Heart Like a Dog

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

Day Forty Eight – There's nothing quite as peaceful…

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There’s nothing quite as peaceful to me as walking in the woods during winter, while snow crunches under your feet but the rest of the world is quieted by the blanket of snow provided by mother nature. 

We are lucky enough to live on a cul-de-sac that ends with a giant soccer field and hiking trails that branch off from it.  Since I had today off and was trying to get as much done as possible, I decided to forgo the dog park and take the dogs up to the trails.  I had done this last week and let them go off leash and was very pleased with the way Delilah reacted, and I thought the more I can do this, the better she will be.

As I said, the street ends in a cul-de-sac so ALL the snow that the plow moved ended up right at the entrance to the park, snow about 8 feet deep and about 5 feet wide, but it did not deter us! 

I noticed right away that there was a woman inside, climbing the path to the field; I also noticed she had a dog so before I let my dogs out I hollered out to her and asked if her dog was friendly and if she minded if my dogs were off leash (hers already was but I wanted to be polite.)  She said no problem, so out they jumped and made quick work of the huge snow bank.  They got to the woman and her dog much quicker than I did, but everyone got along wonderfully.  As we walked up we chatted a little bit and she told me she had another dog somewhere in the park and that most people who walked their dogs up there, had them off leash. 

We didn’t stay together too long, as she needed to head home, so the dogs and I headed off.  People had been up there hiking so certain trails were well packed.  The dogs did really well, running ahead and sometimes off the path but always returning to me when I called.   We did two loops around and then headed home, it was an enjoyable part of my afternoon, me and my dogs and the quiet of the woods.

Day Forty Seven – My dog fetches!

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Today we decided to attempt the dog park; we figured by now four days after the storm someone had probably shoveled the paths; and we were right!

There were only a few dogs there today and my dogs ran a lot more than they usually do; which was awesome.  Some of the snow in the play area had been packed down, so we could walk a little too (which helps to keep us warm.)

We have been trying to play fetch with our dogs for years, when Sampson was a puppy we would throw the ball and he would catch it.  We could do that for about three times, then he would take the ball and lay on as if to say, “try to throw this.”  Delilah will sometimes play fetch in the house with a ball and I can throw it a few times, but then she loses interest.  I have never had success with her playing fetch with the ball outside; although they tell me at daycare that the dogs do play fetch.  I always throw the ball and laugh when I tell them they are failed retrievers.

Today for some unknown reason, we threw a stick and Delilah fetched it; so we threw it again and she fetched it again, and again, and again!  At one point I threw it in the soft snow and she had her head buried half-way up her neck trying to get that stick, she came up with it, her face covered with snow and her tail just wagging away.  I said to Chet, I cannot believe after three and a half years, we finally figured out how to get her to play fetch. 

By the way, the dogs are now passed out on the couch.  Mission accomplished.

Day Forty Six – Drop In Agility Class

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Since the Northeast got buried with two feet of snow, I was in a dilemma as to how to exercise the dogs today.  Normally on a weekend I would take them to the dog park for an hour and let them run around with a bunch of other dogs.  Since we can’t even seem to get the snow cleaned off the ends of the streets, I figured it was unlikely that anyone would have cleaned out the dog park.  So how to exercise the dogs?

Luckily for me, my daycare/training center 1st Command has a “drop in” agility class on Saturdays, so that’s where Sampson, Delilah and I headed this morning.  We were fortunate that there were only three other people in the class, which meant there was only 7 dogs doing agility.  The two little dogs came in late, so while we all helped set up, the big dogs got to run around and play together (which helps tire them out.) 

Delilah, my younger dog who is pure chocolate and has the personality to boot, absolutely LOVES the agility class.  We had tried the dogs on agility a couple of years ago and she didn’t really seem to “get it” but she does now!  She runs the agility like she has been doing it for years! 

We started out with the teeter totter, which she was initially hesitant with, but a well placed treat had her up and over in no time.  The biggest issue with the teeter totter is that if they do it too fast, the board drops quickly and can scare them.  Then onto the balance beam, through the tire, over two hurdles, through the tube and through the chute.  AWESOME!!

Then it is the big boy’s turn.  Sampson, my first “baby” is a Golden Lab and very easy-going and mellow.  He absolutely REFUSED to do the teeter totter or the balance beam.  I had to throw a treat through the tire to get him through, he actually took me out at the hurdles (my knees are killing me) and he got tangled in the chute.  I was so pissed off, I put him in the crate.

When my husband got there, guess what?  He ran everything perfectly (except for the teeter totter and balance beam which he still refused to go on) for his Dad.  I found out today that we have his and her dogs.

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