Py: "Thanks for the snack, but could you please turn off that ear-piercing screeching?"

I've always felt secure in the knowledge that if I were to have a fire at my house, my dogs would all be able to run out the doggie door and into the back yard to safety. Then, recently, there was an article in the local paper about dryer fires and how common they are, even if you dispose of the lint that builds up in the filter after each drying cycle. My dryer is located just in front of my back door, so that if it were to catch on fire, the dogs' path to the doggie door would effectively be blocked. This struck terror into my heart until a friend of mine said, "Well, just don't leave the dryer running when you leave the house." To which I breathed a sigh of relief.

But, my relief was short-lived. Next up, my friend and colleague Bob (who recently wrote about his dog, Py, and how much she likes walking in the rain) sent me this message:

I have always been relieved by the idea that if my house caught fire while Py was here that she could get out through the dog door. However, the few times that the smoke detector has gone off while I was cooking, or when I test it, Py runs under the bed to her "den" where she feels safest, and probably the least safe place in a fire!

Oh, my God! He was right! I bet my dogs would do the same thing! But, fortunately, Bob had given this some thought and he had some ideas for how to address this problem ahead of time and prevent calamity:

I've thought of testing the alarm, then quickly giving her a favorite treat in the back yard until she associates the two. Or hiding a treat, then testing the alarm and leading her to it until she thinks that the alarm means that a treat has magically appeared in the backyard. … Any thoughts? Is this typical behavior for animals caught in a fire―to hide in some safe place?

Indeed it is typical behavior, and I don't know why it didn't occur to me sooner. It's definitely something that we should all think about.

For those of you with doggie doors, take heart: Bob tried out his second idea on Py, and it seemed to work like a charm. A few repetitions of that, and Py will probably respond in a manner that keeps her out of harm's way if the smoke detector goes off when Bob's not home:

I just had my first chance to try my new smoke alarm strategy―I'm baking dog biscuits, which always sets it off. Py looked alarmed and headed for under the bed, so I started saying, "Outside. Outside. Barky Outside." The "Barky" got her. [He's referring to Mr. Barky's dog biscuits.] She immediately ran outside where she got some kibble scattered around a bit, so she stayed out for a while. I think she would stay outside if the alarm kept going off rather than go past it to get to the bedroom.

This is such a fabulous idea! I recommend it to all who have doggie doors, and I'm going to try it out myself as soon as the soggy weather lets up (the Chihuahuas hate to get their feet wet).

For those of you without doggie doors, here's the scoop on dryer fires―how they start and how to prevent them―from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and from The Laundry Alternative Inc., a company that sells washer and dryer alternatives.