Good Dog Day

Feeling bold and adventurous, not to mention the huge line of traffic leaving the school drop-off circle, I parked my car and took my dog on a hike. As we got to the open space, I let him off leash and started walking. It was great! He followed me and we went at a much quicker clip than when he's constantly stopping me on his leash. It doesn't hurt that a small part of me was hoping to lose him in the process. (Damn ID chip!) But he kept up nicely.

We met up with a few other dogs and two of them went just swell. They were Labs, too, of course and those dogs just love their own kind. I don't know what other kind of dog the third one was, but they growled at each other. Fortunately, my own stepped away when I called him and it turned out uneventful. It makes me like him so much more when that happens. I'm tired of the anxiety his unpredictability causes me. Maybe he's not so unpredictable after all. 

I've trained my dog the command, "Ignore." When we walk by dogs behind fences cat-calling him, I say "Ignore" and he keeps going. You'll click your tongues at me, I'm sure, thinking back to the Incident In Which I Was Dragged. I'll then remind you that it caught me unaware and I did not give the command - at all. That incident did inspire me to let him off leash today. This might be a trend. For my own good, of course. 

After our hike, I felt great. There is nothing like a brisk bit of exercise to get the blood pumping. I decided to do a little yoga when I got home and took my mat out on the back deck since the weather is so fantastic today. Prompted by a little barking, I let Mooch out with me and practiced Defensive Yoga after that. During the warrior pose, I imagined myself with a bow and arrow taking aim at the side of this annoying animal. Alas, I do not own a bow and arrow. He's a good dog. He just does bad things.

Feeling absolutely inspired, I decided to meditate in my new meditation spot. Have I mentioned this perfectly peaceful place? No defense or distractions? No? My roof. You see, I have a flat roof that is very easy to get onto and it has the best views on my property. And no dog. I did discover, however, that  the birds are very annoying - what with all their chirping and so on. But I had a very clear mind when I was done. 

And now I'm going to take on the world!