Adventure Dogs: Lajka's Explorations

Hi, I’m Dr. Maja! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my two crossbreed dogs, Lava and Hela.

Lajka, a little Alpine Dachsbracke that has now been with me for almost 4 months, has started to come out of her shell a bit more and explore her new home. Over the last few months, when we went for walks, she was off the lead and followed me and the other two dogs (and cat) like a puppy. But in the last week, she has found her adventurous spirit and seems like she’s decided to get better acquainted with the surrounding fields and forest.

GPS Location For Peace of Mind

All of my pets wear a GPS collar, as I am too anxious about them getting lost. Lajka is no exception. In the three months of living with us, she’s already managed to lose one GPS collar that I needed to replace. She is a peculiar character. Initially, she would run back to the house while we were out on a walk if she heard a car in the distance. She stays close to the house and has a radius of around 1000 feet. Initially, this worried me a lot, as I am used to my dogs being on a lead or inside, never unsupervised outside. But Lajka is a different story. As I rescued her, I decided, within reason, to give her the freedom she is used to. And that means she is free to go as she pleases, as luckily, we live very remotely and far from any roads or other houses. Having the GPS on her allows me to track her movements and see what she’s up to. And thanks to that, I was able to see how far from the house she stayed for hours on end last week.

Three Hours Later

One day last week, during our regular walks, Lajka behaved as usual. She would run around but follow me and the gang closely. Then she slowly started to go farther and farther away, still keeping an eye on us. Being a hunting dog, she has a great nose and an even greater desire to dig holes, to the point of literally digging one hole for a few hours on end. I couldn’t believe it. She would stay in the fields and refuse to follow us back home. This is all just over a mile from the house. The first few times, I just carried her a bit of the way home, and that worked. But one day I decided to see what would happen if I left her to her hole.

Well, she stayed in the same spot for over 3 hours, digging her hole. She finally came back home around midday, well after breakfast time. But she was so happy and proud of herself, and covered in dirt, from head to toe. And most importantly, she knew very well where her home and safety were.

Learning to Cope with Anxiety

For me, this was a big step, allowing the dog to do her own thing and not interfering. My other dog, Lava, loves to run off to my neighbour’s house, and I always follow after her to get her home straightaway, although no harm comes of it, and again, there are no real dangers. She just plays with the neighbour’s dogs and comes home when she gets tired. But it still makes me anxious, not having her close by. Although Lajka has only been with me for a few months, I already love this little dog a lot and couldn’t imagine anything bad happening to her. But I am also learning to let go and relax. After all, I don’t live in the city, but there are different threats there, such as wild animals. But I realised so far that my dogs do have a strong survival instinct and intelligence to know how to behave in most situations. I am slowly learning to let go a little bit so they can enjoy a bit more of their freedom, as we live in such a peaceful place, and it would be a shame to restrict them too much. But it’s a new experience for me, and I know it will take much more time for me to get used to it, if ever, but I will do my best.