Recently, I was going back to work after a short holiday and our dog accompanied me towards a valley before my ascent towards a neighbouring village where I was to find a means of transport. At some point, I knew I had to let go of my friend for another prolonged period of estrangement. I had to be firm and I used a frond to scare him back. He got the message after he realized that I was disappearing into the horizon. It was not the short excursion to the garden he thought where he refreshed in the river during hot seasons. Some people have conditioned their dogs to go back home by uttering a single word, a short verbal order for the dog to go back home backed by a credible undertone of punishment which in my opinion is not a humane thing to do. I remember another young dog of a similar age who accompanied me uphill to the neighbouring village and I realized that he was in danger from hit and run motorists. Fear and apprehension were written on his face with a visible and impotent frown. I had to bark orders at him to take the long route back home, dogs being the intelligent creatures they are, I found him sound and dry in the evening . How to send the dog back home?
