Thick as Thieves

What a whirlwind couple of days. Dante and Shelley play basically non-stop. I've not made any progress in the book I'm reading nor in cleaning out the Tivo because I watch them play all day long.

And if things get suspiciously quiet, I have to go search for them and make sure they're actually sleeping and not scheming.

They play the funniest game with their bones. Sometimes Dante will growl at her to back off of his bone-chewing, which she dutifully does. But about 9 times out of 10, he lets her have the bone and gets another. Then, he'll want it back and steal it from her. And so it goes. It seems to be good natured and neither of them is possessive of the bone.

I was brave this morning and saddled them both up for a walk. I had to fit Shelley's gentle lead to her, which made Dante furious. Guess he thought I wasn't going to take him for a walk too. I had to put him in the bedroom because he was barking and jumping on me (something he never does). So after I got her fitted up and him set, I set off.

I was so impressed at how good she was on the walk--most Goldens pull like sled dogs. (Hence why the Gentle Lead). I let Dante's leash out slightly longer than hers, so he could feel like the leader of the pack. They were both so good on the walk that I was able to hold both leashes in one hand. Now, we didn't run into any other dogs or wildlife indigenous to the area, such as boar and deer, so that will be our true test.

Tomorrow we go to our vet to get her checked out. Her previous family seemed to keep her up on all of her shots and heartworm meds, but I'd feel better if my vet looked at her. I also want to run how we've been letting the dominance games go between her and Dante by the vet and make sure it's kosher. It's nothing that's not on The Dog Whisperer, but I'd like a professional's opinion to make sure we're on the right track.