Good Friday

I so love spring. By 4:30 today we'd already done two big walks. For our first walk, we took DimSum for her first real hike, where people would have to pass her by, and where there were many dogs to pass by too. For the first half-hour she was going through the panic typically seen in a dog that doesn't know what to do, but by about 30-40 minutes in, she was getting much better. By the end, she was feeling much more confident.

The pictures tell the story better:

Hesitant at the start.

Not sure what to do, looking for direction.

Hunkered down pose. Not feeling very good about this walk thing.

Lemon gives Sum some advice.

Feeling much better, but still slightly hunched, and tail slightly tucked, but much progress!

Here's a little video from the end of our walk too:

She came home utterly exhausted. Sure, it's only an hour, but when you're scared, all the adrenaline is pumping and you work that much harder. That hardest part for today, was a few people on the trails trying to reassure her, or harrassing Jerrad for pulling her along when she hunkered down. Of course I know they mean the best, but I'm not trying to be mean, I'm trying to move her forward. And I know she's ready. She hasn't really be out the past few days, because I didn't think she was ready. Either or, we all got through it.

Also, a thank-you to Jerrad for usually doing the first walk with a new dog. Jerrad is by-far more patient than I am, his handling skills might not be quite the same, but DimSum needs better patience than better handling at this stage. Tonight we will go back out, and do the same hour loop with her. It is my hope that 2 of these kinds of walks a day for 4-5 days straight will get her desensitized enough to not be bothered by other people on the trails. By 30 minutes in, she was fine with the dogs -although would still cower a bit if a big, big dog wanted to interact-, but is still going to need lots of exposure to people. Luckily, I don't think DimSum has had any huge negative experiences with people, just that she hasn't had much exposure at all. It's all new!

Anyway, after our first walk we went home and crashed for a couple of hours. And then, we had a play-date with my old boss Deb, her dogs, and Danielle with Izzy, another Ocean Dog Rescue. Since I didn't want to overdo it with DimSum in one day, I put her to bed, and we took Migo and Zephyr out with us.

We also had Zephyr drag his leash for most of the walk. He did very well! Take a peak!

 I admit, I'm getting a little attached to the older guy. Not enough to adopt him, but I'll be sad (and glad too) to see him go. Granted, that might not be for awhile. So I'll enjoy him while he's here :) Semi-senior, the dog everybody really wants, but doesn't realize it.

Happy on his Walk

Smiling.

Migo also did very well, especially considering all the running dogs he couldn't play with because he needed to stay on his leash. I didn't get many pictures of him today, as I was always holding his leash, but hopefully Deb and/or Danielle got some good shots of him.

Here are the few I got:

And a cute one of Migo and Zephyr!

We're Adoptable!

And, cause I love dog photos, some of my better shots of the day of the dogs we went all out, all rescues themselves.

Deb's boy Eyesome tearing up the park.

Izzy can fly!

Foster loves his puddle.

Foster and Izzy take 5 seconds to rest before flying off again.

Foster brings back his ball like a pro.

Glava is after Eyesome.