CowaBunga!

The commercial says California cows are happy cows. I don't know how happy they are, but they sure are an inquisitive bunch. We often pass this pasture on our favorite walking trail, but we've never seen cows there before. Maybe their schedule had changed, though, because the other day, there were a group of cows, right on the other side of the fence.


At first, Cabana was rather intrigued. She had never been so close to cows before.

Cabana was not the only one who was intrigued! After a minute, more and more cows started coming over to the fence to check Cabana out!

This made Cabana very nervous. She did NOT want to walk by them. I spoke reassuringly to her and tried to get her to continue on the trail. After a few minutes of nervous prancing about, thanks to our 26' retractable leash, Cabana angled out WAY into the grass, off the path, in a wide circle to get passed them with as much distance between the cows and herself.

The cows never made a single moo, and Cabana never let out a bark. It was a completely silent interchange. I'm interested to see what happens the next time we walk by this fence. Hopefully, the cows will give Cabana a bit more space!

Read more...

Coming Along Nicely

Cabana and I have been working diligently on recall everyday for the past 3 months. It's a long and gradual haul! But she has progressed very well and comes about 95% of the time when off leash. Here she is, boisterously and immediately coming when called. (Ugh, I'm embarrassed of my voice, but oh well.)


Video description: We're in a big open field of grass with a fence and buildings off in the distance. Cabana is running around a short distance away in tall grass, but when I call her, she makes a beeline toward me.

Even when I don't call her, she likes to come running back to me. This is so rewarding, as well as such a relief. I feel so much more confident about letting her off leash now as compared to even a month ago.


Video description: Cabana running through the long grass, she circles around and comes to a stop after passing me.

But there's still that 5% of the time when I know Cabana's too involved in whatever is distracting her. Here, it's a big swampy, marshy puddle of water. Usually, I leash her when we're getting close to this puddle, but she's been really good about listening when I say "uh uh" (meaning, don't go there) or "this way" (change your direction). This morning, I thought I'd try keeping her off leash as we passed by the puddle. I called her once, but then I gave up and took this video instead. As long as she doesn't drink the water, I'm not that concerned.


Video description: There's a pond/puddle larger than an average living room, with tall reeds and grass growing in it. Cabana skirts the puddle, thrashes through one side, exits the pond and then runs around in a circle on the other side.

Well, next time we pass this puddle, I think I'll have to go back to leashing her. ;)

Read more...