The woods were a complete quagmire this morning, but not to be defeated, me, Jane and Sue, slurped our way determinedly along swampy paths dragging our wellies with each step as best we could, while our dogs raced nimbly through trees, over fields and across scrub land, pausing only for a playful wrestle with one another before charging full steam into the fog.
It is so much fun to watch our little gang enjoying their freedom together and good exercise for us too - no gym required with such squelchy mud challenging our progress. I had brief cause for concern (which probably felt longer than it actually was) when Polly disappeared into the fog and failed to return instantly when called ... naughty girl! Like the good dogs they are, Molly and Dudley came back straightaway, but peer as I might, there was no sign of my Poll through the thick fog. With rising panic, I gave a good hard blast on my whistle and lo and behold, the little monkey appeared through the gloom ... stinking to high heaven! Yep, you guessed it, bloomin' fox poo again!
At training last week, Kevin suggested it might be beneficial to incorporate a little homework into our woodland walks, so we thought we'd give it a go with a 'down stay' attempt, once we'd reached slightly less swampy ground. Asking three young friends to 'down stay' in close proximity on a fun walk was a challenge, but between us, we did actually manage it. The obedience training is really starting to show itself!!!!
I also decided to try walking Polly to heel with no lead back to our car (once Molly and Dudley had gone ahead), asking her to 'sit' and 'stay' while I strode ahead, then calling her back to my heel. I am delighted to say she did exactly as asked (in return for a couple of slices of the pork sausage we had left over from last night's supper) and made absolutely no attempt to race after her pals, which is a really big step forward for us.
I wonder what the odds are for her repeating this level of obedience for me at training later in the week?!
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