wednesday!

another lovely sunrise. echo walked right by 3 other dogs on leash on the trail no problem b/c they too were leashed & not lunging. love it. when we went by the lab (leashed) who did lunge at us, he made a move, but thought better of it when corrected. it would be very hard for anyone to sneak up on me if i was paying attention to my dog- he lets me know about runners, bikers, other dogs long before i have a clue they're coming.

thinking about trailpalooza this weekend and a few things occur to me.

Nichole & Josh, who helped in the booth in the afternoon, got involved in Boise Trail DOG because they specifically trained their dog to be good on the trails and don't want to lose access because other people haven't done that work. They appear to be college students, or shortly out of college, so we're not talking people with lots of cash to throw around, but this is something that was important to them.

i also invested (and continue to invest) time & money in training my dogs to be good citizens, partly because i feel like i failed tara ra bouvier by not understanding how much training helps. it makes the dog more confident and comfortable, it makes me the same. it also strengthens the bond between dog & owner and enables us to take our 4 leggeds out in the world with us.

the other thing i noticed was how many dogs were just horrible on leash. no wonder people hate leashes! if an 80- 90 lbs dog (even my parent's 30 lb schnoodle when i was a kid) isn't leashed trained it can be a nightmare. i saw people being drug over to meet other dogs (whether the other dog & owner wanted it or not), being hauled all over the park to check out things, it would have made me really grumpy.

which reinforced my belief that most dogs (and owners) are happier trained.

the key is to find a trainer and a training method that works for both of you. my friend who does rescue spends time with every new dog in the back yard with a long line working on recall. repetition til they get it. i do not do so well with repetitive activity, but can be very consistent. paula's method of training with an e collar is working out great for me & the pooches.

the big thing is- you do have the power!


9 with, 6 without






and a story- we were walking home and saw a woman, a little girl (cute in her dress- probably about 4 years old) and a bouncing fluffy puppy. so i said- "how cute! how old?" and the woman said "which one?" and i said "the puppy!" without even realizing until it came out of my mouth that perhaps i should have censored and said "both" or something....... but i really was more interested in the dog......

happy wednesday- it's all downhill from here!