Boxing Day

Mr Murphy had a nice calm walk to the park today. We saw a few people and dogs which Murphy calmly observed. No videos today but I did grab a couple of photos.

At one point we encountered an unruly child who ran straight up to Murphy screeching! Murphy was amazing and quietly turned and moved away :). This boy is truly a pleasure to walk and now takes everything in his stride.

sniffing where humans have been

We often think that dogs would like big open spaces or forest and beach walks best but actually they enjoy walking in places we might not find very interesting. Dogs view their world through their sense of smell so a children's play area can be incredibly fun to sniff.

calmly observing

We often rush to reassure or ask our dogs to do something when they are looking at people or other dogs. However, it is far more beneficial to let them calmly observe and gather information. This is invaluable so they get used to novelty in the environment. 

Did you know studies show that dogs sniffed more when off lead than on lead and more on a longer lead than a shorter one? As soon as I lengthened Murphy's lead he started sniffing much more.

Back to the kennels for some enrichment time then a nice sleep to absorb all that learning.

Luna Bear

Luna and I didn't encounter any dogs today but we saw lots of people and families out for a stroll. She likes to watch them go by. Lots of sniffing and investigation and then back to the kennels for some enrichment and play.

Luna is a young girl and loves to play with toys but she is very gentle and likes to involve the human too!

Then back to her kennel for a nice sleep to absorb all her learning.