Chester – Day 12
We live in the Pacific Northwest, less than 15 minutes to the Canadian border (on the way to Vancouver BC). Our weather, usually wet and grey even in summer, has been marvelous since July 3. I don’t think we’ve had measurable rain during that time. We actually had temperatures in the 90's for several days (unusual) and more 80s than normal as well. It’s
been in the 70's for what seems forever and it’s still beautiful on October 4 … amazing!!
We decided to celebrate the continuing sunshine by taking the dogs to a park and having a picnic. It’s actually one of Casey’s favorite places … a great park near a river (we don’t take the paths down to the river itself). There’s a gravel walking path around the park, an area of trees and a nice pond … great for dogs like Golden Retrievers who love to play and get wet. (see Dog Park photo album).
Casey knows this park well because I first took her here when she was a puppy and she loves to go off-leash. This is one of the few places we let her do that. She couldn’t wait until we got to the pond area where we let her go. She jumps in the water, climbs out and rolls around in the grass, then back into the water, drinking, splashing around and coming back to us to shake water all over the place.
We didn’t know what to expect from Chester at the park. The park is mostly very open and those places tend to scare him more than confined areas. He prefers smaller spaces where he feels more in control of his environment. To our surprise, he was wonderful. He took off leading the way around the path, on leash, with Glenn and Casey following behind us. It really cracks me up to watch him walking because he’s so much in his own element on the leash, prancing or gliding along as if to say “I’m in command, just look at me, don’t approach or I’ll hide, but you can look … aren’t I something?” He walks; head up, proud … all the while still using his senses to search for danger, visually or by scent.
When we got to the pond, Casey jumped in; then came back to Glenn to be released from the leash. He let her go and she did her usual … in and out of the water, rolling in the grass, running just far enough away from us and back. Chester actually dragged me towards the water and immediately jumped in up to his neck; then he sat down in the water and took a drink. His look was priceless, like “I love water, how come we haven’t been here before?” He paraded around at water’s edge in the weeds, splashing and then back in deeper. He was obviously having fun (first time I’ve seen that since we got him) and actually let up his guard for a few minutes, not concentrating on searching the area for trouble.
We got the dogs out of the water and continued on our walk back to a picnic table by the trees. Casey sat intently in front of Glenn (she knows the routine for treats or any food). Chester wouldn’t take a bite of anything. I even put a small piece of chicken IN his mouth and he let it fall. I should have known better … he NEVER takes a treat of any kind when we’re on a walk. Chester is too busy worrying about what danger might be in the area. Eating would be a distraction he couldn’t afford. He ate a few pieces gladly once back inside the car.
Watching Chester in the pond at the park was wonderful. It was the first time we’ve seen him do anything that resembled actual “play”. Glenn and I look forward to seeing much more of that behavior … sooner than later.
We decided to celebrate the continuing sunshine by taking the dogs to a park and having a picnic. It’s actually one of Casey’s favorite places … a great park near a river (we don’t take the paths down to the river itself). There’s a gravel walking path around the park, an area of trees and a nice pond … great for dogs like Golden Retrievers who love to play and get wet. (see Dog Park photo album).
Casey knows this park well because I first took her here when she was a puppy and she loves to go off-leash. This is one of the few places we let her do that. She couldn’t wait until we got to the pond area where we let her go. She jumps in the water, climbs out and rolls around in the grass, then back into the water, drinking, splashing around and coming back to us to shake water all over the place.
We didn’t know what to expect from Chester at the park. The park is mostly very open and those places tend to scare him more than confined areas. He prefers smaller spaces where he feels more in control of his environment. To our surprise, he was wonderful. He took off leading the way around the path, on leash, with Glenn and Casey following behind us. It really cracks me up to watch him walking because he’s so much in his own element on the leash, prancing or gliding along as if to say “I’m in command, just look at me, don’t approach or I’ll hide, but you can look … aren’t I something?” He walks; head up, proud … all the while still using his senses to search for danger, visually or by scent.
When we got to the pond, Casey jumped in; then came back to Glenn to be released from the leash. He let her go and she did her usual … in and out of the water, rolling in the grass, running just far enough away from us and back. Chester actually dragged me towards the water and immediately jumped in up to his neck; then he sat down in the water and took a drink. His look was priceless, like “I love water, how come we haven’t been here before?” He paraded around at water’s edge in the weeds, splashing and then back in deeper. He was obviously having fun (first time I’ve seen that since we got him) and actually let up his guard for a few minutes, not concentrating on searching the area for trouble.
We got the dogs out of the water and continued on our walk back to a picnic table by the trees. Casey sat intently in front of Glenn (she knows the routine for treats or any food). Chester wouldn’t take a bite of anything. I even put a small piece of chicken IN his mouth and he let it fall. I should have known better … he NEVER takes a treat of any kind when we’re on a walk. Chester is too busy worrying about what danger might be in the area. Eating would be a distraction he couldn’t afford. He ate a few pieces gladly once back inside the car.
Watching Chester in the pond at the park was wonderful. It was the first time we’ve seen him do anything that resembled actual “play”. Glenn and I look forward to seeing much more of that behavior … sooner than later.
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