TheBanyanTree: Dog Day

[Kitty Park]

The dogs, like children, are focused on *their* happiness.  And after
reading your report, they have no complaints.  But if the "improvement" on
your part entails lightening up, yeah, go ahead.  No one got hurt, all
responded to commands, so just *go* and enjoy sharing the experience with
Molly and watching the hounds cavort!

Kitty
<mzzkitty at gmail.com>kcp-parkplace.blogspot.com
 <http://parkplaceohio.com>



On Sat, Jun 1, 2013 at 10:25 PM, Pam Lawley <pamj.lawley at gmail.com> wrote:

> I won't say that as dog owners we're failures - our mutts eat well, are
> completely loved and spoiled, AND they get to lick the beaters!  But, we
> are not very good about getting them out and about.  We have a good-sized
> fenced-in yard for them to run around in, and a very good-sized sectional
> sofa for them to lay on,!
>
> Our female is Annie, and she is four years old.  Our male is Mojo and he
> just celebrated his first birthday a couple of months ago.  And they are
> both Great Danes.  I have always taken Annie on walks with me.  She's
> nervous about jumping into the back of my SUV, so I she gets her front paws
> up and I have to give an assist in the rear for her to get in.  And then
> she lays there panting and holding on for dear life!  She won't sit up lest
> she fall in a turn, and she will not relax and enjoy the ride!  But she
> LOVES going!  And she LOVES the walks!    There are no sidewalks around
> here and all the cars make me nervous, so we almost always head on base to
> the PT track.
>
> If she sees me putting on my 'tennis' shoes, she starts whining and dancing
> around! She knows - or expects! - she's going for a ride, and then a walk!
>  And she's like a bloodhound on the course sniffing everything and
> everywhere.  (One time we got stopped at a security check going on base and
> she had to get out, and then get right back in a few minutes later -
> without a walk!!  She'd been duped and she was NOT happy about that!!)
> And she's not a very disciplined walker but sometimes I just don't have the
> heart to reel her in - she is SO excited to be out there!  And, truthfully,
> the faster SHE goes, the faster *I* have to go so it makes for a nice brisk
> workout!  And if I run, well then it's a sprint!  However fast I think I
> can go - she can go faster!!
>
> The course is marked, and just past the 3/4 mile marker there's a water
> stop.  It's a big water fountain, but there's a spigot at the bottom that I
> turn on for her to drink all she wants.  And she knows it's there!  No
> matter how long it is in between walks, she veers off course every time for
> a drink!  Then we go to the 1.5 marker and we get to stop on the way back,
> and at then at the fountain at the end.  I still have to stop and make her
> sit to wait for other runners or bikers or somebody else with a dog though.
>  Did I mention that she's not very disciplined?!
>
> There are no dog parks around here - it's a small town.  And in fact, dogs
> aren't allowed at the city park, or any of the ball fields.  My friend in
> Florida often takes her dog to their park - or their own beach! - and I'm
> always jealous!  It's so convenient to take her pets out!
>
> And I am married to an avid - did I mention AVID? - golfer who golfs every
> weekend day and then naps, so the opportunity to take the dogs together
> somewhere is pretty nil.  And honestly, both dogs are too much for me.  The
> few times I've taken Annie walking and left Mojo home though, he's spent
> the time in pitiful sorrow whining and pacing wondering why he got left
> behind!
>
> Which is a shame, because Mojo LOVES a good car ride too!  And he has no
> problem jumping into the SUV, nor is he fearful of curves!  He stands up
> and sticks his head out and has a grand old time stepping all over Annie in
> his excitement!
>
> So today I took them to the river.  It's close to where my daughter Molly
> lives (about ten miles down the road) and there's not usually a lot of
> people.  Molly has a little mutt dog who loves to go, and when Annie was
> just a few months old she and I went with them.  Then the hurricane came
> and washed the beach away so the state closed it down for months - all of
> last summer!  But it's back up and running and the weather is finally warm
> again so we made a date to go this morning.
>
> Oh.  What.  Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> I loaded the bowl and some water bottles.  I emptied everything out of the
> back and laid down the seats.  I put down a sheet and I thew in a couple of
> towels.  When everything was ready, I pulled out the leads and we started
> the dance of getting them on while they jumped around!  Getting them - on
> leads! - through the garage to the car involved some flexibility on my
> part, but I got them in the car in one piece!  Two big Danes pulling in two
> directions heading for the same place - crazy stuff!!
>
> I had all the windows down.  Annie, of course, got help getting in - Mojo
> had already jumped in himself! - and then she hunkered down for the
> treacherous ride! She has been known to rub her 'elbows' raw digging them
> in on the curves!  Mojo danced from side to side, window to window, hanging
> out his head and doing that amazing dog-breathing-out-the-window at 50 mph!
>  I even managed to snap a photo of him!
>
> My daughter and I had agreed to meet at nine and I was a couple of minutes
> early.  She was a couple of minutes late!  And ten minutes is WAY too long
> to keep two dogs locked in, even with the windows all down, with so very
> much excitement outside to explore!!!!  I finally took pity and got them
> out, and then we did some arm-stretching exercises to get warmed up!  All
> of a sudden Annie seems SO disciplined on a lead (in comparison)!
>
> Molly's little dog is a horrible whiner and a licker, but she is SO much
> better behaved and very good off a lead.  I was happy when they showed up
> because it gave my two something to focus on close by!
>
> It's a short walk down a sidewalk to the river and we kept them all leashed
> so we could check out anybody else in the area and figure out options.  I
> was thrilled when we saw NOBODY, because once we reached the water's edge,
> we let them all go.  And I swear, I could FEEL their doggy
> excitement!!!!!!!!
>
> Then ran and chased and - YES!  I swear it! - they "frolicked"  in their
> fun.  All of a sudden Mojo was the chicken, fearful to walk over a pile of
> cement bricks (not a good description, but the area was built up to combat
> erosion).  Annie and Delilah crossed over quickly, but we had to go back
> for Mojo and guide him down!  And the water!  The first couple of times it
> splashed he jumped!
>
> We leashed all three only once when we saw a lady walking towards us with
> her dog, but once they'd passed the dogs were freed and all behaved running
> on ahead!   They raced, they fetched sticks from the water, they drank the
> water!  Yuck!  Our river is kind of gross...
>
> At one point on the way back after we'd turned around, Annie got a little
> ahead  and found some shade from a tree and laid down.  My poor couch
> potato dog!!  Back at the cars, everybody had some fresh, clean water and
> we loaded back up!
>
> It was the best hour I've had in such a long time - just from watching my
> dogs get to play FREE!!  Yeah, I had to bathe them both out back before
> they could come in the house, but it was SO worth the effort!
>
> We're going to do this again.  And again!  I may not be a total failure as
> a dog owner, but it's obvious I could use some improvement!  Just ask Annie
> and Mojo!!
>
> Pam
>