More training adventures today!

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Now I know Bo's the size of a small horse but this looked more like the Horse of the Year Show than a doggy venue.   All we were allowed to do was sniff and look at the strange equipment, but that was fine as the field had nuggets of pure dining delicacy hidden in the grass.  I thought the nice man Kenny who looked after us had put them there, but he said it was the rabbits that had left them... thanks bunnies!  So why were we there in the pouring rain?  It was to have the run of a big safe field  - nice!    Kenny and Mum and Pat had a chat and then Kenny said Mum would be fine if I left her, so she took off my lead.  Yay... freedom to frolic! She kept calling me to come to make sure I was OK and to give me snacks.   I don't mind plenty of that!

Then it was Bo's turn to let Pat off the lead.  He hasn't done that before, so  I stayed with Mum. Bo was funny.  I expected him to run around but he stayed with Pat.  She walked off and he went too, looked like he was glued to her side.  Pat told Kenny she was worried if Bo went off on his own that he might not come back if she called him, but it seemed he wasn't going to leave her side, so there was no need to worry.

We thought Bo might like a game, so Mum took off my lead too and we ran together right across the field. Oh wow what fun!    We got to the far side and then I looked back - the humans all seemed a very long way off, then Mum called me and Pat called Bo so we thought we'd better go back.  They seemed very pleased and gave us lovely treats - cheese and ham NOM NOM!!   Good game Mum and thanks for getting Kenny to let us play it in his field!

Next Kenny said we needed to practise "recall".   Oh yes, that's the game where I go and play, Mum calls and I hare back to collect a quick treat and immediately rush off again?  Oh, apparently the rules have changed.  Now I have to sit and stay sitting until Mum tells me I can go.  Kenny showed us what to do.

Bo and Pat were practising the same thing but I saw Bo get away with not sitting - his legs are sooooo long that it takes forever for his bum to hit the ground and he HATES getting it wet too - c'mon - man up chap!!  Whaddya mean it's the same as me not liking walking in cold puddles?  Oi, cheeky!!!

Then they gave us a break from the game and Bo went to look at the other end of the field, right down by the hedge near the road.   Pat looked worried.  She called Bo but he was busy.  Dunno what he was doing, but man was he engrossed - in a world of his own.  I thought I'd better go and see what was so good - some great smells in that field you know, as well as the rabbit sweeties!.   Seemed Mum didn't want me going over there as she started to call me.  I considered ignoring her but after a few calls I decided what she had in my snack bag was calling me more than whatever was in the grass and set off at a gallop back to her.  Bo said to me he wasn't going back with me as he wasn't bothered about food - the smells that side of the field were far more interesting. He said he'd be fine and he knew Pat was fine, so he couldn't see what the problem was.   He is funny - can't for the life of me understand anyone who isn't always ready for a snack.  Each to his own.

Kenny went and had a word with Bo & suggested he should come back and offered him a treat as payment - dunno what Kenny  had in his snack bag but it sure hit the spot with Bo.    So, after that Pat decided to use Bo's massive long lead and  we played the "come" game again..   A new thing now was that when Mum said "come" she held her arms open like she wanted a hug but when I got near she pointed down with both hands and said "sit".  I did, and got my snack ... easy peasy when she's showing me where to sit!   Then Kenny said I shouldn't have had the snack as I got up on my feet rather than keep my bum on the ground.  NOT FAIR!   So we did it some more times - I worked with Kenny and Mum too and now I know they always  want me to sit still until they say "OK".   It's still a fun game as I get to run around a lot and get lots of FOOOOOD!

Tonight I'm really tired. Life with Charlie cat is getting much better too.  Fun, frustration and a growing friendship.  Yesterday he managed to get the lid off the big blue box that has all our treats and snacks in.  Such a shame Dad heard it and stopped us raiding it!  Charlie still doesn't want to rough'n'tumble, but we played a good game on the stairs - he sat in the middle and kept saying I had to get the right password to be allowed to pass him!   I cheated - went down with mum!   By the fire tonight we held paws so I know he loves me really!