Elliot's Yard

As soon as Elliot’s fence was complete, I opened the front door and, for the first time, he was allowed to leave the house alone and without his leash.

He raced to the kennel - the gate was open - and brought all his toys out into the big yard. The quilt he was used to lying on, was also dragged out to join the toys.

As I sat on the porch steps watching him, he chewed his marrow bone, then picked up a tennis ball, left in the yard with many others that had belonged to Sarah, and brought it to me to throw. All I had to do was tap the step beside me and he dropped the ball right there. Either he is the smartest dog I have ever encountered, or somewhere in his early life, he was taught these things, although I don’t think he was taught how to move house from kennel to open yard – fenced in of course.

I thought of Sarah, who spent her outside time chained to a tree with twenty-five feet of plastic covered wire, which allowed her to lie in the yard or on the porch. Sarah had no fence and was prone to roaming, and often managed to race out the door and disappear for a couple of hours

So far Elliot does not spend much time on the porch. Down the steps he races, as he runs to his cache, chewing a bone, pulling the stuffing out of the quilt, or playing with a toy.

The six foot wooden fence hides his outside view. So, when he hears another dog on the street, he races across the yard to the wire fence that separates him from the parking area. There he can look out through the metal gates to activity on the street. Once he is trained, he will be able to join them outside the fence.

Elliot's Fence

It is almost a month since I contracted for Elliot’s fence; for a place where he can run, and I can work on training him.

In the meantime, Elliot has his kennel, where he plays ball briefly, chews on a bone or some toy if I am with him, or lies waiting for me to take him out if left alone. He also has the back yard, which he is trashing: pulling out plants, eating others, and digging holes.

In the hot weather, his running around and digging has churned up the earth so there is a large ground cover of fine dirt. This dust does not bode well for Elliot’s eye, where, due to the surgery the vet advised, the lower lid does not adhere close enough to the eyeball.

It is not a problem and does not bother him,” he said. But dust can irritate it.”

“He’s living in dust,” I replied.

I try to walk him every day, but due to his lack of training, and a collar that doesn’t work, it is almost impossible on our hill, and somewhat difficult elsewhere. I try to find a different location every day: a park, a golf course, a quiet neighborhood, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Lately, the fence construction has made it difficult to get my car in and out of the property, so we haven’t walked that much.

I walked Sarah up and down our almost empty cul-de-sac when I trained her, but now there are more homes and dogs making it difficult. I can cover the same area inside my front fence once it is complete. The only question is: When will it be complete?