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Calypso will be the death of me yet. She knows the commands – sit, down, stay, come – but does she listen – NO! I know what you are thinking – how can she know the commands if she doesn’t listen. You must not have a dog.

Last night Hubby and I came home and as usual, I am the gate opener. We had been gone a while and the dogs were waiting near the gate when we drove up. Hubby says that he has Calypso trained to sit in a particular area and wait while he drives through the gate. Then, she knows not to come until he has closed the gates because he will not play with her until he does.

I, on the other hand, have a leash on either side of the driveway hanging on the fence. Ryka does not normally come to gate when I am leaving and when I return, she will stop about fifty feet from the gate and sit and wait. Calypso on the other hand – knows no boundaries. I have to wrestle her to attach the leash so that she is held safely behind the gate when I open it. The little (55 pounds) stinker has learned this and has now started to run away – which is okay when she stays away. I drive through the gate and close it with no problem when this happens.

Last night – none of the above happened. Ryka stayed in her spot and Calypso was around her spot. Hubby drove through the gate and I was closing it when Calypso came running up just as I secured one of the gates. I managed to block her as I was reaching for the other gate – then all hell broke loose. She got around me and headed out of the gate. The highway – MAJOR highway is 15 feet from the gate. I called her and she put her tail between her legs and proceeded to walk across the highway towards the boathouse. I thought I pulled the gate closed behind me but Ryka managed to get there first and was going to follow us. When Hubby saw what was happening, he jumped out, grabbed Ryka, fussed at her, and closed the gate and came to help me catch Calypso, who by this time was on the wharf.

Did I mention that the wharf is 90 feet long? It runs the width of the property. I did not want to chase Calypso because she would have taken off. She had already managed to cross the highway safely; I could not risk her darting that way again. She saw Hubby heading towards her from the other end of the wharf and jumped to land. Hubby jumped and managed, after several long minutes, to subdue her – gotta love those policeman tactics. He then hauled her little behind across the highway and into the yard, fussing the entire time, and secured her in the yard. Her Guardian Angel was watching out for her because not a single car or eighteen-wheeler passed in this period, which is a miracle. The very stunt she pulled is the reason I do not take them out of the yard unless they are in the car. I do not want them thinking that they can cross the highway to the boathouse.

I crossed back as headlights were coming around the bend about a half mile away. We drove down the driveway and when we got out of the car, both dogs came to me, not Hubby. They were none too sure what punishment he might dole out. They followed me, cowering, into the garage and stood with their heads down and their tails between their legs the entire time I was fixing their dinner. Hubby tried several times to coax them to him, but they weren’t taking any chances. They were like two little wayward kids. I took their food outside and I must say – nothing thwarts Calypso’s appetite. She was ravenous and dug into her food as if it was her last meal.

This brings me to my big announcement. Calypso and I begin obedience classes on Saturday. One of us – hopefully her – is going to be listening by the time we graduate. I have heard good things about the classes at Pet Smart and they are guaranteed (good thing – because we may be there longer than six weeks.) So, if you have a free moment during the day – please look skyward and whisper a prayer that the training is successful.