Realm of applied walking!

One would think, never having had a dog before, that dog - walks - lead - walks - dog all quite naturally occur, all compliment & bond together nicely - all thrive as easily as er riding a bike or yes of course: walking a dog!!  Dogs LOVE to go walkies!!  Hmmmm - not so, not our two little pups who braved the big wide new world upon our hill today. The ancient well trodden paths, which take only a few moments to tread, took around an hour.  Bursts of spontaneous trots with gentle praise just were never  enough to maintain continuity, as long bouts of non participation followed the brevity of walking. The sit downs, the lie downs, the sniffing & chewing seemed much nicer distractions than walking. Bless. We decided one pup each would be sensible - if you can rate doing the wackiest version of the Highland fling, all the twirling, ducking in & weaving out of each other's lead as sensible!!

Yaaay freeedom!!

I'm sure there was a conspiracy between pups to see who could make their owner fall first. Soon they will also realise they just can't run on this lead!! Thankfully, after much patience, encouragement & pleads we eventually managed to walk along the lane & back. On route meeting plenty other canines, all who were very sociable. Darling little Kyloe is quite unexpectedly funny, with every new dog she meets, as she is the runt of the litter, she knows her place & doesn't want any rough business so she immediately rolls over onto her back into submission, wagging her tail in anticipation of a little stroke & a friendly dog showing no further interest in her. Kyloe appears to suss out the world around her very quickly & simply adapts.  Twizel, on the other hand, sits & watches with great stillness & total silence, waiting to see what the big dogs are going to do. We noticed Twizel was the bravest in the vets, poor little Kyloe yelped - shrieked - twice when she had her booster injection - once with the needle & once as the medication  surged into her. Twizel, just took it all in her stride & didn't flinch one bit. Its quite amusing, we have lived here upon the hill for 20 years, today we spoke to more people in an hour because of the pups, than we have in all of the years we've lived here!! When we go for a walk, its almost like being invisible. Although some do say hello, probably in response to my ridiculously nutty constant smiley Northern attitude & Hubby's friendly demeanor, some don't see us in their vision, some are familiar - they'll stop to talk but mostly though we never see or speak to a Soul. Its unreal how many peeps adore puppies & just stop & talk. Think more people seem much more interested in the pups than they did when I used to walk our baby many many moons ago.
Perhaps I am to soon learn why - maybe it all the unconditional love, the endless loyalty & affection they share indiscriminately.
Eventually after an incredibly long time, with hardly any ground covered, we returned home. The pups didnt seem too fussed, although Twizel did make a run for it! I thought they'd be so excited to see their familiar haven in comparison to the huge unknown world they'd just experienced.  Maybe next time. Meanwhile - hit the Zzzzzz' time, as hubby & pups are fast asleep in the respective sacks. (both hounds probably dreaming theyre still running through the sun lit tree lined path)

Kyloe sitting pretty!