Yesterday me and Ren met up with Chester and Vicky again. We went for a walk along the canal and then onto a field for some off lead fun.
Chester walks along the canal all the time like a pro! Though he wasn't too keen on walking (hey, those legs are only little!) unless Ren walked in front to give a little bit of encouragement. But it was all new to Ren and her ninja feels kicked in: her ears were twitching, her eyes were darting all over, she was showing her anxiety. It was brand new for her. The canal, the geese and ducks, other people and dogs, her spider senses were off the scale!
Plenty of treats as usual was provided to encourage them to return for recall, which they both do so well. Chester, I have to admit is better at it then Ren. Chester is like 'yeah! I'm coming!' Ren is more like 'just a minute'.
As I said it was new to Ren so she wasn't so sure and played but stayed close. Then we found some fallen trees, some big logs and we couldn't miss a photo opportunity could we?
Ren took to the log climbing a little too easy if I am honest. It shouldn't have been a surprise because this week she's been doing some parkour in our house! If you see her insta page @kooiker_ren_, you will see her walking on the dining room table!
I put her up on the log with Chester - she displays very good balance and wanted to see what she would do, whilst still taking care. I needn't have worried, it was her who wanted to go further.
I got her down and we carried on our walk, mindful how long they were out for. Well, a family were walking towards us with a rather large dog (who was an absolute gorgeous boy) - Chester was thinking 'yes, a new friend!' Ren thought I don't think so! She turned on her heels and headed straight back to the fallen tree! We had the added bonus there was someone else with a chocolate lab (again, he was a really good boy too) coming the other way. So, there was only one thing for it for Ren: climb to the top of the fallen tree! It was taller than me! I have to admit I was both very impressed and scared at the same time.
I thankfully managed to reach up and grab her harness and get her down but she still wasn't impressed with these new dogs around. Thankfully Ren is a huge foodie, so whilst the lab really wanted to sniff her, I gave Ren and Chester treats, telling her what a good girl she was.
We walked back along the canal and there was more to see. There was people in a boat and someone on the footpath tidying up the bushes and trees. It was noisy and new. Chester was a little apprehensive but he recognised an opportunity to be worshipped (lets face it, who doesn't want to say hello to that gorgeous face?!) and happily said hello. Ren wasn't sure, assessing the whole seen. Though I am convinced if the lady would have let her get on the canal boat, Ren would have jumped at the chance.
It was a bit of an adventure by the canal with my cautious circus dog, and I see we have lots of work to do helping Ren overcome her anxiety - the breed can be very cautious, after all that working brain is doing a lot of thinking. And it's ok if your puppy is a little cautious when meeting new dogs and going to new places, you want them to be a little bit apprehensive so they don't get themselves in to trouble.
Georgia
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