Workout. And freak out.

Since the clocks changed, there have been two big changes in our household. First off, we let my human sleep in a little bit later.  That combined with this retirement thing, means that we actually go for our morning walks after it gets light outside.  No need for the headlamp.

Second change - because it stays lighter longer,  we can go for later walks in the evening. Usually the FG gets to go for a longer walk - his energy level is boundless - so he needs it.  You can just leave us PONs with some treats, and we are good.

The last few nights, with the snow largely gone - my human has been taking the FG up to the golf course in the evening. He is kept on leash because the thought of a sunset rodeo is less than appealing.  It’s pretty quiet at that time of the  evening.   Not a soul around.  And it would be completely relaxing and mind-clearing.  Except for the fact that the FG is continually trying to freak out my human. 

The walk begins fine.   With him trotting along, scouring the grass for animal poop.  And smelling all kinds of things.  Then at about the half way point, he decides that the walk would be much more enjoyable if he were FREE.  It’s a little difficult to accurately describe the “look” that appears on his face - .07 seconds before he suddenly tucks his tail between his legs and bolts to the end of his leash - only to turn and bolt the other direction. He uses this element of surprise in the hope that my human will drop his leash.  My human braces herself for the impact as the leash goes tight.  This ricochet behavior helps to build human biceps and quads at the same time. Some people go to a gym to work out.  My human walks the FG.

If the ping-pong maneuver doesn’t work, the next attempt is to chew his way to freedom.  He grabs the leash and starts grinding down in an attempt to escape his bondage.  Needless to say, my human has to stop this behavior .  Usually by begging.

Lastly, there is the scare tactic.  And lately, he had been REALLY, REALLY good at this one.  He will be walking and he suddenly bolts to the end of his leash like he has seen something.  Then he stands completely still.  And stares.   He usually waits to use this behavior until just after sunset.  And it is best to stare into the woods.  

We know that dogs have much better hearing than humans.  We hear a greater range of frequencies and we can hear sounds four times further away than humans. My human listens - as IF she could hear what he hears.  Seriously- she knows we hear better - not to mention the fact that her hearing has probably been affected by Einstein’s incessant barking.  Long term exposure to noise will do that.

But she still listens and watches.  And sometimes he will look in the distance and move his head like he SEES something too.  Now that is REALLY freaky.  My human doesn’t actually scare easily but the stop and scare thing as it is getting dark out always seems to make her walk just a little bit more quickly.  Yup.  It’s a full body workout.

I started thinking that we could rent out the FG for people who want a workout.  We’ll make the price just under that of a daily gym visit.  Mind you, they also need to pay for the insurance....

Have a good one.  Peace and paws up.

Seizure free days: 39