If I imagine heaven, it would be this: a wooded area filled with dogs and people of all sizes. There would be lots of areas to sniff and explore. There would be treats and cookies to eat. I could run untethered. Today I went to a place that was almost heaven.
After a miserable car ride, I wasn't too pleased to find myself in an unfamiliar place with a leash around my neck. A walk? Now? I was not enthused. But within minutes, we were in this amazing place called a Forest.
The Forest had a walking path. Clearly, many dogs come to the Forest: I smelled them EVERYWHERE! The best part: I was allowed to sniff and sniff. They had brought water for me so all that sniffing didn't make me too thirsty!
Along the path we saw:
- bikes: big bikes; small bikes; bikes for one; bikes for two; fast bikes; slow bikes
- people: big people; tiny-just-learning-to-walk people; people in groups; people by themselves
- runners: fast runners; slow runners; in-between runners
- dogs: big dogs; small dogs; mostly all calm dogs
I was supposed to sit whenever a dog walked by. This was hard for me. I was so excited - I wanted to play with every dog I saw. A couple of labradoodles that were just my size stopped to play. I behaved myself: I sniffed but held myself back from jumping all over them. I'm learning that jumping on dogs will tighten my leash and result in the end of play time. The best part of meeting these dogs was the Owner. She was soo nice. She had a dog treat just for me! I was so excited I could hardly sit like she asked.
Speaking of treats: I got a lot of treats on this walk. That made me happy. It's so much easier to remember to listen when there are so many possibilities for treats! I was asked to sit a lot: when people walked by; when people biked by; when dogs walked by; when bikes rode by.
I have only one complaint: the leash. If I hadn't been on a leash, I could have run and run and run. Still. Today was almost heaven..
~Kobe
Boy, did Kobe have a good time at the forest!
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