Silly Shepherds · About a 6-minute read
Twice this week, things went wrong.
Twice, Odin chased something while I called and he didn’t respond.
Twice, I learned something.
Because that is part of training too. The difficult days show you where the gaps still are.
🐾 The Cyclists—Day 45
Strijthagen Woods.
I’m throwing sticks. Odin is off-leash.
Then they appear—a large group of cyclists coming through the woods when I wasn’t expecting anyone.
Odin spots them.
And takes off like a rocket.
Calling doesn’t work. I don’t shout.
I whistle with two fingers.
He comes back.
Out of breath, but he comes back immediately when he hears the whistle.
I don’t want to punish that return. Coming back to me needs to remain something worth doing, even after something has gone wrong.
So: a gentle pat. Leash back on. A quiet walk away.
But I remember what happened.
Cyclists in the woods are a trigger I hadn’t seen from Odin before.
Now I know.
And I need to plan for it.
🐾 The Cat—Day 48
That evening, at the dog field.
Nobody around. Odin off-leash.
Then there’s a cat sitting right in the middle of the path.
With an expression that seems to say: Go ahead. Try it.
Odin has other ideas.
Before I fully register what’s happening, he’s gone.
I call. Nothing.
I whistle. Nothing.
Whistle again. Still nothing.
I hear the cat running through the bushes. I’m relieved they haven’t headed toward the road.
But Odin stays out of sight.
Only when the cat has escaped does he come trotting back.
This is different from the cyclists.
This isn’t I heard you and came back.
This is I’m finished now.
That difference matters.
I let my disappointment show and briefly stopped giving him attention. He began licking me.
At the time, it felt like an apology.
Was it actual remorse? I can’t know that. Licking doesn’t tell me exactly what he was feeling. He may have been responding to my mood or trying to reconnect.
It also made me think about my own reaction. Earlier in the week, I had been clear that coming back should remain positive. I need to be consistent about that after a frightening moment too.
The real lesson is about what happens before he runs.
His recall is not reliable around unfamiliar cats yet. That means he needs a leash or a safely managed long line in those situations while we work on it.
Lio at home and a cat outdoors are very different experiences for Odin.
He knows Lio. Outside, an unfamiliar cat suddenly running away brings a completely different challenge.
That needs its own practice—and careful management.
🐾 What Else Happened
Day 48—Bisho — A chocolate Labrador. Completely goofy and even more energetic than Odin.
They were well matched.
Odin had the time of his life.
Another friend: first Buka, the hunting dog, and now Bisho.
Garry’s owner had already headed off because the dogs were so absorbed in each other that we humans might as well have disappeared.
There is progress in seeing Odin enjoy another dog’s company.
We still need to keep the excitement manageable, but it is a very different picture from six weeks ago.
Day 51 — A familiar man was back from vacation.
His dog wasn’t responding to him, and he had plenty to say about other people letting their dogs off-leash.
I’ll leave that there.
I value opportunities for dogs to interact and play when the situation suits them. But this week also reminded me that freedom has to match the dog’s current skills.
Enjoying other dogs doesn’t make Odin ready for every distraction.
The badger—Day 46 — There it was again.
Odin was ready too.
But we kept walking.
That counts for something.
🐾 Seven Weeks In—The Honest Picture
Seven weeks.
Two setbacks this week.
But also:
A dog who responded immediately to my whistle after chasing cyclists.
A dog who came close after a difficult moment.
A dog who played with Bisho as though they had known each other for years.
And a dog who is lying beside me on his blanket while I write this.
Those moments matter.
So do the things we still need to work on.
That is the honest picture.
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