Sunday, August 30, 2009

A close shave...with death!


Towards the end of last week, I caused my pawrents quite a bit of a heart attack! I don't really wanna blog about this but my Mummy insists I let the whole world know what I did so that other doggies will not learn from me and that their pawrents can also try to prevent such things from happening to their furkids, should it happen one day *touch wood!*.

On Friday evening, my pawrents were getting ready to go to Grandpa's house for dinner and as usual, they had to coax me to get into the car boot. The car boot is not exactly my favourite place in the world and as usual, I tried to wriggle my way out of it. I backed away while Daddy pulled the leash (and me) towards him. Just then, the leash which was tied round my neck ride up my head and with a couple of pulling and wriggling actions, the leash came loose and I was free!

I ran around the estate in full speed, missing cars that came in and out of the car park by seconds. Daddy told Mummy to stay put while he chased after me. Mummy was freaking out already but she tried her best to remain calm and stayed at the car, waiting for our return.

I ran and ran, and seeing Daddy hot on my heels, I ran even faster and soon, I reached the edge of a busy road. Cars and big trucks were zooming by, it was really exciting! I had to stop for a while as I suddenly had to urge to poop. I was happily doing my business at the side of the road when Daddy came up to me and quickly put the leash around me. I struggled again and managed to break free. Poor Daddy was not as agile as me and he fell and suffered some scratches on his fingers and palms. Luckily he missed my pile of freshly-pooped poo!

I dashed across the busy road and even turned back to look at Daddy. The vehicles must be really excited to see me too cos they were making lots of noise with their horns. Somehow, I managed to cross two busy roads and reached the other side of the neighbourhood. Some vehicles were close enough to sniff my butt but they all braked in time to avoid me. I wonder why.

Anyway, I arrived at one of my favourite part of the neighbourhood because there are many doggies living in the big houses here and I have plenty of peemail to check out. While replying to one of the peemail, Daddy suddenly sneaked up on me and grabbed my tail. Well, Daddy was pretty mad at me for making him run all the way here at this point, and for ignoring his commands to COME. He grabbed me real tightly and before I know it, I was leashed again. Oh well, end of my adventure for now.

My pawrents were really mad at me for running away (again) and ignored me the whole time we were at Grandpa's place. I gave them a pathetic and innocent look, but they just glared at me. So I kept my distance, especially from Daddy who were staring daggers at me when I peeped at him.

Erm, there's a second part to my "horror" story. After dinner at Grandpa's house, we were getting ready to go home when again I refused to get up into the car. Daddy bent over to carry me but I backed away and this time, my tail missed the rolling tyres of an oncoming car by millimetres! Actually, come to think of it, some strands of fur from my fluffy tail were CRUSHED by the tyres! But it's ok cos I have lots of fur to spare!

That's not the end of my story. On Saturday, we went to Granddad's house (FYI, Grandpa is Mummy's father and Granddad is Daddy's father) and before the car boot was opened, I saw a golden retriever taking a walk at the side of the road. I was really excited to see him and leaped off the car the moment the door was opened, forgetting to listen to my pawrents' command (they have to say OK before I can get off the car). In my eagerness to go and say hi to the golden retriever, I lept off the car too quickly and somehow sprained my front paw when I landed on the road. It hurts very much and I whined real loudly and for a long time too. The lady walking the golden was taken aback by my loud cries and quickly walk away. My painful paw didn't allow me to rush over to the golden. In fact, I sat down immediately and cry out in pain. My pawrents groaned again and gave me a huge lecture. Thank god, the pain went away soon enough and I stopped limping by the end of the night.

18 comments:

Ebi n' Emma said...

OOooopss! Chow Chow! That was really dangerous! It was no adventure at all to run across busy roads & have the cars missing you by centimetres! You were very lucky to have your Daddy get you back in time! *phewwwww* Be good & don't run free & away next time ok? =))

Chow Chow Ma, anyway you can put Chow Chow on the 'back passenger seats' instead of the boot? Would he prefer it that way so he won't try backing away everytime he gets onto the car?

Take care,
Serene (Ebi & Emma)

Huskee and Hershey said...

OMdoG... Baaaaaaaaad Chow Chow... (our mom say one).. she had a minor heart attack reading about your 'adventures'! You seemed pretty determined to be an escape artist huh?! Heehee..

Oh and please be a good boy for now cos your mom is not in the condition to take any more of these 'heart attacks' you are causing her..

RIP to those crushed tail fur.. LOL!! Be good! (((hugs))).. glad that you are fine.

Molly the Airedale said...

OMG, what a frightening experience for both you and your mom and dad, Chow Chow! Thank doG you're all okay!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

DoMoFi said...

Hi Chow,

Pawrents must have freaked out! We done that before too! :( *DoDo:- me!*

MoMo:- "kuai kuai like moi" stay inside the car ok? ^^

Thor and Jack said...

Oh Chow Chow!
That was very dangerous! Please, promise us you will no longer do it again. Your parents must have been terrified!

xoxo
Thor

billiejean said...

Chow Chow.. you being noti noti...
may be you should consider wearing a harness so that it doesn't come off when pulling..

