Leashes

Scott’s Sunday Stories

E11 Aug 13, 2023

Leashes

Do you have to take your dog(s) for a walk to go to the bathroom?

I have noticed something interesting twice in our dog loving life. In both cases (separated by 12 years) we had to walk these dogs as we did not have a fenced yard and letting them out on their own just was not an option.

In both cases we eventually DID get a fenced yard, but years into having to walk them on a leash.

An interesting thing happened to both when they had freedom, and is still a thing with this current dog (grand-dog actually but that is for another story!), they won’t poop off the leash!

Our grand-dog is named Apollo and a a big Dane/Boxer mutt. He’s super lovable to us and anyone who comes in through the garage door. Woe to the person who rings the doorbell or knocks on the front door, he goes nuts. When our daughter picked him up from the pound he had a “yellow card”, which I now think was shorthand for he is crazy! He also has leash anxiety, and will lunge and bark at things he sees nearby when walking whether it’s a car or a person or another dog. He jumps, bites at the leash, spins around and barks. It takes a minute to get him drawn down, so we avoid the situation as much as possible and walk him around the back of the property. We have had to walk him for years before coming to this home 4 years ago.

At the house we moved from, he was able to jump the fence which is what started the leash walking in the first place. When we moved to this home we had a short fence installed so we can let our little dogs out, but we didn’t trust Apollo so we continued to walk him. Until recently.

A couple of months ago we decided to try him out off his leash in the back yard. He did good, didn’t even try and jump the fence! Hallelujah, maybe we can stop walking him….

Nope, while he will go pee when we let him out, and sit on the deck and chill with us, he WILL NOT wander around and go poop out in the yard by himself without a leash on and a walk.

This same thing happened a dozen years ago when we were living in Texas with another dog. She could finally be outside by herself after years of being leashed, but it took months for her to be able to go poop without us taking her for a walk.

I am sure, eventually, Apollo will follow suit and be able to wander the backyard more freely and find pooping on his own a comfortable experience. At least we HOPE so.

Here’s the point for me, and perhaps for you.

When we find ourselves in a new and free environment are we able to fully embrace it or do we need the supposed security and safety of the past “leash” to be able to function?

As a Christian, I often think of this line from Paul the Apostle in his letter to the people in Galatia “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” Galatians 5:1; The Message?

Christian or not, I have watched myself and others return to things that don’t serve us well even after experiencing freedom. This could be spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, or otherwise.?

Have you done the hard work to become free, and after some time find yourself needing that “leash” to be comfortable in life because it is familiar??

What can you do differently to recapture your freedom and maintain it?

Who do you need to talk to?

What practice do you need to re-instill in your life??

By grace - start again today.

-Scott