Rothko did neither and he managed things like a pro. I still don't think he's had any training, but I think his leash skill comes from his desire to stick with his people and how he likes to regularly check in to see what they are doing.
Taking a 30 minute walk with a new foster dog can really give me a feel for a dog and what I took away from this walk is that Rothko is a very resilient dog. Walking in a Pacific Northwest neighborhood on a sunny weekend day means that you are going to see lots of people and dogs out in their yards. We only get so many sunny days here so it's almost sacrilege to not spend them outside. In the following video we walked past the fenced back yard of a Golden Retriever who regularly makes a fuss about dogs and people walking on the sidewalk by his house. Today was no different and Rothko did stop to take in the situation but after checking in with me and being reassured he was back on his way - no barking or high stress behaviors and able to happily take a treat given to reinforce his great behavior.
About a mile into the walk we went past a house with a small fluffy dog in the window completely freaking out about us walking by. We are talking a conniption fit of the intensity only usually seen in my dog Frodo. Again Rothko paused and looked at the dog quietly, looked at me, and then started walking again. Amazing!
Other scary or startling things we encountered over the 2 miles we walked: a car starting up loudly right as we passed the driveway, a guy using a Weed-eater in his front yard about 10 feet from us, and even a guy working on his deck with a nail gun that made Rothko stop a bit nervously but then quickly start up again without any barking.
Good dog, Rothko. While he's not perfect, he's a darn good dog!
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