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Let me preface this tale with the fact that my husband and I agree on very little. We didn’t even use the same salt, when we still used it. So it was no surprise that while on errands today, we disagreed on the idea of bringing Amber out of the car on her no-pull collar and leash in public.

Amber weighs 94 lbs. To say she is exuberant about meeting others is a vast understatement. She loves to go anywhere at any time in the car with us. Her domain is the back seat. We put the windows down halfway so that she can run from one side of the car seat to the other sticking her head out, absorbing all the wonderful smells and sights to be had.

Today we stopped at a small craft type show that was being held on the square. I didn’t realize that my husband was planning to bring Amber out. The shock collar did its job, giving Amber a jolt when she tried to get to a little girl to say “hi.” Amber cried out and everyone stopped as if someone had dropped a whole tray of something in a restaurant. Amber was in control for a second, then found someone else she thought was wonderful. She was shocked again, cried out again, and I had had enough. I finally got my husband to put Amber back into the car. I answered some questions about the collar. People were upset at us because Amber cried out. I tried to explain that usually Amber is trained to stay in step with us and hardly EVER gets shocked anymore – but this was a new situation with far too many stimulants for a partially-trained puppy to handle.

We turned into the street that goes to our home. My husband saw a sign about a yard sale that was being held down the road from our home. I thought we would leave Amber in the car and just be there a very short time. I turned to see my husband with Amber out, on the collar again. I told him I thought there were too many people, little children, plus a little dog, and that Amber might knock something off a table. My husband said I didn’t want him to do anything.

I got angry and went back to the truck. The next thing I knew my husband was on the ground face first, and others were trying to control Amber. I leaped out of the car, grabbed Amber’s leash, which wasn’t working for some reason. A man helped me get her back into the car while someone else brought a rag to wipe my husband’s face. I drove everyone home.

My husband is okay. He looks as if he were in a bar fight and lost. The whole side of his face is scraped and quite red. Amber is fine, too. We figured out why the collar didn’t work at the yard sale. I have promised to practice with Amber, the special collar, and leash in the yard. Then I have proposed we go to the square or one of the walking trails to see how Amber handles that. My husband says I’m wrong and that I don’t want Amber out in public at all.

And so it goes. Part of the reason we are still married is that, though we drive each other nuts at times, we are totally addicted to each other – flaws and all. We will finally come to a bit of compromise on this, as we always do, but the process always seems to be a painful one, with each of us thinking we are right.