Well, Lucky is back in dog jail. We had a bit of a break and Lucky did stick around during the Winter Holidays, then it was really, really cold, like -34*c, so Lucky stayed close to the house. Those cold temps helped Lucky get used to the winter weather, so she has started running away Again. Back to the run with her. So sad. I do ask her during the day to stick around, we shake on it, we have prolonged eye contact, where we talk about her staying. I know she understands what I'm saying. She even mostly comes back eventually.
We never try first thing in the morning, the last time she followed the girls down to the school bus, which is adorable. These are our long term goals, a totally adorable dog job, walking her kids to the bus, making sure they board safely. But she ran under the bus and totally, and understandably, freaked the bus driver out. Calista, our 13yo daughter had to stay and hold the dog. And missed the bus, so we had to drive her to school, which is 30km round trip. Lucky has started greeting the girls in the afternoon. She actually does that, which is so cute. Lucky, right around 3:55pm starts getting excited and wanting to go outside, she hears the bus, confirms the girls voices with her bat ears, and races through the woods or along the driveway until she sees here girls and greets them ecstatically! Yay!