practice

vi and i had a great practice session this morning! we used the gentle leader, because i know Muriel wants to use it tomorrow night at the dog park, so i figured it wouldn't hurt for me to practice some too. plus, it is easier to lead her when she's super hyped. she didn't even seem too bothered by it today.

the apartment complex is just crawling with dogs, so we went out into the neighborhood. i try to make sure to walk her Wednesday mornings because she visits my dad those days. the main thing w practiced was walking on a loose leash, because she had gotten pretty bad about that. i was just holding on for dear life and trying to keep her next to me in case she got riled up. anyhow, we didn't make it far at all, distance wise, but vi did do pretty well, with little pulling and lots of turning.

on the way back we passed an apartment with a doggie barking in the window, so that was a good challenge, because it was pretty close range, but her was behind glass. she got excited but not psycho, and we continued along. there is a woman i see every morning who walks a small white dog around the perimeter. we were cutting through home and just turned around and went around a differ net way. she smiled. it sure is nice being allowed to just flat-out avoid other dogs. whew!