Friends and Fun

We have had a fairly energetic morning so Jay was happy to relax when we got home.  Jerry had a less energetic morning but decided to relax with him.

 

Yesterday was an exciting time for Jay.  My sister and my daughter have both come to stay for the weekend – two new people to play with!  Last night he twice whined for the first time at my door (this shows how sensitive he is to changes in his household pack).  When Karen arrived we repeated the route to work because this will be one of the most important routes for Jay.  He was a little reluctant to leave his new friends and the toy he had been playing with, but he soon settled and worked well. Once at County Hall we carried on to the Countryside Centre.  This involved a trip along a path just outside the woods – lots of interesting smells, other dogs and open space.  Not surprisingly this is a very exciting route for Jay and he is inclined to pull.  Every so often, when I feel that he is pulling more than I am prepared to tolerate I have to get him to sit for a moment to help him to calm down and understand that he mustn’t pull.  I am always surprised that this helps the dogs become more calm, but it does.  It takes time and patience but is worth doing.  We caught the bus back.  So that’s another route practised. 

 

The best bit of the morning for me was letting Jay have his first run.  Because I have a partner who can drive and shares my enjoyment of country walks our dogs get lots of exercise as well as their work.  I have always thought that it is really important for the dogs to be able to let off steam and have a good romp.  It’s also fun to take well-behaved dogs out as they come back when they are called – this always impresses!  Jay did come back when he was called, even when he had just dived into an ornamental pond – lots of other dogs do it too.  He is half Water Spaniel after all. 

 

Jay, Karen and I now have the rest of the day off - I think that  we could all do with it!