What has your dog done that temporarily stopped your heart?

We’ve been playing and training on the big deck in front of our house, because it’s clear of ice and snow. The deck has a railing around it. Jubilee had just finished practicing the ping pong recall when she leapt up onto an old table next to the railing. There’s a 15 foot drop on the other side of the railing! She could of skidded right off, but instead she was happily dancing on the tabletop. I felt like yelling but was afraid I’d scare her off the wrong way, so I threw some treats and said “Off.” Fortunately, she jumped down onto the deck and was very proud of herself.
She has never shown any interest in that old table which has since been moved away from the edge. My husband and I are still in shock over what she did and what might have happened.
 
Sounds like Jubilee gave you a scare then @pup-pup , I'm pleased she didn't go off the other side.

I think the only time (so far) that Cassie has done something frightening was a few weeks ago she was so intent on following a scent that she was very close to getting into a field of sheep, it made me nearly pass out with fear for her. She had no interest in them, just her scent, but even so it scared me. She checked on the recall whistle which I backed up verbally, and came back, thankfully.
 
When Axel gets over the top excited to go for his daily walk or to daycare, he tends to lose all brain cells🤦‍♀️. He will run around very excited and then stop right beside a door way or wall or piece of furniture, and then once he sees I am coming he turns with such force and smacks his poor side of his face into said wall or which ever.

Every single time my heart stops and I worry he’s broken his teeth or face as the crunch/bang is so loud. One time he did it so bad into a solid wooden hutch, he was shocked and puffing out his cheeks over and over again and lied down at my feet. All the while I’m opening up his mouth and lifting up his lips looking for broken teeth and blood in absolute panic, then worried maybe he had a concussion.

Thankfully everytime he’s been fine just shocked, yet he never learns. BUT I have! Now I call him towards me whenever he’s right beside an object of any kind. So we haven’t had an accident for a few months. Sigh.
 

HAH

Moderator
Location
Devon, UK
Oh @pup-pup , that's traumatic - I really feel for you. The main thing is Jubilee's okay, but eurgh.

We had a similar moment when Kipper was about 9 months old, we were on a walk along an old railway with lots of little footbridges over a small dry disused canal, very victorian and overgrown and plenty of space to run about. One bridge you could go up one side and down the other, quite steep - about 20 feet above the ground and with the old canal probably another 5 feet lower than ground level. Kipper was in his harness, sticking fairly close with us; we were a way into the walk so he'd got his first flush of galloping out of his system. We'd been over a few of the smaller bridges and he'd walked sensibly across, not showing any interest in the sides. You can see where this is going...

On this particular bridge he suddenly suddenly decided to jump over the edge - aaaaargh!!! I screamed, OH grabbed his harness and we spent about half an hour white and shaking thinking 'what if' whilst Kipper (firmly on the lead) wondered what all the fuss was about. We're pretty sure he would have gone over the edge if OH hadn't caught him, he didn't seem to appreciate it was a long drop the other side (why would he, not having been there before) - he'd have been hurt if not worse. Still makes me feel sick thinking about it. Thank Jiminy for quick reflexes!
 
Quinn at around a year old ran out onto a partially frozen river and jumped into the water after some ducks and couldn't get out. I screamed at her but it was too late, she was in the river. The edges were all ice on both sides and she couldn't pull herself out. She was crying and struggling with her front paws on the ice and falling back into the water, and I was panicking she was going to drown. My dad was taking his shoes off, getting ready to jump in to save her when I guided her downriver with a stick to where there was less ice and I could go out onto it, and pulled her out by her collar. I refuse to walk near any water in the winter now. Gave me a heart attack.
 
For me , the horrible realisation that Reuben had eaten the best part of a whole bulb of garlic ! Not just that, but knowing how it can affect the red blood cells if it isn't dealt with very quickly , that was awful ! xx
 
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I'm so glad your little is okay! Once, Aspen ran in front of an SUV and was steps away from getting hit. Never in my life have I felt so helpless. I had nightmares about it for weeks. After we realized Aspen's recall was not as reliable as we thought he is now on a leash if he isn't in a fenced-in area.
 
While practicing recall on a very misty moor, Coco suddenly took off and disappeared into the murk - turned out there were sheep there. Definitely heart in mouth as I trudged, in tears, in the rough direction he went, calling, thinking "I'm going to have to report him missing and they'll (ManxSPCA) will take him off me". Eventually I came to a gully & could hear a dog barking and sheep bleating. I have never been so relieved. Took a while to coax him to me.
 

Atemas

UK Tour Guide
Many heart stopping moments with Sky - the worst being the rapeseed field incident which she disappeared into. Despite calling and calling, we had to go home for the night. I was beside myself. DH got up at first light, went downstairs and opened the little curtain to see Sky outside - she’d made her way home. She was so wet and bedraggled. She went straight into her bed. The relief I felt was massive - I remember shouting at her ‘don’t you ever dare do that again’ as if she was a teenager who’d stopped out all night! Of course, she had gone in the field and got totally disorientated and was probably very frightened. I really thought we’d never see her again.
 
I had Moo for a long time my heart is hard it does not stop. I don't worry about it unless harm happens, I do not loose sleep, it's happened no one died I move on. Being raised by my family does have some advantages
 

Jacqui-S

Moderator
Location
Fife, Scotland
You have had a lot of scares between you. My story is a lot less scary.

When Lilly was a puppy, she suddenly discovered the top of our garden where there was a pond, heavily covered in lily pads of all things.
In she hopped, probably no idea that it wasn't solid ground.
Plop!
Luckily we weren't too far away to drag here out.
Funny she gave water a wide berth for a while.
 

Leanne

Sniffer Dog
Location
Shropshire, UK
Hmmm. Nothing at all. He’s been an angel.

Obviously not including the jumping out of the window at 15 weeks old and being returned by the dog warden... the leaping into a waterfall on the day before Christmas Eve, requiring OH to go into -2 water to get him out... eating a plate of brownies... drinking contaminated water requiring a 2 week hospital stay... oh and the time he ate 3KG of his food that the delivery driver had helpfully lobbed over the garden fence...

Did I mention he’s only 10 months old 🙈🥺|(:speaktothehand::facepalm:
 
Just this evening, on a new walk, all three ran off. No idea what it was; there were deer around, but I don't think it was that. We were a way below a dead-end road, and there were people up there, but they wouldn't run that distance for people. I heard a dog, but, again, they wouldn't go that far for a dog. Their recall didn't work. No bloody idea. Willow came back quite soon with her hackles right up, but we were maybe 100m vertical below the road and I couldn't see where the other two were. I just knew there were two vans up there. I don't worry about dog theft here, but in that moment, it was all I could think - why are my dogs not coming back when I'm blowing my whistle?! I still don't know what it was. I was halfway climbing up this "wall" trying to get to them, before they came back the easy way.
I heard a dog barking (not one of mine), but there was no human or dog grrring noise, so I don't think there was any agro between Shadow and anyone else. It was so out of character, I have no idea what it was, but it was very scary to think that they could have been popped in one of those vans and taken away before I could get to them.
 
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