I like to take Riley and her senior aunt Della to the Cougar Bay Preserve where dogs can be off leash. The dogs love it - the freedom, the new smells, and for Della, alias - Swamp Thing, the bogs. Ahhh, the smell of wet dog and stagnant water, these can make my eyes misty just thinking about the combo.
Della is a yellow lab and can't resist a dip. On the other hand, Riley, a mutt, shows no indication of having Labrador genes; she doesn't care to step in the water and instead seems to prefer skirting along the bank. I thought Riley would follow Della anywhere, but apparently not.
We've been going to the preserve for over two months now. So Riley has become comfortable with these surroundings. She doesn't come back to check on me from farther up the trail as often as she once did. Still she tends to stick closer than my dear-departed Ellie who would put her nose to the ground and dash off into the brush, crashing away until she got farther and farther off trail. I'd call and whistle (and I can whistle very loudly) and worry until about twenty minutes later she'd grant me a viewing of her fox brush 3/4 tail, and then she'd stay closer to the trail for the rest of our walk.
Riley doesn't appear to have the scent-hound genes that Ellie possessed. Also she isn't as independent. Being a puppy (10 months) and a somewhat sensitive girl, she tends to get spooked by new things. One day, part of the path was overgrown with thimble berry bushes, creating a tunnel. Riley, who was ahead on the trail, hesitated, so Della and I went through first. After Della and I had gone about 10 feet, Riley burst through at top speed. The "tunnel" wasn't so scary the next time.
Della is a yellow lab and can't resist a dip. On the other hand, Riley, a mutt, shows no indication of having Labrador genes; she doesn't care to step in the water and instead seems to prefer skirting along the bank. I thought Riley would follow Della anywhere, but apparently not.
We've been going to the preserve for over two months now. So Riley has become comfortable with these surroundings. She doesn't come back to check on me from farther up the trail as often as she once did. Still she tends to stick closer than my dear-departed Ellie who would put her nose to the ground and dash off into the brush, crashing away until she got farther and farther off trail. I'd call and whistle (and I can whistle very loudly) and worry until about twenty minutes later she'd grant me a viewing of her fox brush 3/4 tail, and then she'd stay closer to the trail for the rest of our walk.
Riley doesn't appear to have the scent-hound genes that Ellie possessed. Also she isn't as independent. Being a puppy (10 months) and a somewhat sensitive girl, she tends to get spooked by new things. One day, part of the path was overgrown with thimble berry bushes, creating a tunnel. Riley, who was ahead on the trail, hesitated, so Della and I went through first. After Della and I had gone about 10 feet, Riley burst through at top speed. The "tunnel" wasn't so scary the next time.
