Black Dog Mystery

Our Labrador gets a hike nearly every day. We have a trail network out in the back forty and she loves those hikes...she's been doing them since she was a pup. Twice now, since her sixth birthday, she's been embarking on her own hikes out back. She's been staying out there for two hours at a time. When she returns she acts like she doesn't know us and she is shaking. Our guess is that she has encountered the very large Black Bear that patrols our neighborhood at night. She's not a barker and she is not aggressive so we are never alerted to her situation. We keep hiking up the same trail in the morning and she is very busy sniffing out the trespasser and she stays right by my side. Two days later she is back to leading me out on the hike as if she didn't expect any sort of encounter. So we have gone back to using the Orange Collar. When we call her we beep her, no electric shock just a signal that we want her back here. She certainly keeps us busy...daily walks, daily lake or river swims and constantly asking us to fling a ball or toss a stick. No peace for the weary. Twenty years with Labs, we are well trained.