An afternoon of just 'being'

With a fearful or anxious dog, on occasion the very best training a person can do is to just go about life. I'm not talking a hectic, scheduled, no time for anything kind of "going about life" but have a simple uncomplicated day and leave the training to-do list in a drawer. Sometimes it is in subtracting from our life that calm is found, not in adding to it.

Yesterday the dogs and I had one of those simple kind of days. The girls and Langley had been crated for most of the morning while Hunter and I did some shopping so when we got back they needed some free time. Hunter got Langley duty and I took the girls outside.

Chima helping out with the weeding

I got out my gardening gloves and weed bucket and decided to just let the girls have true free time and  pretty much left them to themselves while I weeded in the back yard. At first they were curious about what I was doing. Salinas is a little worried about the dandelion digger that I like to use while I weed but Chima loved sniffing the variety of weeds and grass being tossed in the bucket, occasionally pulling one out to chew on it a bit. She also took a great liking to the knee pad that I was kneeling on and the moment I would walk off, she would tear off with it and give it a few good death shakes before she dropped it for me to retrieve.

The knee pad, after being shaken to death by Chima

This went on for about 30 minutes and Frodo and the girls were getting a little bored. So the Tail Teaser came out and we played with that for about 20 minutes until the girls were panting with exhaustion and draining the water bowl.

Tired Chima

Tired Salinas

Hunter was playing with Langley inside so we handed in the tail teaser for them to play with and while we waited for Langley and Hunter to finish up, I went and kicked back in the hammock with some ice water under the maple trees. It was pure blissful relaxation to sit there and stare up into the the layers of green overhead. Salinas took a snooze in the grass nearby but Chima loves when I'm in the hammock since she can sniff at me from behind a barrier of sorts.

Chima sniffing with a literal "safety net"

She kept that up for quite awhile until it was discovered that Frodo had found a treasure. Ends up that he scored a peanut shell that some squirrel had left behind. Chima wanted it sooooo bad but she's a good girl and she didn't attempt to steal it, although she was quite obvious in her body language that she was very, VERY interested in it. Frodo was equally clear that he didn't want to share. We call it his "Gollom pose" - you know, all hunched up around his "precious".

Frodo and his treasure: Chima says "please?"

"Pretty please?"

As we prepared to head inside, I forgot myself and reached over to stroke Chima and she flinched a tiny bit but then relaxed and went on with what she was doing. I didn't push it, but it was plain to see that an afternoon of her having the freedom to explore and choose her activities had greatly relaxed her and all of us went back in the house relaxed and more centered.

All the dogs, including Langley were hot and tired so it was crate time with Kong-sicles and before long everyone was happily snoozing.

Salinas and her Kong-sicle