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Radar just got his last set of shots (he's a little ahead and he will go back in two weeks to get his rabies!) so I took him on his first walk at our local greenway. He has had tons of socialization- puppy class, birthday parties, home depot, starbucks, pet stores (carried, not walked) training field, tractor supply... but this was his first walk on the greenway where lots of others walk their dogs. It's a walking, biking trail next to the river so it's a strange combination of close up nature and tons of bikers, joggers and baby strollers! I didn't have my camera but I promise to get new photos this weekend! Anyway it was so cool to see him experience so many things for the first time. First of all it was one of our first hot days here near Nashville- 80 degrees, the honey suckle was in bloom and it was so strong it was like walking into a wall! We saw screaming babies in strollers jogging by, tons of bikes, police on a ATV, a man with a big stick that looked scared on dogs, seniors, business women in suits with tennis shoes on their lunch breaks! We even took a deer trail down to the river where it smelled like dead fish and saw hundreds of what I think were trout (like each over a foot long) mallards, sticks stripped clean by beavers, two turtles, and one large water snake. We walked about a mile in and a mile out (I think- it was about 1 hour of walking- I have to get a pedometer) and I tried to stay conscious the whole time of breathing deeply, walking confidently and not tensing up when bikers and joggers would yell "on your left" to let us know they were passing! Radar walked a little slower than usual and did not show any fear... but he did keep looking up at me with this look like...."Did you see that Mom?" You could tell it was a mentally exausting exercise for him! I did take some treats and we worked on a few sits and platzs but that was not our main focus. He did really well. I seemed like all the smells of things in bloom affected him the most! When we got back to the car I made the mistake of lifting him up on the the back seat (his first crate is too small and his big crate wouldn't fit) and pouring him a bowl of water on the seat. He drank half of the water and then "dug" his bowl with his paws, rolled around in the water and fell asleep. So what if my car smells like a wet dog! We had fun!
Here's a photo of him at 3 months- i think he looks like a little dingo in this photo!
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Here's a photo of him at 3 months- i think he looks like a little dingo in this photo!
