Dog to Dog

Hubby and I both walked Maggie this morning, and on the way back said Hi to a woman whose dog was walking her.
It was a beautiful golden cocker spaniel, pulling madly on the lead so much that the haltie over his face was stretched across his left eye.
We stopped, called Maggie to heel, and Hubby crossed over to fuss the dog.
I’ve met the owner before. She’s very nice, as is her dog, but being little more than a puppy, he always wants to play and her recall techniques aren’t working as apparently he runs off and won’t come back.
We don’t interfere with other people’s training methods, though if asked, we say what worked for Maggie, and some of our ‘tips’ have been passed on to other owners with positive results.
The cocker was enjoying the full monty of attention, sitting perfectly with his head back for that delicious ear rub, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth, eyes shut, pure bliss written all over his face.
Maggie was next to me, equally sat, taking it all in but not too bothered as she’s used to us fussing other dogs.
The woman explained that off lead, her dog was very sociable with other dogs and people, but she daren’t let him off locally, which is why he was pulling so hard.

Hubby could see that the haltie hadn’t been fitted correctly and was too small. This could be that as the dog had grown, it hadn’t been adjusted, but he felt it wasn’t his place to say.
We used a haltie on Barney and wished we’d done it years before as walking him had been such a nightmare. Once he got used to it (not the kind that also acts as a muzzle), our walks were a pleasure, and as such he got walked further and more often.

Walking away with Maggie in front of us, we thought of this possible conversation:

Cocker:   It’s alright for you, you’re free to roam, and I’m restricted.
Maggie:  That’s because I did as I was told.
What do you mean?
I hated the lead, still do, but learnt that by doing what they said when they said it, gave me The Power.
What power?
I came when I was called, got fed treats for doing it, had lots of fuss, and so did it again. And again. And again.
That’s not power! That’s submission!
No it’s not. I can walk where I like, stop when I like, sniff what I like.
So?
They have to walk to MY pace, plus  I get several walks every day.
Yeah, and?
Think about it. For the sake of a bit of co-operation, I’m free and you’re not. See ya!
Oh.

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