A few days ago, I had an appointment with my bank. Carol decided to take advantage of a dry spell, in some rather inclement weather, to take Ray out for a run while I had gone. Apparently, she got as far as the end of our driveway before Ray put his brakes on!
When she gave him the choice of direction, he turned around and headed for the back door and into the house. Undeterred, and seeing an opportunity for separation training, she left him on his own and ran to the end of our street and back (2 minutes). In her mind, he would probably be more receptive to going out when he realized what the options were!
She then started her 2nd attempt at getting Ray moving and, once again, he had no interest beyond our driveway. Once again, he turned around and went home. Carol left him there and ran to the end of our street and back.
She then made her 3rd attempt and, this time, he was cooperative! She kept the run relatively short, as we do not know where his limits are, but he handled it very well and seemed quite happy to be out and running (although his pace would have been more of a leisurely trot!). He clearly wanted to stop occasionally for various reasons which did not present a problem. Cooperation must go in both directions!
Having seen him blast around our garden, and in other fenced in areas, we know that he enjoys running, but of course those are relatively short bursts of speed. We don’t know whether he has an inherent issue with longer term activities, or whether he just likes to try and influence things in his favor. There are many things he would probably prefer to be doing, and many places of interest that he could visit with a leisurely walk ….. the concept of running could well be understandably baffling to him! Fun? Hardly!
A New Direction Perhaps? 
LOL Adorable!
Aren’t dog’s life so easy than us?
They need not to understand much.
Run and they think it is fun.
For us who do the running are wheezing terribly from hard work.
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…I’ve never seen a happy face on a runner. Ray is smart for not wanting to go. 😉
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.. and I’ll say it again… people don’t usually have big smiles on their faces during sex, but it does not mean that they’re not enjoying it! 🙂
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When Mom wants to get me moving faster (we are walkers not runners), she brings me into the street. If I’m on the sidewalk, I can’t stop sniffing and sightseeing. Is Ray in the street or on the sidewalk?
Love and licks,
Cupcake
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Hi Cupcake. If we stay around here, Ray tends to walk on the grass alongside the sidewalk (and on people’s front lawns). Otherwise we take him on trails which are just compacted down with all sorts of plants alongside. We try and remember that we are taking him on his walk, as distinct from him coming on ours! If he wants to stop and sniff etc., then we try and remember to just let him…. it is his walk after all!
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Yup, totally understand his bafflement. I have that to about why people run. LOL! But hey whatever you like. My friend used to be a very avid runner til her knees stopped her. It is how she dealt with stress. Glad Ray did try it on the 3rd time. The 3rd time is a charm 🙂
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We shall have to wait and see as to whether this is consistent change or not!
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Go Ray go …
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Oh he’s always ready to “Go” …. it’s the method of “going” and the destination(s) that are the problems!
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Aren’t dogs amazing? Trying to get into their heads can be a challenge. I am starting to run again and can relate…at times it does seem silly especially when we could stroll and stop for treats at the shops in the neighborhood. Portland is very dog friendly with water outside many shops and treats inside. Ginny loves stopping for treats. Happy Saturday!
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Hi Lori. Like you, we are fortunate with dog friendly facilities, but Ray is very selective when it comes to drinking water from outside stores. He will generally sniff the water and move on but, very occasionally, will drink. We are fairly certain that it is a freshness thing so, if it has been out for a few hours, he is not interested! They can be really selective at times can’t they! 🙂
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Ginny is the same about the water. The ones at inside places such as my bank usually meet her aproval. I have a water bowl that attaches to her harness…perfect for most occasions!
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We carry around a collapsible water bowl and a bottle of water for him. He is a little spoiled!
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As so he should be!
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Absolutely! I don’t drink warm beer (or warm water!). 🙂
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Maggie is like this too. If the water has been standing for a while, she’ll won’t touch it, but put down fresh ‘with bubbles’ as we tell her, and she will drink contentedly. Sometimes though water isn’t available, so we use a poo bag as an emergency bowl and she’ll drink frfesh water from that. I bet Ray would have a go from an outside tap though, yes?
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Interestingly enough… Ray does not seem to like anything but fresh water in a bowl!
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One of my GSDs used to love biting the jet from the water hose.
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Not Ray! The only strange biting he does is when he is in the lake. He tries to bite the waves! 🙂
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My other GSD dunked her head in trying to catch the crab running by her feet. She didn’t expect to get her face wet!
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They’re certainly entertaining!
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