Dog day afternoon: A special treat for Harper
By Kim Campbell Thornton
January 1, 2009
If today is a sample of 2009, I like it already. I woke up, promptly broke my New Year’s resolution to do yoga first thing in the morning (maybe bedtime is better), played a little fetch with Harper and Twyla, and did some work on the galleys for the revision of my Mastiff book. Then we gave Harper a rare treat: a solo walk with us in Laguna Beach. I hung a clicker around my neck, stuffed a bunch of treats in my pocket, gave a couple to Bella and Twyla as solace for staying behind, and off we went.
Our favorite walk starts at Crescent Bay Point park and wends through pretty coastal neighborhoods until 
we hit Main Beach. There are always lots of people out walking this route, and I decided it was a good chance to work with Harper on not running up to strangers. She just barely passed that part of the Canine Good Citizen test (and flunked it because she was unable to walk by other dogs without greeting them). Just knowing that I have a clicker really holds her attention, so she did very well, even through groups of people and even past children. She still can’t resist those other dogs, though. We’ll work on that next time.
When we reached Main Beach, we were ready to eat. The Belgian restaurant where Jerry had hoped to order mussels was closed for the week. The next place had an outdoor table right next to the sidewalk but would have required us to tie Harper up not at the railing but across the sidewalk at the parking meter. Nah. Next door, at Pomodoro, we hit the jackpot: an outdoor table on a patio with a heater where dogs were allowed.
While we ate, Harper sat nicely in the corner, occasionally practicing her “Beg” move. She developed this on her own, mainly so she can get a better view out the screen door, and I’ve been clicking her for it. Now I just need to give it a name and teach her to do it on command. We tried to take a photo, but the lighting just wasn’t good enough.
We saw half a dozen Cavaliers on our walk and lots of other dogs, not to mention a man walking a Pug and a black cat. You see all kinds in Laguna; that’s what I love about it. And now, back to the Mastiff galleys.
Definitely a good start so far for you on this new year! Sounds like you guys had a great first day in 2009. For my part, I had to work but decided to take two of my four-legged kids with me; they waited for me patiently on Exam Room 1 while I tended to an emergency with one of the new doctors. Not as exciting as your day so I’m still kind of jealous. Here’s to a great year!
Comment by Karina A — January 1, 2009 @ 10:46 pm
Sounds like a lovely day. I haven’t been to Laguna in years. I actually spent my childhood on the beaches there. I can’t wait to get back to the west coast.
It took me forever to get Dot good with passing people “nicely”. She was totally unsocialized/terrified when I first met her, so all positive interactions were praised. She takes things literally, of course. So that must mean everybody needs a positive interaction, lol!~ I finally got everyone in my building on board with ignoring and not interacting and then we made progress on the streets. The only problems I have now is with people in cars. They stop or pullover and open the door to “coo” about her and she thinks it’s an open invitation. And it takes about a week or 2 to rewire her brain that every car with a person that’s stopping at a light or parking isn’t “all about her”. It’s so funny how literally dogs can interpret things, and so instantly! :) I had one instance where we ran into another volunteer/trainer from the shelter that she knew (a few years prior). Oh she was so happy and all was great. Except everytime we walked toward that spot and she saw someone there . . . happy dog! It took me a couple days to figure out why she was suddenly losing all her leash/people manners in that area . . .
Comment by straybaby — January 2, 2009 @ 2:37 am