sign! (although I could have sworn I heard her bark when we walked in the door...)

Was just about to go rusing around the neighbour hood when we opened the kitchen cupboard for OH to get his warmer coat... and there she was! She'd nipped in un-noticed as we'd got coats from there to go to the shops. I was so releived!

This reminded me of my next door neighbour.  They have horses who are kept about two miles up the road and the blacksmith was coming.  She sent her 2 teenage daughters up the farm to be there for the blacksmith and she was then going to go and pick them up and they were going to the Trafford Centre.  Just before she left she rang someone and was stood in the kitchen when her elderly totally blind and deaf cocker spaniel, Sophie, wandered in and stood at the back door wanting to go out.  She opened the door, let her out and then shut it again.  When she had finished her phone call, she gathered her belongings and then went to call Sophie in.  No Sophie in the garden.  She checked everywhere but there was no sign and she couldn't have got out.  The back gardens at the back of our houses are a lot lower than our gardens and all she could think was that Sophie had fallen into the other garden.  She went round to the house and the owner checked her garden, but no Sophie.  She then went to all the other houses on that road and on our road but no-one had seen Sophie.  She went back home rang the police and the dog warden to let them know Sophie was missing so if anyone took her there they would know who she was.  She then rang her daughters to tell them that Sophie was missing, they would have to make their own way home and they could not go to the Trafford Centre because they to stay in in case anyone found Sophie.  She then went back out back to all the surrounding houses but still no-one had seen Sophie so she went back home.

She put the kettle on, made herself a cup of tea, burst into tears and took her cup of tea through to the lounge.  She sat in a chair crying and then heard snoring.  She looked over the side of her chair and there was Sophie fast asleep on the floor snoring away.  What must have happened was that when she thought she had shut the back door after letting Sophie out she mustn't have shut it properly, she then turned away from the door and Sophie must have wanted to come back in and she used to barge at doors to see if they opened before she made a noise to be let in, the door would have opened for Sophie and then it must have shut itself after she came in.

To say she was relieved was an understatement.

[JackieD]

Oh bless you, I know exactly how you feel, Maddy is a nightmare and will only recall If and When she feels like it, so much so that even at three we have to use her long line a lot of the time, especially near water, she just has no fear whatsoever.
When she was only about 8/10 months old she shot off into a fast flowing stream that had turned into a river, had it not been for DebH and Jasper I don't know how we would have got her back, she was dragged onto a bit of a bank that we were totally unable to get to because of brambles and nettles that were shoulder high, Jasper bless him managed to get through at low ground level and lead her to safety, did it teach her lesson NOooo of coures it didn't 

[SkyeSue]

Oh bless you, I know exactly how you feel, Maddy is a nightmare and will only recall If and When she feels like it, so much so that even at three we have to use her long line a lot of the time, especially near water, she just has no fear whatsoever.
When she was only about 8/10 months old she shot off into a fast flowing stream that had turned into a river, had it not been for DebH and Jasper I don't know how we would have got her back, she was dragged onto a bit of a bank that we were totally unable to get to because of brambles and nettles that were shoulder high, Jasper bless him managed to get through at low ground level and lead her to safety, did it teach her lesson NOooo of coures it didn't 

They're a nightmare aren't they? Why didn't I get a calm little lab puppy, or something similar. I must be off my head