Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

Coco and Rucksack had tons of energy today.  Usually they have a bout of hard chasing and wrestling for the first 10 minutes that they're off leash together and then they cool down a bit, but today they kept at it with one another for half an hour!  Later on, Wesley had fun exploring the brush off the sides of the trail while Rucksack carried along a big piece of a branch.  Wesley's footing seemed a bit unsure in the rougher areas off-trail, and after a little while he had his fill and followed along directly behind me for the rest of the way.

The Play Pack

Fletcher was particularly vocal when playing with Coco at the park today.  He likes to whine and bark at her when they run side by side.  He did a great job fetching and brought the ball back to me (or at least in my vicinity) every time.  Brady has also been getting very good at coming back and dropping the ball in front of me instead of just wandering around with it and playing keep-away after he chases it down.  When I dropped the Chuck-it at one point, Coco ran over and snatched it up, then trotted around with her head held high, flaunting her prize.  I knew chasing her down wouldn't work and yelling would only make her more excited and less likely to come back to me.  Calling to her in an inviting voice also proved futile because she was too excited to pay attention, so I let her have her moment and just waited it out.  Eventually she came back to me and gave it back when I told her to drop it.  Then I held it out in front of her and verbally corrected her with a loud "Shh!" when she tried to steal it back out of my hand, and that made her back off.  She's really been seeing what she can get away with lately.  This is a great, impressionable time to make rules and boundaries clear to her while maintaining a calm, firm, and positive energy.