Running alongside Mom.
Since I thought 5 years together was too momentous of an occasion not to go all out and celebrate, I had an amazing weekend planned for Risa and I. It started off a bit slowly but culminated in a weekend I don’t think either of us will soon forget!
Friday, her actual Gotcha Day, we spent in a pretty normal fashion. I took her for a walk in a new location. It wasn’t as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be. It was hot and too close to the local gun club and the scary noises Risa hates so much. After our walk, I let Risa chase me around the yard. She really enjoys it as it gives her an opportunity to run full out in a way I have some control over. 😉 From a training aspect, it helps me be a bit more reinforcing too!
Saturday was initially a bit of a let down. I ended up with some sort of stomach bug during the night. We were supposed to present a seminar on the basics of dog training for a few hours (I was one of the three speakers). But I had to call in and say we couldn’t go. I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon resting and trying to get some food back in my system. Risa got a couple toys thrown but, otherwise, it was a pretty low-key day.
By the afternoon, I was feeling better though still not back to 100%. There was no way, however, I was going to miss the rest of our weekend plans!
We hopped in the car mid-afternoon and went on our way. Risa and I spent a bit of down time in a hotel room before the awesomeness began. Our friend texted me that she and her dogs had arrived so I leashed Risa up and we went out to meet them. No sooner had we gotten down the stairs and near the courtyard did Ris’ head perk up. Her whole body posture had changed into super-excitement. I knew she’d caught the scent of her long-time friends: Rio and Shayne. She practically dragged me, wiggling the whole way, to her canine friends. Risa was so excited to see them again. Rio and Risa exchanged full greetings in the typical canine fashion. Risa and Shayne acknowledged each other and then set about their own ways. Rio immediately started barking at Risa to say “PLAY WITH ME!” It was almost as if no time had elapsed between their last meeting which was almost a year ago!
A walk, some play time in the water, and a picnic dinner. It was almost exactly like old times.
Shortly after everyone reconnected, we took everyone for a walk. Aside from a pleasant walk, the dogs had an opportunity to hang out in the water. Risa hasn’t been in a body of water since some time last year and I think she really relished it. Not to mention, she was with her friends again with whom she often experienced a lot of fun in the water. 🙂
After the wet portion of our evening, we continued our walk. We were mugged by several children who were very good about listening to instructions on the proper way to greet and pet strange dogs. I said very little as Risa is not good with kids and we needed to keep our distance. I stayed as close as I thought I could so that I could reward Risa for being ‘okay’ around the kids and so that she could see her friends enjoying the attention. There were a couple times I had to make quick getaways to protect Risa from the kids (and them from her, not that I think she’d do anything). She was definitely stressed about the children but trusted me completely to keep her safe.
For dinner, we headed back to the hotel and grabbed some take out. We sat outside at a picnic table and enjoyed our meals as the dogs sat nicely around us. At one point, Risa snarked at Rio while she was beneath the table. It was a minor snark by Risa’s standards but she lost the opportunity to be under the table. It was hard enough to monitor her without her being blocked from my vision. 😉
Sleeping soundly in the hotel room.
We got back to our rooms late but happy. I took a shower, fed the mutt, and we settled down for a relaxing night. I put a tight-fitting T-shirt on Risa to help her feel more relaxed. Hotel rooms are full of strange noises and people walking by which generally creates a noisy, barky Risa. It makes me a bit upset as well; I don’t want my dog to be disruptive to other guests. While she had the shirt on, she did notice some noises but did not respond by anything more than lifting her head up with ears perked. No boofs, growls, or barks.
Morning arrived early as it often does. Our weekend of fun wasn’t over yet! I emptied the hotel room of our belongings, packed up the car, and got ready to hit the road again. Sunday was lure coursing day!
All three dogs had a chance to run the course but Shayne had no interest in chasing the plastic bag bunnies. She just didn’t get what made the two lurchers of the group, Rio and Risa, so crazed. Instead, she got to perform some freestyle disc tricks for an amazed crowd. 🙂
Rio had only been coursing once before when he was still a puppy. It was poetry in motion watching him race as an adult. He truly inherited the beauty and grace of his sighthound heritage. He also earned his WCE (Wylde Courser Enthusiast) title this weekend for being so driven to chase the lure.
Risa also thoroughly enjoyed getting the opportunity to run again. She also proved that she still doesn’t need a lure to chase and still could care less about coming back to me if the joy of running free is a possibility!
On her first run, the equipment malfunctioned and the lure stopped part-way through the course. Risa did stay on the bags for a while but, since I was too far away to get her, she eventually took off looking for something to chase. She kept running and running, blew off my recall (I knew she would), and just galloped around the course while we tried to wrangle her back. Eventually, when the course operator deliberately moved the bags to entice her, I was able to get close enough and grab her before she took off racing again. Her tongue was huge and she was panting heavy. It was close to 90 outside and HOT. So, while the course was fixed, I took her back to her kennel to cool down. Rio ran while she cooled off and then she got to run her full course. 😉
Speed demon Risa!
Risa enjoyed all of her runs and they all went according to plan after that (See video). I couldn’t believe she had the endurance to keep going after all that time especially in that heat. Fortunately, between runs, we had a nice set up to relax in. Both of us brought our umbrella tents, portable fans, and plenty of water!
Along with her outstanding behavior with her friends, Risa was even good with other dogs. As we entered the lure coursing area, she was met by a friendly whippet who greeted her nose-to-nose. While I verbally encouraged her to keep moving, the greeting went fine without any reactivity from Risa. She was even good with the lure course operator’s longhaired whippet who greeted her in a similar fashion later on in the day. Risa also tried to say “Hi” to her other dog but, unwilling to press my luck further, I called Risa away and she complied immediately. 😀
As the day drew to a close, we had to say “good-bye” to our friends. But not before a group photo. Risa was exhausted and clearly just wanted to go home. She also wasn’t particularly interested in laying down so close to Rio despite their excellent relationship together. She snapped at him briefly when he broke his down position. But it was a super minor one (like what a normal dog would do!) and no one escalated it further. 😀 We were able to get a nice group picture of everyone before we headed our separate ways. I do hope we get to see them again soon.
Reunited. . .and it feels so good!
