I could tell Angee was a little nervous when we arrived at Ester Short Park, site of the WALK FOR THE ANIMALS, presented by the Humane Society of Southwest Washington. Loud music, lots of people, hundreds and hundreds of dogs, cats, even ponies, all over the park. She yawned a bit as we got registered (I carried her through the lines), but she settled in and seemed to enjoy being the only Scottish Terrier in the crowd. Things only got more crowded in the park as the starting time for the 3 mile walk approached. Angee took the people dressed as cats or dogs in stride. Every now and then a dog would get loose and surprise Angee from behind, but she never lost her composure. Just before the start of the walk I noticed Angee's harness had broken so I attached a second leash to her collar, securing her in the event of a worst case scenario. Angee can definitely out run me, that I know.
Finally the walk began and the entire crowd moved forward. I was a little worried about setting Angee up for failure by starting her in the most crowded portion of the walk, so we began at the very back of the crowd, working our way through all the people and animals as they streamed through the city. Angee seemed to walk along the outside edge of the crowd, at least pretending to be more interested in the bushes and trees along the way. Being short-legged, her feet were just a blur as she charged through the other dogs. Things were so crowded and narrow I let Angie lead me along the waterfront at a pretty good pace. By the time we reached the turn around point at Beach's we were close to the head of the crowd.
The return walk was probably a bigger test for Angee as she had to face oncoming dogs that, in many cases, were a little leash aggressive in their own right. Angee never once lost her composure. In fact, she actually seemed to enjoy the occasion. A number of people commented on the 'little scottie'. We saw no other Scottish Terriers at the event. Total time for the three mile walk: 1 hour and 8 minutes.
I really feel Angee has reached a turning point in her behavior with other dogs. Where she was overly aggressive and unsocialized, she is now open to the idea that other dogs are not necessarily a threat to her. She knows she needs to pay attention to the human at the other end of her leash, that there are expectations of her. Maybe the most noticeable difference in Angee's behavior is in the way she looks at me rather that at the other dogs in the immediate area. It is almost as if she trusts me enough to ignore them. We still have some work ahead, but I'm proud of what we have accomplished. It was a good day.
No comments:
Post a Comment