Ho ho, the tables have turned

I have gained the upper paw in my contest of wills with Ruthie the high-maintenance dog.

We had bought a whole new Innotek dog containment system a couple of months ago before we knew we were moving. When it became apparent that our days here were limited, we decided it would be pointless to install the perimeter wire to train Pete and retrain Ruthie to the boundaries.

The new system came with a remote control training device that I've been eyeing lately, wondering if it might be useful.

I'm mindful of advice I heard years ago about using these things - that you have to be consistent and systematic in the application of tones and zaps or you'll end up with a crazed dog who hasn't a clue about why it's being tortured.

But I know from previous experience that Ruthie remembers the white training flags and associates them with tones and shocks. So I set up a line of flags around the property line behind our house this afternoon, put batteries in the collar and remote and strapped the collar on Ruthie.

As I put the collar on her, she gave me "that look" that let me know she feels deeply insulted by my efforts to break her will.

I was prepared to hit her with a tone to stop her from vaulting the kiddie gate from kitchen to dining room, but she was in mid-air by the time I hit the button. It startled her and she hid under the coffee table in the parlor.

I ordered her out repeatedly, but she refused. So I zapped her and she scooted out immediately.

Back in the kitchen she hunkered down under the kitchen table, refusing to go into her kennel until I gave her a warning tone. Zoom. Into the kennel.

When I let her and Pete out the back door to do their doggy business, she looked at the white perimeter flags and walked slowly and carefully off the deck and into the grass to whiz. I could tell from her demeanor that she immediately associated the recent zap and tone with the dreaded "bad flags." I've kept an eye on her every time she's gone outside since then and she's made no attempt to leave the yard or even approach the flags, even though she hasn't received a perimeter correction yet.

So, as far as Ruthie is concerned, I've got her corralled without having to install the perimeter wire.

Pete, I'm sure, will be a different story. Once I'm confident that Ruthie isn't going anywhere, I'll put a dummy shock collar on her and put the live one on Pete and see if I can train him to stay in the yard with her.

He's a smart dog, so the challenge to me is to structure it so he gets the right message as soon as possible.