About 2PM every afternoon, the dogs would return just like clockwork and spend the rest of the day sleeping peacefully in the backyard. This is probably the life all dogs dream about. U nfortunately, this bucolic vision of canine freedom is virtually impossible to wake up to in the busy urban centers where many of us live. If you let your dogs run free in a city, they will either get run over by a passing car, get stolen by opportunistic thieves, or precipitate a neighborhood feud by pooping on some fastidious neighbor's perfectly manicured lawn. Dogs, just like people who live in cities, typically have to settle for smaller dreams than their own backyard mountain.
Small dreams are OK though.
That's why I always let Spot take the lead in deciding where we are going to go on our daily walks even if we end up walking in aimless circles through the park. It may take us a little longer, but he seems to enjoy exploring a new and different path every few days. I let Spot sleep on the bed with me even though it often seems like I am sleeping on an army cot. Again, it is something he truly seems to enjoy. Dogs are pack animals and maybe curling up next to me at night is as close as he's ever going to get to having a pack of his own.