A few years ago we were visiting relatives with a house across the street from a working farm. The farm dogs did what they wanted. It took a while to recognize why this seemed so strange: dogs unattached to a human in any way, following their own agenda. We’re used to cats living their secret lives, but not dogs. Friends of mine had a schnauzer that would make the rounds of the suburban neighborhood, dropping in on her friends, human and otherwise. I guess she was street smart, lived long enough that she died like the human she thought she was: feeble, stroked out, and in a diaper.
FWIW, our family dog when I was growing up had the run of the house when we were off to school and work, and never got into mischief. I didn’t appreciate until much later how well my mom had trained her, she heeled and NEVER pulled at the leash even when I was 6 and she was young too.
