Busy Weekend

Mocha had a busy weekend!  Since she likes to be around  Dave and me whenever we're home, she was with us a lot.  She had a lot of deck time in the sun and in the shade.  She behaved well on backyard practices off the leash - where we basically let her go in the yard without the leash, and then ask her to "come".  She is very good about coming to us as soon as we call her.

Dave volunteers at the local animal shelter, and comes home with lots of different dog smells on him.  Mocha seems to find this no big deal, and I think maybe it helps her to realize that other dogs are not a threat, since he comes home happy and healthy after being at the shelter.

On another note, I went running with my niece and my friend Ann at the trail yesterday, and it was very humid.  I had to take 4 walk breaks.  I tend to judge my running by how many walk breaks I need, and when it is cooler I don't need as many.

Hoping for cooler whether soon - Mocha will like it too!

Excitement - Loose Dog

Yesterday, Mocha & I took a walk with my friend Holly.  On our way back home, I noticed that a neighbor's dog (let's call him Max) was loose outside.  There was also a runner coming down the street.  So 3 things for Max to focus on - the runner, Mocha, and being alone outside!  

First he barked at and chased the runner for a few steps.  The he started crossing the street to bark at Mocha from a closer position.  I was trying to get Mocha to keep walking, and to ignore Max.  She did pretty well.  Meanwhile, Max's mom came out and started calling him.  It took him a while for him to pay attention to her, but he finally did.

Holly gave  Mocha a treat after she had settled down and we had walked up to the next corner.  She will be a good dog mom one day!

Great Blue Heron at the trail

Today was less humid, so Mocha & I went to the trail for a short walk around the pond (car ride!).  We saw a Great Blue Heron;  maybe the same one I've seen before.

Mocha doesn't pay any attention to it, but I like seeing it.  One day I saw it fly in and land, but I wasn't quick enough to get a picture of that.

Mocha saw no dogs at the trail, but she had a nice time sniffing everything - must be some great smells out there!  We had to walk through a very muddy part, and my shoes retained the mud quite well.  Mocha, however, has self-cleaning paws, and she didn't have a speck of mud on her by the time we got to the car.

Java of the Day:  Major Dickason's Blend (Peet's).

Humid morning walk

What a nice humid morning for a walk with Mocha!  She was very calm today.  I happened to use the retractable leash, and she seemed to like it better.  Whenever she would get out in front of me a little, she would turn around and wait for me.

One dog sighting today -  Arnold, a bulldog from down the street.  Mocha wasn't too close to him, and didn't get agitated when she saw him.

On another subject - when I was coming back from taking care of the cats next door, I saw a deer in the yard, very close to my house.  It just looked at me - "what?" - and didn't move.  There was another deer a cross the street.  I walked right by the one in my yard, and when I got on the porch I said "Why don't you eat some crabgrass for a change?"  That scared it, and it ran away!

Java of the day: Peet's Coffee - Major Dickason's Blend

Meeting Neighborhood Friends

This morning, Mocha got to meet two friends - people, not dogs.  They were running, and stopped to meet Mocha.  She loves people, and got lots of attention from them.  They have 2 dogs who are "works in progress", but they had already gone for walks and were back at home. 

Mocha also saw her dog friend Maddie, and was appropriately nice to her (from across the street). 

Java of the day - Dunkin Donuts Chocolate Glazed Donut!

Introduction to Mocha

Mocha is a Rottweiler mix and my husband and I adopted her from a shelter in March of this year.  She is the sweetest dog with people, but has issues with other dogs.

Since we don’t know her history, it’s hard to say why, but she seems anxious whenever another dog is close by, and she manifests that by going on the offensive.  We’re trying to correct this behavior with positive reinforcement when she doesn’t focus on another dog.  Sometimes it’s hard to break her attention away though. 

I usually take her for a morning walk very early, and lots of times we don’t see other dogs.  Today we had a nice walk before breakfast.  She loves to sleep in the sunshine, so that’s what she is doing now.