DAY 38: I didn't walk this morning with the dogs - I wanted to get on the horse and get things done early. Yesterday I took Crosby out by himself - it is hard to leave Rad at home (Rad gets SO SAD), but Crosby needs to prove he can behave all by himself. Of course, Crosby was great. Today I took both dogs, and my goal was to ride for about 2 hours; making about 8 miles. Crosby did GREAT! The temp outside was about 38 degrees F. Pretty cold! I wore "hot hands" type warmers in my gloves and my shoes.
I practiced all the exercises "out of the starting gate". I've always felt the dogs need to understand they must obey at all times - not just when they are tired! Crosby passed all exercises with flying colors. He still forges a bit on the hock, and I wouldn't say he's solid on the stay yet. I need to practice more stays on the ground.
We had gone about 5 miles when we took a new route - and we passed a new construction house with a LOOSE DOG. It was a Corgi - so as soon as I saw the Corgi coming out to "greet" us (my Dals did not see him at first), I urged the horse (Shadow) into a fast trot, hoping the short-legged Corgi would give up and let us pass. We trotted for quite a while, and I thought we had lost the Corgi, so I slowed down.
I was about to reach down and put the leash on Crosby (so we could turn back, in case we passed the Corgi again), but the Corgi caught up to us. Ooops. I guess slowing down just let the Corgi catch up! Un-neutered male. Now, you are probably thinking we had a fight on our hands? No way! Both Crosby and Rad just turned and sniffed, and the Corgi certainly held his own. They got along just fine! I called Crosby to hock, and he came! Then I put the leash on Crosby just to make sure we wouldn't have any trouble (I was worried the Corgi would cause trouble - not Crosby). The Corgi followed us for quite a distance, making a nusiance of himself (mounting behavior). We turned back finally, and had a hard time getting the Corgi to stay home. He finally stayed when his owner came out to the path and grabbed him. I was very proud of Crosby, though, for not attacking the little dog, and for ignoring the little dog when I asked him to. That was a great Distraction Exercise practice! And a testament to the good temperament of both Crosby and Rad!
The cold is here to stay. I may make a coat for Crosby.
Mileage: about 7 or 8.
Time on trail: 1 hour, 50 minutes, with a short water break after 4 miles (otherwise, no rest time)
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