Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Sunday Morning Walks….Day Three Hundred, Sixty Two

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Our walk this morning was a bit less eventful than yesterday’s walk. :0

We started out in the field.  I had loaded my pockets with plastic baggies just in case I came across more animals parts.  I was determined to clean them up.

Instead of sticking to our traditional trails I decided to try walking two dogs on the rail trail.  Go ahead, you can ask.  What the heck was I thinking?

It started out well enough, we pretty much had the trail to ourselves.  Sampson was off leash and Delilah was on the 30 footer.  Because it’s the rail trail and frequently used by walkers, runners and bicyclists you can see quite a distance in front of you.

Whenever I saw anyone approaching, I would call Sampson to me and leash him, then I would ‘reel’ Delilah in. 🙂   Most of the time when I see anyone approaching, I make the dogs sit until that person has passed.

This is a great test for the dogs because a lot of people walk/run with their dogs on this trail.  What I found out today is they will both sit and wait patiently as a dog runs past, even if the dog is pulling against his/her lead trying to reach them.

HOWEVER, if the dog is lunging AND barking, all bets are off.

We met two ladies with a young dog, and the dog was pulling and was very vocal about trying to get to Sampson and Delilah and I was over-powered. 🙁

Thankfully this time I had the sense to drop the leashes so I didn’t get pulled head first into the women.  The dog mom handled the situation very well, she didn’t panic, she just kept her dog moving.   I apologized profusely and she went on her way.

Shortly after that I’d had enough.  Sampson’s leash is an 8 footer, while Delilah’s is much longer.  I need to wrap her leash around my arm in order to walk them together comfortably.

As those of you who have more than one dog know, two leashes, one in each hand can be a tad difficult.  The dogs switch sides frequently and the leashes (and sometimes dogs) end up getting tangled.  With Delilah’s leash wrapped around my arm it’s not exactly easy switching hands!

I took some pictures to try and capture the beauty of a quiet Sunday morning.

Of course the real beauty is after a nice long walk, there are two tired puppies.

What did you do today?

Adventures In Walking…Day Three Hundred, Sixty One

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We started out for our walk around 10:40 this morning.

Just as we entered the field I heard my walking buddy, up in the woods, “Wooo, Wooo.”

This is the sound she makes when she calls Brady.  So we turned around and headed up the hill.

“Go Sampson, go find Sheila.” I said, and Sampson took off into the woods.

Delilah and I met up with Sampson and Sheila a few minutes later, she was on the hunt for Brady, “He doesn’t have his collar on” she stated flatly.

Sheila has an e-collar for Brady and she had the remote in her hand.

“Does he have his regular collar?” I questioned.

“No.”

“Oh Sheila!” I was surprised.

“The hunters gutted a deer back in woods and he got into it, I took off his collar so I could wash the blood off it.”

By this time we were both calling for Brady and had reached the crest of the hill.

Sheila said she was going home to check and to see if Brady had gone home.

“Let me know if he’s there, in the meantime I’ll keep calling him,” were my parting words.

A few minutes later my cell phone rang with the news that Brady was indeed waiting for Sheila at home.  What a great relief!  Sampson, Delilah and I continued our walk which was fairly uneventful until the end.

As we approached the field I checked to make sure no-one was there before dropping Delilah’s leash.  She took off running.

Once I arrived at the field I called the dogs to me, Sampson came right away, but Delilah had found something she thought was edible.

“DUH-LIE-LAH, DROP IT!” I shouted as I raced towards her.

She knew she was had, and started walking towards me, but she was still chewing.

What is it when our dogs are eating something they aren’t supposed to, that makes all our dog managing skills go out the window?  As I approached her I made a grab for her head, and with my hand on the back of her neck I am giving her little shakes, the whole time screaming “Drop it.” “Leave it.” “Drop it.” “Leave it!”

Then I heard the crunch and what little bit of my mind remained, left me completely.

I shoved my hand in her mouth.

What is it about our dogs eating something they shouldn’t that makes us lose all fear of what we might actually pull out of their mouth?

Yeah I got it, about 4 inches of bone, meat and blood.

I took once glance and flung it away from me, wiping my hand on my pants.

Oh God I thought, I just pulled a freakin dead mouse out of her mouth.

I took about five steps forward and then I saw it.

It looks like ribs to me.  Size wise, it is about 10 inches, sitting out there in the middle of the field.  If I’d had a plastic shopping bag with me I would have picked it up, but I didn’t.

Don’t you think someone who is hunting near a public area has some type of responsibility regarding their kill?

Follow-Up Friday….Day Three Hundred, Sixty

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For those new to the blog, my follow-up Friday provides me with an opportunity to update or revise a post from the previous week.  You know sometimes you post about something and you need an update but it doesn’t warrant a whole blog.  Or sometimes someone made a comment that really resonated with you.  Yup, Follow-Up Friday. 😉

Communication – Author’s Note

Many of you wrote in telling me the ways that your dogs communicate to you and what exactly it is they are telling you. 

It reinforces my belief that our pets do communicate, just not in the manner we are used to. 🙂

How Can I Help – Update:

Here’s the latest of Lady, she has been spotted numerous times, but so far she has eluded capture.  There are many, many people searching, live traps have been set and thousands of fliers have been hung.

The best way to help is to share the information with as many people as possible, and believe me it works!  One of my readers, Maryann has friends who live in Eagan!  How amazing is that?

I have received no further information about whether Sasha has been sprung yet, but my friend Ann at Labs 4 Rescue is assessing the case and if they can find a place for Sasha, they will.

I will update you when I have more information.

Creative Capture Award – Author’s Note

Thank you all for the congratulations.  I’m thankful I have the opportunity to share my dogs, my stories and myself with all of you. 🙂

 

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