Week 11: Don’t Force It
As far as dogs go, I think Cody’s week has been as busy as a press tour of a movie star. Of course, that is one of the reasons why I fell so behind on writing this entry. The other being that I did not feel that there was much to tell - I felt like forcing it would show in the writing. Sometimes it’s good to give things a little bit of a room, be it personal stuff, career or even dog training. This week in particular we’ve had to remind ourselves to take a step back and adjust expectations. Yes, again. It never stops. The conversations always start: oh Cody did this thing today or he wouldn’t do this and the answer usually ends with the words: adolescence or fear period.
This will also blow over but we only have one another to remind ourselves of this. Most of the time. Sometimes an unplanned third party intervention takes place and resets my overthinking brain into factory settings. For example, I was hanging out this week with dogs at the kennels in All Dogs Matter and walking with them and I was reminded how much work they need to even consider walking nicely on the lead. Then I came home and took Cody out for a walk. My six month old adolescent cattle herding goofball walked like he was doing it for an audience. I suddenly felt tension come off me and a wave of gratitude washed over. He is great. Look at him, strutting and checking in.
It’s not been easy with him. He is still wanting to meet every dog and lets us know about it in the loudest way possible. His recall is still non-existent but we train and upload it every single day. He is not in puppy honeymoon phase anymore. We stopped being ‘sexy’ weeks ago, the other dogs are now the ultimate subject of Cody’s desire. We just have to get smarter and sexier. I don’t get too stressed about it because if there is anything that Entlebuchers come with, it is a very well programmed attachment to humans. Cody’s just not leveled up to that stage of his Entlebucher-ness. We are not taking unnecessary risks, we train with long lines and we will get there. Now let’s get you up to date on Cody’s shenanigans in week 11.
On the last Sunday (when this diary was supposed to come out), we took Cody out on a lovely walk into the reserve and he bumped into his staffie girlfriend Ava. They are very well matched in play and he sometimes gets a little more than he bargained for. He loves her even when she bites his soft bits. The next day, we treated Cody to his biggest adventure yet - we went to the beach walk in Southend. We followed the coast from Shoeburyness to Southend East. He found the amount of dogs he could not say hi to a little more challenging than we would have liked but oh boy did he love the beach. He tried to pick up nearly every shell and pebble into his mouth for a little tasting and he even waded into the shallow water to pursue some seagulls.
That was one of the coolest things I have seen and I am so pleased I was recording because an Entlebucher hopping through waves like a canine dolphin is something to behold. He was so tired at the end of the walk and I wish I could say we had an easy ride back. We did not and Cody rose to the challenge and his training paid off. As we sat down on the platform, the first train cancellation came through with the next one being in about fifteen minutes. Then we started realising that we missed ‘the window’. It was the beginning of after school rush and flocks of young teens with blazers started expanding around us. Oh no, not the youths! The train was busy to begin with so we did not get to sit down so we scooped Cody to sit and lay under our feet. He was great.
Quiet and patient he sat between Tristan’s legs until he ultimately plonked for a nap. He snoozed on a train filled with school kids that continued on filling more with each stop. No one even batted an eyelid that there was a dog somewhere on the train. A little later one of kids exclaimed: Oh there’s a dog! That's when we realised: they did not know he was there until then! In true english East London school kids fashion the children started raising panic hell. You’d think we’re on the Titanic that’s being attacked by a Godzilla. Being a dog guardian first and a disgruntled Londoner second I sharply turned to the kids: Yes, he is here and he is quiet and as long as you keep it cool he will stay quiet! Fact!
Children in the cities that have not grown up around animals do not know how to behave around dogs. They run in front of the dog not realising they are making themselves a lot more attractive. Bonus points if they squeal and zigzag. I always try to engage with kids when they want to meet Cody to support them in learning how to act around dogs. Most of the time it’s not their fault. When they ask questions like: oh can he eat cheeseburgers or chocolate egg you can see how far removed they are from the reality of what a dog is and needs. Lots of these kids do not know that things that grow on trees and bushes around them are edible. Many of them never saw a live cow unless they went to a city farm.
I can be as understanding as I want to be but the world needs to start meeting us halfway. Sometimes it’s a very hard pill to swallow when a parent points to you with your dog and for no reason, other than the fact that your dog exists, says to their kid: that’s a bad dog. Great parenting. In other news Cody got a new crate and seems to be liking it so far. Visiting it comes with steak being dispensed by Tristan so why wouldn’t he love it? To finish on a tasty anecdote, on Saturday Tristan realised the trip he was going on with Cody was not next weekend but it was this weekend. We went from Saturday morning mood to erratic packing of a man and a dog, which then became a drive up to the Lake District.
I can only pass on what I have been told as I could not attend this particular adventure but Cody was reportedly a very good boy in the hotel and had some amazing hikes. He saw his first mountain goat and attended his first human birthday party. What a busy boy! Next up, we are going on a seaside getaway! I cannot wait to enjoy more beach fun with Cody! I will tell you all about it next weekend! Until then!