:: THE DOG DAYS OF WINTER ::

June 03, 2003

Dusty's Halo


7:00 p.m.
Dusty was angelic today. Hold on, I want to dwell on that sentence for a few seconds...Ahhhhhh! Yes, it doesn't happen all that often.

Let's see, she walked on a loose leash very consistently on all of our walks. She didn't eat nearly as much garbage off the sidewalk as she usually does. She was well-behaved *plus* she came when called when we were at High Park.

As we walked out favourite trail, she did all of her 'tricks,' sometimes without being asked. I'd better explain: all along this trail, there are various 'fitness stations' made of wood that are intended for humans to use. Some of them are fine for dogs to use. There's a balance beam that Dusty jumps up on and runs along, three 'stumps' that she hops up on and then sits, and a 'table' where she does her down-stay (this is an agility thing). Fun!

Also, *I* learned a new trick today. I'm beginning to suspect that when Dusty starts to look for stuff to eat on the ground, she's bored. So I've started giving her something to do, asking for 'sits,' 'downs,' and 'stays.'

I did this today in High Park, along a stretch of path that has dark - and apparently very edible - dirt. Usually, this stretch is a battle between Dusty's desire to eat the dirt and my desire for her to 'leave it.'

Instead, I put Dusty in a down-stay and walked about 40 metres down the path. Her small, alert face became smaller and smaller behind me until I turned around, waited a moment, then released her. Dusty tore up the path, a canine torpedo!

I did this a few more times and noticed something: my dog was having a great time! It's usually hard to discern a schnauzer smile, because their beards pretty much cover up the expressions of their mouths (Dusty looks perpetually pouty, or astonished). But Dusty was grinning! Her expression clearly said: " Wow! This is *so* cool!"

We played 'sit-stay' and 'down-stay' all the way back to the park entrance and it was so much fun! Here's a amusing one: do a 'sit-stay' and walk into some tall grass, so Dusty can run across the grass (which she loves) in great leaps and bounds.

Hanging out with this dog is so much fun! This was a special day.


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