All he wanted was his freedom

Sometimes, when life gets chaotic, you just want to get away from the daily grind for a while.

To let go of the problems and difficult people in your life in order to breathe.

Yesterday evening, I met a dog doing exactly that.

Jay and I had worked all day on the upcoming LaBrea Evans email adventure series. (It’s getting REALLY close to being completed, now. Only a few more weeks and we can reveal our masterpiece to our email subscribers first!)  

In fact, we worked right up until dinner time, so we decided to order pizza instead of taking the time to cook.

Five miles north of Dire Wolf Project headquarters, in the old historic logging town of Hunters, nestled in a deep mountain canyon surrounding a rushing spring creek, is a little bar and grill.

And they make what Jay and I feel is the best pizza in our area.

As Jay went in for a beer and to grab our order, I stayed out in the car for a little respite.

It was a beautiful spring evening, with the sun’s golden glow illuminating the tops of the evergreen trees on the mountain to the east.

Then, out from behind me, a medium-sized dog with large, brown spots trotted across the road and into the grass in front of my car.

He sat there, looking back in the direction from which he came. His ears were pricked, listening for any sounds calling him back home.

He must not have heard any, because a few minutes later, he turned to trot down to the creek for a drink and a dip in the cool water.

After cooling off, the white and brown mongrel jumped up out of the creek and shook himself.

As happy as you please.

Then, he laid back down in his spot in the grass, facing the direction of his home on the other side of the road.

His ears seemed to be always on alert for any sounds that he should high-tail it back home.

This carefree dog then sauntered behind a nearby abandoned building that used to be a service station back in the days before small logging companies were run out of business by large conglomerates, like Boise Cascade.

Most likely to do his business.

Then, he reappeared again to that same spot in the grass, laid his head down with his ears pricked toward home, closed his eyes, and slept.

Right there in the middle of town, out of the way from the cars and people.

Hiding in plain sight.

Ah… to be a dog without too much care in life.

But that’s the thing.

This dog knew a thing or two about respect.

Despite doing whatever he pleased, his ears were always on the look out for sounds calling him home.  

And the actions he did perform on his free time were innocent, not bothering anyone.

A dog who has earned the right to live with this kind of freedom doesn’t just happen.

Obviously, this furry canine has been taught to adhere to a certain set of respectful boundaries.

1. Don’t wander farther than you can hear me calling you.
2. Don’t bother people or get in their way.
3. Stay away from cars.
4. Come when I call you.
   
   

And when he was finally called home, off he went, as easy as you please, trotting back to the rules and boundaries of his household.

In order to acquire an easy-going dog like this one, you cannot take on the attitude that freedom equals doing whatever you please.

If this dog was never taught consistent and respectful boundaries and rules, he never would have paid any mind to his home while away.

Freedom of this magnitude MUST BE EARNED by showing that he can live well in a harmonious way, adhering to the guidelines laid out for him by his family.

Now, I would NEVER recommend you allow your dog to wander free like this unless you lived on many acres, or you were surrounded by forest land or something similar like that.

Living out in the mountains of eastern Washington state affords dogs a little more natural freedom than they would normally have in a city environment.

But, the principle remains the same no matter where you live.

Dogs need to fully understand and comply with established household rules and boundaries, proving they can be good canine citizens first, before allowing them this type of freedom.

That means someone in the family MUST be the fair and impartial leader, guiding the furry companion toward compliance.

Let that someone be you.

I religiously follow a few wonderful dog trainers that I highly recommend.

These excellent dog trainers are balanced trainers, using both positive rewards and positive punishment to help a dog LEARN how to live in our foreign human world.

They are also both very respectful of a dog’s own culture, solving behavioral problems in dogs while always remaining mindful of the dog’s perspective.

Tom Davis at No Bad Dogs is a great trainer for more problematic dogs, such as dogs with emotional hangups like fear or reactivity.

McCann Dogs is a great resource for everything puppy.

Just remember that most dogs are energetic working dogs, so take what you need and leave the rest.

(Our dogs aren’t going to fetch a million times as a fun reward, for example.)

Here are links to their MANY informative YouTube videos to prepare you for your new puppies arriving home soon:

https://www.youtube.com/@tomdavisofficial

https://www.youtube.com/@McCannDogs

P.S. I am not an affiliate. I just wish to bring you the best resources I can, so you don’t have to wander into the vast dog training ocean with only a raft. It’s a big, daunting world out there with many dog trainers that would lead you astray, especially with our more sensitive, thinking breed.

Jennifer Stoeckl is the co-founder of the Dire Wolf Project, founder of the DireWolf Guardians American Dirus Dog Training Program, and owner/operator of DireWolf Dogs of Vallecito. She lives in the beautiful inland northwest among the Ponderosa pine forests with her pack of American Dirus dogs.