Yesterday we had a bit of time of it with dear Zeus. Somehow he got out from the front garden, but not into the field, he got out onto the mountain. On seeing he was missing, I put Sammi into the van and drove down to the village. Frank and Linda got into the car and drove up hill where they found him by Plas Braich. Frank phoned me and I came back up, by then he had legged it down the track and gone left then down towards Fron Ffarm. I can't say I parked the van, I abandoned it in the middle of the road and got Sammi out. I called him and played with her, giving her treats, but he didn't come close enough for me to get hold of him. I walked back towards the van to get my phone hoping that "Photo - Wait" may work, how naive was I! He then bolted past me towards Frank's car, but then took a turn in the opposite direction. Leaving my van in the middle of the road, keys in the ignition, I stated to walk up the track with Sammi. Eventually he decided to follow me, walking at quite a distance behind. Steve was by the wall and Dave (neighbour) was also out. I told them both to blank him and asked them to let me know if he stopped following me. Without looking back I went into the property and then the house. I decided to come out with Meerah, by then he was at the front of the caravan, so I legged it up and closed the top gate. Part one was complete!
Part two was not going to be fun and I think it took about 40 mins before we managed to contain him, he still had 2 acres of freedom and was not coming in easily. Courtesy of the sheep, the field fencing is now unsafe, and I was so afraid he'd get out again. Unfortunately, Steve fell in the middle of the field, but he told me to concentrate on trying to get "his dog" safe. To be honest I couldn't get near Steve anyway as Meerah though it was hilarious that he was laying on his back in the field! We must have walked miles from one side of the field to the other, trying all the tricks of the trade, but he would not come near me. In the heat Sammi was beginning to flag, and she became my priority, so I bought her and Meerah into the house and went out with fresh legs ... Beti! Zeus ran up to Beti and started to play, but I think he was flagging now too. I took Beti into the yard, he didn't follow, I let her lose in the top field, he stood and watched, and then for some reason he turned tail and went into the caravan garden. I screamed, "Close the fecking gate ... and happy fecking Xmas, he's your problem now!" I put Beti back in the house, but unfortunately my Xmas pressie was rejected and I had to go and get him. He was laying under a tree in the corner of the garden, as I approached him he thought about running, but again I screamed "You fecking wait!" He did, I could have battered him, but what was the point? I marched him home, shoved him in the bedroom and closed the door.
What is wrong with the dog? Why is he so different to every other GSD I've come across? Why has he no willingness to please anyone but himself? It really is not a normal breed characteristic to not want to be with their "pack." Was this dog made or bred? Nature or nurture? Or maybe a bit of both? I've said it before, if he'd been my first GSD, I would NEVER have had another, it's a bloody good thing I know he is a very rare exception to the rule.
Anyway, back to yesterday, I think the four of us were exhausted, and Steve, who did eventually manage to get to his feet by himself, was battered bruised and sore, but not broken. Frank got the van home for me, and I collapsed in a heap to consider my options. How the hell could I ever trust this dog loose in the garden again? How am I going to work things now? He's fecked it up for everyone, but more so for himself, and of course the most important question, how did he get out? Yesterday evening I went round the outside of the garden and found no holes, no gaps, in some places I even had to go on my hands and knees around the edges but I found nothing from the garden onto the boncan. (I even had bits of garden in my underwear!) From where he was found it did seem that Zeus had got out of the garden at the gable end as he'd got out of the garden and onto the mountain not into our fields. We can only think that he jumped the first fence, maybe after a cat and found that the chain link fencing on the gable end had broken ... and no it's not our chair, ours are still in the garden! Steve and I have done our best to make it safe, but as yet I haven't been brave enough to put him outside there unsupervised. I can only be thankful that there were no sheep in the adjoining fields or on the common land, no walkers and no huge lorry coming down from the quarry ... otherwise the outcome could well have been disastrous!
