Katja 03: A question of peg and chain (f/m Mf)

[Jenny_1972]

This is part of a growing series of Katja stories that starts with

Katja 01: What's a collar without a leash? viewtopic.php?t=23816
Katja 02: Making the shopping mall less boring viewtopic.php?t=23853

Katja 03: A Question of Peg and Chain

This must have happened before Katja switched to ‘dog talk’ during our evening rounds around the farm.
We were doing our usual loop around the buildings and pastures when I casually brought something up:

F: “Princess, it’s pretty clear you don’t mind being the occasional victim of a TUG. But… have you ever tied someone else up?”
K: “Only my little brother,” she said, surprising me.
“He can be such a pain, and tying him up really helps keep him under control. On Saturdays, when Mom has to work and I have to watch him, I just chain him to the old clothesline pole in the backyard” she added matter-of-factly.
"I get to roam the house freely, and he gets much needed fresh air and some sun. Win-win. I even help him get everything he needs before I leave him there — drinks, books, his video game, sunscreen. I also remind him to use the toilet first so he doesn’t have excuses.”

F: “Does your mom know about this?”
K: “Well… at first we didn’t tell her. But it was kind of hard to explain the long chain lying in the grass. I think she just didn’t want to deal with it. She’s too busy most of the time anyway. And it’s just a basic chain and two cheap padlocks. Nothing fancy. My dumb brother still can’t pick them, thankfully. But we forgot to bring the chain in before the rains last autumn, and now it’s all rusty.”

F: “And he just lets you chain him up?”
K: “I don’t chain him up — I chain his ankle. And I even let him choose which one: left or right.
The chain is long enough that he can sit in the shade of the hedge when it gets too hot, but not long enough for him to reach the garden gate or the back door. If he’s been especially bratty, though, I shorten it appropriately.
Then I set my alarm for one hour. After that, I check on him. After two hours, I offer to let him go. If he says no, we go up in one-hour intervals… until Mom comes home.”
She smirked. “Oh, and Mom keeps the second set of keys, by the way.”

F: “What about bad weather?”
K: “He's growing out of his puddle suit so I give him a big, clear plastic tablecloth to crawl under. But when it rains, he usually begs for release after the first hour.
Still, that time outside has taught him a lot! He’s learned the importance of a full battery if he wants to play on his tablet. He knows exactly where the Wi-Fi signal starts to fade. He knows which weather forecast is best in predicting rain for our area.
When putting on sunscreen he’s learned the spots on his back he can’t reach by himself — and even without a watch, he can now tell exactly when an hour has passed.”

F: “Who would have thought — my sweet little princess, a wicked dungeon master!” I said, genuinely impressed.

Katja burst into laughter, eyes tearing up.

K: “Got you, just kidding! Mom had that pole torn down three years ago!”

Well played, my princess, well played.

F: “But you didn’t make that up just now. You’ve really thought about this before.”

Katja just smiled.