Walking with Mom

I live in the big city of Chicago in a very pretty neighborhood with a large park a few blocks away from our house. Before I came along mom walked a lot for exercise. Once it would start to get light out she would head to the park and back home before work, over two miles. But she was always sad when she got home because she would see everyone walking their dogs. She got lonely walking all by herself almost every morning and loved seeing all the dogs enjoying the park. She wanted her own dog to walk to the park with her. After I came along Mom couldn't wait to take me for a walk. Well, let me tell you it was not as easy as it looks! She hadn't walked a dog in years and I had never worn a leash so what a disaster! First, mom seemed to look over the "hound" part of my breed as I have to smell every leaf, twig or blade of grass, so things went pretty slow. Then there was the pulling, I can be a bit stubborn, I would want to go one way, she would want to go the other. It didn't take too many tries before she came home and asked dad to order a leash from Caesar Millan's web site, like she had seen on his The Dog Whisperer TV show. Once they got the slip leash on me things got a little easier for mom, but I wasn't happy at all!

This is me on one of my first walks to the little park by our house. Mom made me wear a sweater then, I would get excited seeing a sweater knowing I would go for a walk. I really hate wearing them now! Then came time for my first walk to the big park! I was so excited all the smells! Mom claims I never even saw the park the first few times we went there because my nose was to the ground all the time. Then one day I looked up and "wow" look at this place, grass and trees for as far as I could see! I started to meet other dogs and everyone thought I was so cute! Mom continued to try out a few different leashes on me, all a big mistake though. There was the retractable leash, not recommended for training at all! Then there were really long leashes so that I could run around some which just got tangled up on everything. First, she would walk me to the park with the slip leash just to get me there, then change leashes. That's how I completely slipped out of my harness one of my first days at the park and went running off. Mom about had a heart attack. I am very friendly so when I stopped to say "hi" to someone he grabbed me. Whew, lucky mom, she wouldn't have been able to come home without me, dad would have been furious! So that's how we got started going on walks to Portage Park. Things changed a lot for me a few months later though. Mom, Dad and me went to puppy training at the shelter I was adopted from and the trainer believed in the pinch collar. I have had to wear one ever since because I want to pull a lot and go where I want to go. But isn't that all about being a Doxie?