A Visit and a Walk

On Sunday afternoon my Mom came over and brought Hannah for another visit. They came in the front door and Duncan and Hannah seemed to be happy to see each other. Hannah is also a rescue dog herself. When my parents were living in Indiana they adopted her from a local shelter. She had been left in their overnight "drop box" anonymously, and I just cannot understand why. She is the absolute sweetest, friendliest dog. She can be a little timid herself as well, but has gained allot of confidence over the past few years. And she just loves to make new friends! We turned the two of them out in the back yard together and left them to it. A few minutes later I glanced out the window and started laughing. My Mom came running and we stood there watching Hannah and Duncan playing tag. Duncan's tail was up and wagging as he would crouch down and then pounce towards Hannah. They took turns going after each other. and Mom and I stood there laughing as we watched through the window. Duncan was used to being around other dogs - he had been his whole life. Glenn had told me that he played well with their other Shelties and it felt good to actually see him play and seem happy.

After awhile we brought them back in and decided to take them both for a walk. Even though it's January, it was a beautiful 40 degree day and I wanted to take the opportunity to see how Duncan would do on leash. I also wanted to have my Mom and Hannah with me for our first outing as well. Hannah would be a good model for Duncan, and Mom would be there if I had any problems. (I was afraid that we might get half way around the block and he would refuse to move or let me pick him up.) Duncan had not been walked before since he had not been a pet in the mill, and he tended to freeze when his collar tightened around his neck. So when Glen brought him to me, he had also brought a halter. Duncan accepted the halter very quietly and I clipped on his leash and we followed Mom and Hannah out the front door. (I did have to herd him out from behind just a little bit.) We crossed the yard and got down to the street and Duncan hesitated. I bent down to pet and encourage him and then asked him to "come on." Mom and Hannah walked on ahead of us and we followed, stopping and starting occasionally to Duncan's hesitations. One car drove by and startled him a little, but when the next came, he barely gave it a glance. We got down the street always and Duncan seemed to start relaxing a bit and enjoying his walk. He seemed to gain confidence in having Hannah with him and by watching her. I talked to him and encouraged him as we went and I was very surprised that he was doing so incredibly well! He was not a "good" walker as he kept weaving back and forth and moving from my left to my right side, but that was to be expected for his first walk. I will have to be diligent about teaching him to walk on my left. We got about halfway around the block when Duncan spotted a man ahead getting out of his car. He stopped, and would not go any further until the man disappeared into his house. We'll have to work on that. He won't be able to go to the park this spring if he freezes every time he sees a person he does not know. Towards the end of our walk there seemed to be several yards with penned up dogs who barked at us as we walked by. Duncan seemed a bit intimidated by this, but continued trotting down the street. We got home and I took his halter off and gave him several treats. I was incredibly proud of him. He did ten times better than I expected him to!

Later that night, Duncan jumped into bed to sleep next to me again.