Bella's mad dash for freedom

We hardly ever let Bella off the leash when we leave the house. Yes, we think she's lovable and wouldn't hurt a flea, but you don't want to risk anything. The other day we had the park mostly to ourselves, so we stood about 50 feet apart and had her run back and forth between us off the leash. It's fun to watch her tearing along at top speed, and it has to be good exercise. Unfortunately, a man and a little girl were handling a kite at the other side of the park, so on her third dash, she abruptly veered off and made straight for them -- ignoring my terse commands and, finally, my dire threats.

The good news: She stopped well away from them and contented herself with barking a couple of times. But it made me realize she has a ways to go before we consider her 100 percent reliable. We'll probably settle for 75 percent -- no dog can be completely predictable -- but she's going to be seeing a lot of that leash in the months to come.