The eventful, uneventful walk

All the best plans can go to pot. We think we have a nice quiet route we have done several times with minimal bucket fillers which one day just isn't. On this occasion I took my son. I was that confident having done the walk previously several times there would be no drama.

We set off, I applied #petremedy, a calming spray, as alas one potential bucket filler are bird scarers which ironically we didn't hear. Once we passed the usual spot we hear them, Gatsby visibly relaxed. My son was getting bored of the field paths so I cut some out walking on a farmer's track. At a distance I spotted 2 black labradors off lead. I told my son to stay with Gatsby while I investigated, I couldn't see an owner only a vehicle with the engine running so assumed that the dogs must be getting into the vehicle but instead the dogs approached me. I used the stop hand signal and it worked. I could see the first labrador was female but the one behind male and males can be protective. Gatsby had been #doggywinetasting so the smell of a female was too much and my son was pulled towards her. Fortunately the dogs turned away before Gatsby got to them. I have no idea where the owner was and I have observed that this is the third time I have seen dogs walk themselves while the owner sits in their vehicle.

We then arrive at what is normally a quiet village and I can hear aggressive barking. This is not alerting barking, working in shelter you learn to recognise the difference. Fortunately the poodle cross dog is behind the gate. I work hard to ensure Gatsby disengages, which the more aggressive the dog, the more challenging, and given the owner, who was stood there did nothing to calm or reassure the dog I was far from impressed. I told him he needed to reassure his dog. I observe this a lot, dogs left outside to bark with zero acknowledgement or reassurance from the owner. The more rural the location and larger the house, the more likely this will be observed. This results in these dogs becoming hyper vigilant and fixating on anything passing their house. I've seen an elderly lady walking on the pavement and jumping out of her skin as two large dogs barked at her through the perimeter fence next to the pavement. Dogs are sociable animals who need companionship, they need to explore new places, use their noses and spend quality time with their owners.

Fortunately this was the end of the drama on the walk, the only other dogs encountered were 2 observing from an upstairs window, but they were banging their heads against the window pane. If the owners were there again there was no reassurance..............