Starting from scratch..

Happy to report Polly's bite wound is healing well and I am sure, given a few more weeks, will barely, if at all, be seen on her lovely face.  The incident doesn't seem to have had any adverse affect on Poll's behaviour thankfully ... she was a little subdued for a few days after it happened and slightly nervy when she spotted approaching dogs on lead walks, but that all seems to have settled and she has had some lovely happy romps with other dogs both at school and on our walks locally, including a fun run with her pal Happy, the beautiful Saluki Hound ... Polly gives it a good go, but needless to say, Happy the athletic hound always wins their races!

Last weekend Poll also had fun when my husband's ten year old Grandson came to visit, she really loves having him to stay!

They spent the entire weekend running around and playing together and I was quite amazed when on Sunday, Polly trotted along politely as Calvin rode his bicycle on our five mile walk and she didn't once attempt to chase him!

In fact, I think she's proven herself to be a very good dog this year.  There is still room for further improvement with recall work, to take my sociable girl to a more advanced response level in terms of distractions, but the recall we have achieved to-date works well for us on a daily basis.  Polly's only potential downfall is a strong desire to play with other dogs, but hopefully that will ease a little in time with the help of a little puppy sister to keep her entertained ... yes, I may well be completely bonkers, but I think Polly is now ready and I am actually looking forward to starting training all over again from scratch in a few weeks' time!

Entanglements

A quick word of warning about letting your lovely goldies meet on leads: if your dog is restrained on his lead and it becomes entangled with another dog also on lead, it can quickly become a problem. My poor Polly was badly bitten last night when another goldie owner brought their dog over to 'say hello' unexpectedly, as Polly and my husband were leaving my in-laws home after a visit. Excitement escalated on the driveway, causing leads to become entangled, panic to flare and my girl to be bitten. When these things ignite it happens incredibly quickly.

Most dogs meet far better off lead than on, so please bear that in mind next time you are out walking and think it would be nice to introduce your dog to another dog on lead. My advice is always give your dogs as much space as possible when they are on lead and please don't spring a surprise introduction on an unsuspecting dog who is just going about their business quietly! When dogs are on lead they have no way of extricating themselves from situations, so rely on us to give them good guidance and keep them safe. It doesn't mean they must never meet another dog on lead as that would be impractical, but it does mean it is important to gauge things very carefully, to prevent problems arising.