I had an observation that I have noticed on my blog (among others). It would seem that the first commenter sets the stage for all the other comments that follow. This seems to be true even when the first comment is off topic.
So….
I wanted to suggest that you post your comment first and then read the other comments. If you feel compelled, you can add another comment afterwards.
Ronin was already on his leash when my phone rang. It was Wendy, returning my call to say that she had not done her run yet. From the sound of her voice, I could tell that she needed to get out for a bit. I agreed to run with her as long as she was okay with having Ronin along.
It was a win for both all of us. Instead of running in the neighborhood, I picked her up and we drove to a nearby park. The scenery would be better and we even started out with a group of TNTers who just happen to be there for the weekly “buddy run.”
We ran along the trail for a total 2 miles. We stopped at each and every drinking faucet along the way to allow Ronin to fuel up. He was tiring out, but managed to make it to the half way point. This was where a local Music in the Park event was going on.
We hung around a bit as Ronin caught his breath. He was one tuckered dog when we arrived. After some water and being ordered to Stay in Down position, he perked up. We enjoyed great music and mingling with a whole lot of people (including Wendy’s husband and 3 sons, in the meantime.
By the time we left, Ronin was getting restless. He could smell the excitement in the air. He could also smell people’s dinner. We bid farewell and were soon on our way once more. We were back to the trail, revisiting the drinking faucets along the way, and enjoying the cool evening air.
In no time, we were back at the van and heading home to grab a bit to eat. And we ALL felt a whole lot better.
As you may know, Ronin did well in his level one dog training class. He worked hard to please me and made me proud to be on the other end of his leash. Because of my plans to Buddy Run with him, I invested in the level two training class, which started last night.
Ronin was full of enthusiasm when he arrived at class. Unfortunately, he was not as eager to please me as he was to meet and greet his new classmates. The new instructor introduced himself before we had even made it over to the group.
Taking Ronin’s leash from me, he began asking a serious of questions:
How old is he?
How did he do in Level One?
Does he know not to pull on the leash?
Does he know not to stick his nose in people’s zipper areas?
Does he know not to jump?
With each question came a correction as Ronin was reminded of all the things that he *had* known and had conveniently left in the van with his doggie manners. *sigh*
Back in control of Ronin’s leash, and armed with a stronger technique for correcting Ronin’s rediscovered errant ways, the class began. I’d been warned that he is the strictest of all the instructors. I had no idea that we, the trainers/owners, would be robotted into answering in unison each question that was asked.
The first of many Q & A series went something like this:
Instructor: On a Walk On Okay, are your dogs allowed to walk ahead of you?
Class: Yes.
Instructor: Are they allowed to pull?
Class: No.
Instructor: If the metal clasp is not hanging straight down, are they pulling?
Class: Yes.
Instructor: Do you need to correct for that?
Class: Yes.
Instructor: How quickly?
Class: Immediately.
Instructor: Okay, let’s go.
Class proceeded and both Ronin and I were better behaved by the end of it. I went home and had the last of my merlot.