When the dog who had been our friend for a long time sadly passed away, we fortunately found another creature to fill our lives. She is a young Cairn Terrier who has a problem that needs to be solved. If I open the sliding door that leads to our outside patio, she has a bad habit of running away and forcing my husband to chase her all over the senior citizen complex where we live.

As we are two older people, I fear for my husband's well being as he dashes madly attempting to catch the animal, frightened that she will run into the street and be hit by a passing car. I have to wonder whether any of the readers of The Latest have encountered such a problem, and if so, what they have done to prevent it from happening again.

The dog in question is a young animal, and was obviously never well trained by her prior owners. However, we are not in the position to take her to a dog trainer who may be able to solve our dilemma, and are searching for an answer from the readers who may see these words. Have you ever encountered a similar problem, and if so, what did you do to alleviate it?

My husband plans to buy a lock for the sliding door that will serve as a reminder for me to alert him when I am going outside to grab a breath of fresh air. But something tells me that there has to be a better solution than that.

Unquestionably, this is not an issue that only we have encountered with new, young dogs. There must be someone out there in the world who can share some ideas with us that they have found to be successful for them.

He just told me that he now plans to put a leash on the door as a reminder for me when I open the door to go outside. But I am not sure that this method will be a better reminder than the note he placed on the door, or the lock he previously planned to purchase.

I realize that I may be barking up the wrong tree, but I am reaching out to you hoping that somehow someone may be able to provide us with the idea we are trying to find.

We have no wish to loose this sweet animal, and both want her in our lives. As dog people, neither of us can imagine life without a dog, and therefore I am sitting here at the computer trying to find the words that will communicate my sense of desperation. If you can help us we would both be extremely grateful, and look forward to hearing from you.