Abby had a weird week last week in agility class and since we had no Rally class on Sunday and no agility class Thursday I decided that we should take the week off from training and do fun things instead. One day we all went to the cemetery and and took a nice walk (well, Abby and Mole walked, and I carried Pocket). Yesterday I thought it would be fun if we took a nice hike in the hills. Since these are the same hills that Pocket got attacked in, I didn't dare bring her or mole - plus mole shouldn't walk that much anyway. With Abby being larger and less squirrel like, I figured that she would probably be safe from those "rescue" dogs.
Aside from being fun, I thought that a nice hike would be a good conditioning exercise for her. I really should be doing conditioning exercises with Abby all the time, after all, she is supposed to be athletic! But having a multi-dog household makes it difficult to do things with only ONE dog. I feel guilty leaving them behind and I think that they feel bad being left. But I am trying to put those thoughts behind me. I know that I don't love mole any less because I can't take him with me. And I would never forgive myself if I took him and something horrible happened because of it.
So, I was temporarily a one-dog person. And I have to say that I really liked it. It was easy only having to watch out for one dog - even with that one dog being Abby. But since Abby is larger then the other two, and isn't obsessed with peeing on everything, we were able to get in a nice work out. I was surprised that she was able to walk alone without the comfort of her companions. She didn't panic or try to run away. She simply walked with me. There were a few times when we came upon a biker and she was unsure, but she stayed close and followed right behind me. I was really proud of her because she was on a 25' long-line and could have made poor choices. I know I often say how amazed I am at how far Abby has come, but I truly am. I often say that I am proud of how she can do agility and rally, but secretly, I am happier that we can take a nice walk together. We are becoming partners more and more every day.
Abby being a total DOG and sniffing the flowers:
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