We went down through the park for a few blocks, me on my brand new cheap used skis and Sylvie in her little flowery bike-dog harness, plus fleece doggy-suit and high-tech coat. No poles, since I didn't want to skewer my little dog by accident. I just held her leash out in front and flailed with my other arm. People were laughing, I had a great time and got a good workout. Sylvie looked happy bouncing around like a snow-bunny but when we got back home she was zooming up and down the hall. Of course it would take more than 2 hours of intermittently pulling 7x her body weight to tire my girl.
I might wax some of the grip zone on my no-wax skis, because they are definitely a bit too short and I don't get as much glide as I'd like. Even so, I nicked Sylvie's back feet with the tips. Woops. After that she didn't much want to pull out in front... instead ran alongside very beautifully. So maybe to get her to jog at heel I should run in pointy shoes with really long toes and kick her when she tries to pull.
The other dogs being walked in the park are definitely a problem for us. Sylvie can stay calm as they approach us now as long as I click her at the first sign of stiffening and then slowly put the treats down on the ground--my calming signals to her. It actually calms me too. In yoga inverted poses are supposed to be relaxing, so maybe I should pretend to drop $ on the floor or tie my shoes next time I feel threatened or put-upon. I can see it now: next time I'm riding in a car and we get pulled over I will open my door while yawning and licking my lips and start patting around on the ground. If that doesn't work, I'll pee on him. But for Sylvie, racing toward dogs with me in tow sets her up for crazed barking frenzy. I guess we should arc around the other dogs, or at least not barrel right up to them. And I should establish "leave it" for dogs and get the cue really solid with hot dogs on an empty stomach (blech). Or, instead of pulling me over to the dog, she should come back to heel on the right or the left, so that I'm between her and the trigger.
Sylvie is curled up now in a teeny tiny ball on my bed. She didn't give me the wild toothy grin when we were skiing, but maybe that's because it was the first time. I got some little grins in the hall throwing her ball around, though, so it was a good day. I'll have to see if she dances around next time I grab my skis. I've already got a longer leash for next time; I can't wait to ski my dog again.
