Mud Wrestling

Another weird and wonderful day at Fun for Dogs.  The morning was horrific and Hollie the Collie was smart to stay in bed.  Ryder tried to stay in bed and was not pleased when I pulled him from under the covers.  Cheetos crawled into his crate as if that would stop the inevitable torturous trip to the dog park.  I had to tip the crate to make him come out because no amount of sweet talking was going to do it. 

Once we got to the park all was well and the snow stopped shortly after we arrived but the wind kept up and was quite brutal heading north.  The dogs found a ball and played keep away.  They were chasing each other up the grassy lumps at the park.  This was great fun as they did not have to be reigned in and enjoyed almost the whole north field for themselves.  They got noisy and rowdy and had fun just being dogs.  Riley did not partake in the chasing games with the big dogs but preferred to smear his face in the wet grass and lay in the mud puddles.  He had to ride home in a crate with a towel and that sopped up most of the muck and debris.  Ryder and Cheetos were not happy campers and trailed behind the pack but they were the only ones to return to the truck with only the slightest bit of mud on their paws thereby winning a spot in the front seat of the truck. 

On the way back to the truck we ran into Sysco and her "dad" Gary. Sisco loves the little boy dogs in the pack and was all gaga over Riley.  They tried to sneak off but had to be dragged back in order for us to leave. 

The afternoon was much nicer as it was sunny but still very windy.  The walk started with a rousing game of fetch but as usual the dogs lost one of the two balls and then when Jen's group showed up there was no more sharing and the chuck-it went away.  Luckily, Everest, Georgie, Bailey, Sam, Sidney, Gabby and Pina had a good opportunity to get some of the nuttiness out before we ventured into the park. 

The truck ride was a bit tumultuous as Sidney and Georgie are big barkers and that gets Gabby and Pina riled up so the entire trip was barking and wrestling.  I wasn't sure a couple of times if I had something or someone as they were rattling the truck so much. 

Of course as soon as we began down the hill I could see all the retrievers in the puddle at the bottom.  Pina, Gabby and Sam were laying down and Everest and Bailey were just standing in it.  Meanwhile, Sidney and Cannon (a choco lab from Jen's group) were wrestling in the mud.  As gross as it was I had to laugh.  Sorry if they were a bit dirtier than normal but they were having so much FUN!!

Once underway the dogs were very well behaved and only got weirded out by a couple who should not have been in the park.  Everest and Sid were very concerned about their behaviour and it took some time to coax them away. 

And as always my little buddy Clover the sheltie provided non-stop commentary on all the events of the day.

Information provided below has come from:  Impawsible Possible (the trainer Everest and I are working with.)

The following are common calming signals that dogs use to show they are under stress.  They should be viewed in context and may mean that your your dog should be removed from the situation. 

Blinking - to avoid direct eye contact which is viewed as aggressive
Curving - bodies to avoid a head on confrontation
Licking - more common in dark faced dogs
Looking away - whole head or just the eyes to avoid direct contact
Play bow - can be used to initiate play or be used as a calming signal
Sniffing/Lying down - done to show the other dog that they mean no harm
Turning away - moving the whole body away from a dog or object that is intimidating
Walking slowly - moving slower toward and uncertain dog or person
Yawning - exagerated yawning and not the result of physical or mental exertion

When your dogs are still in the phase of calming they can be taught to manage their stress.  If they move into growling, barking, snapping or biting they have gone to far to be taught to manage the situation. 

More on managing next time.