Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

Benny and Rucksack got a chance to go off leash today, but when I let them go I quickly realized that we needed to doa bit more work with the whole pack.  I had everyone sitting and took Benny and Rucksack's leashes off, then told them, "Okay!"  Benny, Rucksack, Toskey, and Coco all proceeded to leap out of sitting position and tried to bolt up the trail.  Toskey and Coco were still on leash so they didn't get far, but Benny and Rucksack went running up the hill.  I gave them a moment to sniff around and enjoy themselves, and then called them back.  Benny came but Rucksack kept wandering.  When I got Rucksack I leashed him up again and then during the rest of the hike we repeatedly practiced sitting, pretending to take the leash off, and then telling the pack "Okay!" with the goal of more calmly getting up to keep walking.  After several tries, the pups got the idea and were much less wild when I released them from their sit.  We also practiced coming when called by frequently stopping and letting the pups go out to the end of the leash, then calling them back to me and having them walk back to my side and sit.

The Play Pack

Mia and Oscar immediately ran out into the park when we arrived, while Benny and Milo hung out by me.  Mia found another Golden Retriever pup, about a year old, to romp with and the two of them ended up splashing around in a mud puddle together.  Oscar ran around with several different dogs all around the park.  A little later, while we were walking around the perimeter of the park as a pack, Mia jumped up at Milo playfully and Milo entertained her for a few brief moments by swinging his head playfully and hopping ahead with her, but he quickly decided that was enough and went back to sauntering along.  Oscar then wrestled around with both Mia and Benny for a little while in the grass.