Don't cross me

It's late this morning; wow it's already almost 8 and I have yet to go to the gym. Don't know if I can make it this morning with these horrible allergies, I can barely see through the tears streaming down my face. I've sneezed now about a billion times and don't see it letting up anytime soon. Well, I'm ready for the gym if it should cease for a while. The dogs are happy, they do not care if we get up early and enjoy being in bed until they absolutely have to get up.

The weather man says it's heating up which means I do have to get up and get going earlier. Can't run the dogs in the heat although I see people doing it all the time which makes me pretty crazy. I might just hit the beach today with the dogs, if it get's too hot. The beach is great and I haven't been there enough. Before I know it we will be at the end of May and the dogs aren't allowed on the beach then until mid Sept.

I have been working on a new boundary with the dogs. Our front gate blew down and so we only have one gate now. This means that the dogs don't understand that although the gate is gone the boundary still remains. They have a very loose idea that the boundary is there but it needs reinforcing. Of course this is accomplished much better if EVERYONE is on board. If one person lets the dogs continually cross the boundary then it becomes a very wishy washy boundary, not good.

Boundaries must be very official and there must only be one way to cross a boundary and that is your release word. Whatever that word is, it is the only way to get across the boundary. Once a dog is trained to a boundary I proof them, meaning I make it amazingly difficult not to cross the boundary. I call out random words in the same tone I would my release word, they must pay close attention. I run through the boundary and expect them not to follow and I put things on the otherside of the boundary that would make one break a boundary and enforce.

A boundary is serious business; for me it means the difference between getting run over or not. This is where I am the most fierce, cross the line and you pay. I do my best Oscar winning performance here; I want my dogs to looking at each other saying "I'm not going, you go," to each other. There is a clear line in my mind and the ground that you don't cross, if you do you suffer the consenquences and the rarely seen ferocity inside me kicks into gear. I have alot of experience to draw on for this performance. Only a few have crossed me and lived to tell the tale. ;)