Hiking across the field at the front of our farm, I heard the signature jingle of Baxter’s labels behind me. A few minutes before, he’d dove into the clean between the front field as well as the east field, sure he’d seen a squirrel or a chipmunk.
A year ago, viewing my off-leash canine sprint away from me pursuing some creature would have triggered me a great deal of anxiety. walking away from him while he was still absorbed in his quest was a bit of a test.
Would he keep in mind I existed?
Hearing the jingle of his tags, I was thrilled that he had provided up the chase as well as was catching up with me. I wished to acknowledge him as well as celebrate what a great young boy he was. I turned around as well as said—in a voice that showed I comprehended exactly how thrilled he’d been—“Did you see a squirrel?”
He didn’t register my question. In fact, rather than celebrating the squirrel sighting with me, he stopped as well as investigated an fascinating sniff in the weeds.
For a moment, I thought about being offended. then I provided myself a mental forehead slap as well as said, “Duh! You’re not speaking dog!”
As Baxter resumed walking towards me, I bent down towards him in my finest imitation of a play bow.
He got the message!
He happily scampered towards me as well as then we sprinted across the field together, reveling in the enjoyment of fresh air, autumn afternoons, freedom, and—of course—squirrels.
The lesson to speak to my canine utilizing body language much more than vocal language is one that hit house when I checked out The other end of the Leash. because then, I’ve been practicing my body language—and particularly my play bow.
I hope that by “playing” with Baxter, he starts to believe of me as much more fun than squirrels.
Do you play bow with your dog?
Julia Thomson is a routine writer for That Mutt. go to her blog house on 129 Acres here.