Tomorrow (eek, it's late, make that today!) we're going to a "fun day" in the other valley. There are doggy activities ("best six legs", anyone?) and lots of kiddy games. We've been specifically asked to go to show support from this valley. There's a bit of a "them and us", so it will be nice to go and show that we don't care about all of that ridiculousness. I'm a bit worried that lots of dogs plus lots of kids will be too much for Willow and Shadow, but if it is, we'll just take the opportunity to go for a long walk somewhere different. It could be a great training opportunity, for both being around lots of other dogs and for being around kids, but we'll see how it plays out. Fingers crossed we can sit on the sidelines - no, I'm not getting my legs out for anyone! - and soak in the atmosphere without over-facing them.
It really is a fine line isn't it in terms of embracing a training opportunity that comes with some risk. No risk no gain, but is the risk worth taking. Back in the summer, we were in our usual park. Gemma was off the lead and was just slightly ahead of me around a corner. Straight into a school outing of primary school children! She made a little girl jump, just because she suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but she recalled immediately, no contact. Then the teacher asked me to participate in their park users survey - so let's stop a group of kids with a man and dog off-the-lead. I was somewhat surprised (and was actually hoping they'd all just clear off quickly!) . If anything had gone wrong she must have had a case to answer... Maybe she was a dog person and could tell Gemma was just a typical bouncy friendly lab. So the training op was, could I get her to Stay in the middle of all that. Well she did for a minute, but then a screaming young boy ran past and she broke away. She recalled immediately though and back into the Stay. I must need my head testing. But I'm glad we did it.
Haha, we're back, thank the little baby cheeses. As soon as we arrived, I lost my shoes. Well, not lost lost, but a friend of mine was taking part in the tug of war and was wearing completely inappropriate shoes. We both have tiny feet (UK size 2.5) so she couldn't borrow shoes from anyone with normal feet, and as soon as I turned up in my sturdy walking boots, I was leapt upon. So I had to hang around that section until the competition was over. It was pretty busy, with lots of noise and kids, and I could tell the dogs weren't happy, so I just got as far out of the way as possible until it was over. J went to get a coffee, and was gone forever, leaving me with the two dogs - in the end (and after getting my shoes back), I went to find him, which was tough. The dogs were pulling in every which direction and I really struggled to manage both of them. Eventually, J caught up with me and between us we managed to get the dogs to a quiet corner, with some picnic benches. They immediately jumped up onto the seats of the benches and sat down, and we were happy to let them stay there. They were noticeably calmer in the quieter location and, even when people started arriving there, with their kids, the elevated position helped them stay relaxed, because the kids weren't running round them in the same way as if they'd been on the floor. So, that part was really good for them. They were brilliant with the other dogs that were around. There were a lot! All sorts of different breeds, but for the most part, ours ignored them. They said hi to a couple of gorgeous GRs, but they were really the only ones that they showed any interest in. We grabbed a typical Catalan lunch of Bratwurst and Kartoffelsalat (the organisers of the fun day were German ) and the dogs settled really nicely while we ate that. Afterwards, we went and watched a bit of the dog show, but there was a banner-wrap around the arena which meant the dogs couldn't see in, so it wasn't any use as a training opportunity, so we didn't stay long. Instead, we walked into an adjoining bit of land and let them off the lead to burn off some steam (big bum-tuck runs!) and then I did a tiny bit of really easy training with them; a couple of short sends to a target stick, a couple of basic retrieves and a bit of sit/stay. We were a way from the hustle and bustle, to make it achievable (and because dogs had to be on lead in that area) but they didn't get distracted from their tasks, even when kids went overhead on a zip wire! So, in general, it wasn't too bad. Not as much of a training opportunity as I'd hoped, but it was a different day out for them.
