There are many things going on this photo I took during a group hike with Canine Einstein. Many good things.
New place. New surroundings. We went to this state park once, more than a year ago I think, but didn’t explore. I don’t remember why. It’s been on my list of places to visit, so I was excited that the group hike was taking place there.
Stranger Danger has been a thing since he was a puppy. He is a pandemic pup so things like having people over to the house didn’t happen. For a dog that has a large bubble of personal space, to go on a hike with strangers of both human and canine form, and not be bothered, is wondrous.
He didn’t care.
He didn’t care that there were strange dogs.
He didn’t care that there were strange people.
He didn’t care that there were kids running around, being kids, and other strangers milling about. In what now feels like a previous life, he would’ve taken issue and let them know.
He didn’t care that the trainer was close as we walked.
He didn’t care that the trainer would stop, slow down, turn back to look at us, turn back and talk to us.
He didn’t care about the dog behind him.
He didn’t care about the dogs in front of him.
He didn’t care if we switched up the order and lead, or hung out in the middle, or brought up the rear.
He didn’t care about other people on the trail as we passed.
He didn’t care.
For the first time, he didn’t care about anything other than all the smells, and staying near me. We focused more on pacing, both leading the pace and following others, than we did on managing the environment to minimize reactions. There were no reactions, even though the environment provided plenty of opportunity.
It was a wonderful group hike. I’m glad we went.