Stella said...

Hi Chow Chow!

My, you certainly learned a lot of lessons this weekend, didn't you?

Didn't you? I hope so!

Kisses,
Stella

Arran, Arthur and Mum said...

Oh Chow-Chow! You has beed a bad bad dog. Well, Mum say that certainly puts my naughty into perspective.

Your Mum and Dad should try you with a half slip / alaskan collar or a martingale, you can't slip out of them.
Glad you are safe. Don't do that again dude!!
~lickies, Ludo

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness, Chow Chow - my heart was in my mouth reading your story!! How frightening! But thank God you didn't get hurt and your Daddy managed to catch you in the end...your poor humans! They must have been terrified!

If your humans can make a bit of time, there is something that they can do which might help you get into the car boot easier - see if they can feed all your meals in your car boot for 1 week. This would build up positive associations with the car boot. We dogs are very simple and learn by associations and conditioning - so if we are conditioned to thinking that jumping into the car boot always leads to a pleasant experience, after a while that becomes imprinted in our minds.

Don't rush things - if you won't jump in the first time to eat your meal, maybe have them feed you your food just beside the open car boot for the first day or two - then progress to making you jump in the carboot to eat your meal. If you won't jump in, you go hungry! Don't worry - it won't hurt you to miss a meal! By the next mealtime, you'll be so hungry, you'll jump in very quickly!

If it is not convenient to feed your meals in the carboot (eg. if you eat a raw diet, like me) - then they can still do the same thing but with a SUPER yummy treat that you don't usually get at any other time - some human food, eg, sausage or chicken or whataver (not boring dried pet treats) - something REALLY high value which you only get when you jump in the car boot.

Again, the key is to make time to practise when your humans are NOT planning to go anywhere and so no under time pressure and in a rush...this way, they can be calm (*very important!) and work with you patiently to repeat the positive associations and reward you for doing the right thing.

The problem with what's happening now is that everytime they're trying to put you in the boot, it's for real and they're getting impatient and stressed and you pick up on that...which makes you associate the car boot even more with with NEGATIVE things (like your humans getting stressed and mad at you) - which makes you want to avoid it even more! So it is important to try and change your attitude towards the car boot.

Lastly, have your humans thought about getting a martingale collar for you? This is a special kind of collar that is made for dogs with narrow heads where the collar can easily slip off if the dog pulls backwards (or for dogs like you that slip our of their collars easily!) - it has 2 loops on it so it is designed in such a way that it tightens when it is pulled tight - but not in a way that chokes the dog. You can't ever slip out of a martingale collar. There are some very attractive ones on the market - if your humans do a search online, they should find it. Look for "hound collar" or "martingale collar". But otherwise, it may be that your normal collar is just too loose on you. It should be snug on your neck and only allow 2 human fingers width in between the collar and your neck.

Anyway, good luck!

Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane

Lorenza said...

Chow Chow!
Sounds like a series of adventures but... please... please... don't do it again!
Glad you are ok! I don't want you to get hurt!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Paco,Milo, Maya and mommy Simona said...

OMDDDDDDDDDDD Dear Chow!!!!!
What a dangerous moments you and your falily passed!!!
We're soooooooooooooooo relieve that you're ok!!!
But pleaseeeeeeeee.....don't do that again ok???
We're having an heart attack reading about your adventures!!!!
We agree with Honey's mommy.....if your humans would try to put into the car some of your preferred food you could go up your car much more happily....they must do that when you aren't going anywhere so you'll have much more time to improve your behavior!!!
Pleaseeeeeeee..take car eof you and of your mommy and dad...
your mom needs calm days now ok???!!!!!
good luck dear friends!!!!!
Let us know how is going with Chow!!!!
WE LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!
Tons of love and kisses

Astrid Keel said...

Oh my DOG! Chow chow, my momster nearly had a heart attack reading your story, I cannot imagine how your pawrents went through!

Hope your pawrents can figure something out so that the car is not a scary thing!

Dino and Family said...

My goodness gracious, Chow Chow!!! I would have a heart attack if I were there witnessing your escape. I am glad you and your dad came through it with minor injuries. Please don't do it again. Love, Dino

i said...

Oh Chow Chow...I'm so glad you're ok. Please don't give us a heart attack too so stay away from the busy roads and cars!

Anonymous said...

Chow Chow!! Please stop running around like that! It's so dangerous! And next time your pawrents might not take you out ever again!

Sally Ann and Andy said...

Wow, you were naughty. Did you learn not to do that again. You could have been hurt badly.
Sally Ann

Unknown said...

Hey Chow Chow - I hope you are being a better boy for your humans and that you've been practising spending time in the car doing "nice things" like eating your meals or yummy treats!

Hey - guess what? I finally tried Agility! I went to my first class last week - come over and check out my video...what do you think? Will I ever get into that tunnel or is it just too small for me??

Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane

Piappies World said...

Hi Chow Chow!
What a scary experience you had there. Do take care next time so your pawrents would not worry. You know how pawrents always think of our safety.
Hope you can drop by our world and be friends.

- Fudgie, Princess, Scrappy, Bullet

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