ZumbadorMar 4

Today at the SPCA I walked Harmony, Lulu and Brandy.

Apparently someone is adopting Harmony. I'm relieved because she's such a nervous, sensitive dog. I worry how life in a kennel affects her. Her potential owner is an old man who said he likes how gentle she is.

Lulu was fun to walk. She's a handful, but her energy is all joyful and positive. It was like walking a big bouncy rubber ball. Someone has clearly been making an effort training her because her sit is just perfect, and she was familiar with the agility equipment too.

Brandy is tiny, a honey-coloured dog. I had to carry her most of the way to the dog run because she's terrified of everything, but once we were there she was fine, not even worried about the full sized, intact bull just on the other side of the fence.

Brandy stared at the bull, the bull ignored Brandy. Thankfully, because all there was between them was a bit of sagging wire fence.

#dogs #DogsOfMastodon #SPCADiary

Show threadZumbador

...while I was walking the dogs at the SPCA today, some new volunteers were being shown around. I said that I could help them learn the ropes of how to walk the dogs, but I don't know if any of them heard. Big group of strangers set all the dogs in the kennels barking. Most of them (as is the way with dogs) didn't even know what they were barking at.

Oh and there's a rooster somewhere on the premises too. I didn't see him, but I certainly heard him.

Teaching something with an element of risk, like walking an SPCA dog is such a interesting challenge. Finding the balance between giving them enough information so they'll feel confident and work well, and not overwhelming them with details. Which aspects are "they'll figure it out for themselves" ?

Most important thing is: *Pay attention to the dog at all times*. Almost everything else follows from that.

(Risks include dog getting loose, you getting bitten, dog fights, encounters with horses, leaving gates open, etc)

#SPCADiary

Mar 4 at 1:54pmWeb