The Mystery of the Dog that Barks Back

I want to tell you about something interesting that's been happening for a while now when I go on the morning walk with my mum. We usually go the same way, taking the short cut into the forest near Isis' house (Isis is a border collie who came camping with us once and wouldn't get out of the car the whole time, but that's another story). The forest is always fresh with scents at that time in the morning, and I get a pretty good idea of who passed through there during the night. Mostly, I check out the coyote scents and sometimes I get the feeling they are lurking somewhere right nearby, so I set up a ferocious barking to send them on their way. That's when the other dog starts barking back at me. It's the same every time. She seems to hang out somewhere up in the rocks by the steep cliffs. As soon as I bark, she barks back and, strangest of all, she always barks EXACTLY the same thing I bark, woof for woof! Now, how do you explain that? If I bark, "Woof,woofwoofwoof, woofwoof, woof", then she'll bark, "Woof,woofwoofwoof, woofwoof, woof". There's never a moment's pause and she never makes a mistake. Yet when I run up the rocks trying to find her, she's nowhere to be found. So, I have a plan up my paw, to take her by surprise one morning. I can't reveal the details here, in case she's the kind of dog who keeps up with blogs. I do have one clue, though. She's a type of dog called an Echo. I've never heard of that breed before, but Mum always says, "Come on, Ruby, it's just an Echo", like it's not a dog even worth bothering with. It's funny how she always disappears off somewhere before we see her, almost like she just vanishes into thin air. But I'll catch her out one day, just when she's least expecting it. Then we'll see about this silly Echo dog! Until then, I'm keeping an ear cocked.