Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Winter in Wheaton Off-Leash


Well, this is shaping up to be a real winter in DC!  After last year's false starts, we're finally getting decent snow across the area.  I could do without the polar vortices and obviously I hope everyone stays safe when the roads ice but, on the whole, I'm enjoying myself.

Charlie is too, of course; he absolutely loves the snow.  We came out to the suburbs after we got a few inches last week and he had the best time running around in my parents' backyard, leaping and snuffling and twirling through the fresh powder.  (Yes, twirling.  He's a strange one, my dog is.)  As a treat, I drove us to Wheaton, a park in Montgomery County about a 30 minute drive from the north point of the DC line, for a lovely walk in the woods around the lake.

I just have to brag for a second: Charlie was off-leash the whole time we were there.  My friend Emily's lab Cliff has been allowed to roam freely through nature since he was a puppy, but that really was never an option for Charlie.  I mean, my parents replaced the fence around their backyard and reinforced the garden gate to stop Charlie from jumping (or climbing, which was the strangest thing to witness) over and exploring the neighborhood!  If he got loose and caught the scent of a rabbit or a squirrel, he'd be off like a shot and we wouldn't be able to catch him until he tired himself out, which could take up to an hour, or he managed to get himself stuck somewhere.  Even as his recall got better, I didn't trust him to respond more quickly to me than to the sound of a deer breaking a twig off in the distance.  But he has been maturing over the past year and a half since we brought him home and I have been working very hard on reinforcing the basic commands that we were taught in obedience class, so yesterday, as we walked down the track to the lake at Wheaton, I unclipped his collar - and he was off!

He meandered, of course, and occasionally sprinted from one tree to the next, but he kept pace with me the whole time.  I'd call him if I felt he was falling behind, distracted by some smell, and he'd dash up to me, a big sloppy smile on his face, and then find a new scent to hunt down.  There were deer tracks all over the place and I can only imagine how many animals were burrowed under our feet, but Charlie was a champion.  I was so proud!  It was such a fun outing and I'm thrilled that Charlie's finally responsible enough that we can make it a regular thing.













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14 comments:

  1. YAY for off lead!! When Sloan and Max adjusted to off lead life in England it was like the world had suddenly become technicolor. I looooooooved it, they looooooved it, and everything was so much more enjoyable. And when the world is a giant, snowy playground, leashes just get in the way!

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  2. Sniff.....they grow up so fast.

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  3. I love it! As much as Ollie enjoys walks regardless, he is in his element when he is able to be off leash in the woods. He is seriously a different dog, and it makes my heart happy.

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  4. im glad charlie is having fun in the snow! AND he gets to be off the leash! must have a good momma! ;) xo

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  5. I'm so glad that you and Charlie had this little adventure! Anabelle has turned into quite the obedient pup and we were able to play with her in my family/Nick's family's backyards when we were home!

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  6. Gorgeous photographs - been a little too cold here in Michigan to actually get out and have a walk for too long in this weather!

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  7. the first thing i did when we got home was call Jon and tell him we could now bring Charlie to Suffolk :)

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  8. totally in his element! they're meant to be wild and free... as long as there's a bone and a bed waiting at home when they get tired :P

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  9. it's easy to be a good momma when you have a good baby :)

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  10. that was the first time we were really able to go out in about a week! he'd missed it - I had too :)

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  11. YAY Charlie! Being a good boy off leash is quite the accomplishment :)

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  12. That is an accomplishment! I would love to do that with Millie, but if she sees another dog or animal she just won't listen. I'm just scared she'll take off and run into the main road, where she could very easily get hit by a car.

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