Buster’s Blog

As I was working this morning, I started hearing these faint beeps and upon investigating found that the Invisible Fence box was the source.  What happened was that the road grader had cut the wire out at the Y (where the stone sign is).  I told the operator about the water line which goes across the gravel driveway not too far from there and he said that nobody had told him anything about that.  Fortunately, the water line is 18” to two feet deep so there isn’t much danger of him hitting that.
Meanwhile, Buster is residing in the laundry room (and as much of the kitchen as he can get away with) until they finish grading.

Buster has been getting closer and closer to the fence until the other day when I was coming back from the cabin I noticed that he was practically on top of the wire so I took his collar off and checked where he should get shocked and the collar had to be within 3 inches of the wire before he would get a warning and since his neck is higher than 3” then he would never even get a warning if he walked across.  I call the company on Friday and they came on Monday afternoon and they were sure that the problem would be that a lightning surge had taken out the lighting surge protector. Their first move was to take another collar and confirm that it also had to be really close to the wire to go off but after replacing the surge protector the problem persisted.  So, they replaced the circuit board and still the problem was there.  Next they did a continuity test to make sure the wire wasn’t broken.  We didn’t think it was because the system is supposed to alarm if the wire is cut and sure enough there was continuity so it was head scratching time.  They brought out a device that put a signal on one leg of the loop and took a wand around the yard looking for a place where the signal got weak.  The place was right under where this tree had broken off and landed squarely on top of the wire stretching it to the point where it still showed continuity, but the impedance was too high to work properly.  They were able to pull the wire in two by hand which is a near impossibility for an undamaged wire.  Anyway, this whole thing took about 3 hours because one of the people was the owner of the company and the other was someone he was training and it had been several years since the owner had to take a service call.

By Monday afternoon, Buster had discovered that he no longer got a shock if he walked over to the cabin so he was having a great time.  This morning he tried it again while I was over there talking to a gutter salesman and I heard this yelping but he just continued to walk and yelp.   There was perhaps a slight increase in his gate.  I got a leash and took the Invisible Fence collar off and lead him back to inside the fence.  The collar started beeping and he took off at a dead run to get back inside.  He has been rather subdued the rest of the day, spending most of his time inside even though the weather here is beautiful.

 

I took Buster to the kennel while we went to Atlanta for a pottery sale and concert and visit with George and Julie.  I had them bath him while he was there so I couldn’t pick him up until 3:00 Monday afternoon and he did not seem glad at all to see me.This afternoon he just disappeared and I walked all the way around the perimeter of the invisible fence to make sure he wasn’t caught in something and then I walked the path around the property to see if he would come out and follow me if he heard me but he either wasn’t able to hear me or he just ignored me.  Peter found him behind the log house late this afternoon and if he was there when I walked around the property he should have heard me.  If he get away one more time we will cut out the beeps and give him the shock as soon as he enters the electric field of the fence.  Right now there are 3 beeps in one second and then the shock begins.  As fast as he runs he could be through the field in one second and never get a shock.

 

This picture is from May, but I felt like I ought to put something in this blog or it may wither and die. I can’t find the pictures of the damage Buster has done to the garden wall, but I will post it as soon as I find it.  Meanwhile, this is what it looked like before he started digging for chipmunks.

Buster is getting more adventurous.  Saturday was a really beautiful day with low (for summer) temperatures and humidity so I wouldn’t let Buster in the utility room during the day hoping that he would explore the property.   That worked.  Marilyn and I worked at putting up some shelves in the greenhouse down by the creek which is out of bounds for Buster.  I heard one little yelp like he got too close to the fence, but he was running in a different direction than I would have expected if he had been trying to follow us down the path.

Yesterday he would disappear for longer and longer periods, which would have made me worry before we put in the invisible fence, so I think he is used to the idea that he doesn’t have to stick right with us to be a good dog.  When Marilyn came back from visiting her mother and getting some groceries (the tomatoes and corn she got from her mother, the rest she got at a grocery store) Buster came to greet her really out of breath like he used to when he would bolt away from me during a walk to chase something.  I let him in the utility room to cool off and he sounded like a steam train.  So much so that I wanted to sing “Folsom Prison Blues” and I would have if I knew the words and if I had a voice like Johnny Cash.  Actually I would have if I had just known the words.

Buster is getting more comfortable getting out in the yard, but he still hangs out on the back porch when I let him out on his own.  I have seen him walk cautiously around the house once.  When I am out with him he will go further from the house, but nowhere near the boundary.  There was one exception the other evening when he caught sight of a rabbit and chased it right up to the edge and immediately turned back.  He didn’t yelp so I think he turned back because of the beep or the flags.  I hope so anyway. 

The weather is cool this morning but he still wanted back in the laundry room after our walk around the house.  I don’t understand that dog.

I just got in from walking around the yard with Buster.  When I was ready to come in, he snuck around the end of the garage and headed up the hill to the mission house and I went through the house. As I came out on the front porch I heard a yelp and here came Buster at a trot straight to me.  I guess he ignored the beeps and tried to go look for more stuffed toys or to check out where the chickens used to be or who knows what.  At any rate, he didn’t blame me for the shock this time.  I think it is funny that he wouldn’t go within 10 or 20 yards of the line when I was with him and then he would try to sneak across the line when he thought I wasn’t paying attention.  I can’t wait to see how he acts on the next walk.