Odin Week 12 — Stormy Weather and Restless Walks

Silly Shepherds · 6-minute read

Thursday morning. Outside the dog park gate.

Odin knows exactly what’s on the other side.

Running. Chasing Zara. Another lap. And absolutely no waiting.

But this morning, we start with something small.

Sit for a moment. Stay for a moment.

Two seconds, he can manage.

By three, he’s already on the move again.

After almost three months together, we’re gradually starting to practice a little more. And those first few seconds at a gate already tell me plenty.

We’re in no hurry. But there’s plenty to work on.

🐾 Monday — Not Much of a Break for Zara

On Monday’s long walk, the dogs had plenty of room to run off-leash. It was quiet, and we had space.

Odin made the most of it.

But he also kept going after Zara. Wrestling, pestering, staying right on her heels. She barely had a chance to do her own thing.

Watching them play together is lovely. But when one keeps going, I also need to check whether the other is still enjoying it.

Something else caught my attention, though: Odin kept checking on me.

Where am I? What am I doing? Am I going to respond?

That wasn’t always the case in the beginning. Now, I regularly caught him looking my way as he ran.

Still a busy dog. But one who’s checking where I am more and more often.

Those are the little things you notice when you’re out together every day.

🐾 An Ordinary Week, with More and More Wind

Most mornings started at the dog park. Garry was often already there.

A little running, a little playing, then on along Heerlerbaan.

A short midday walk in between. A longer outing around five. And one more late at night.

That routine keeps going. Even when the weather has other ideas.

On Wednesday, we headed to the woods a little later than usual. First, I’d gone with Stella to look at a bike. That turned out to be a dud, so afterward, it was straight out with the dogs.

By then, it was dark and pretty windy.

There were quite a few fallen trees. That makes you look at a familiar trail a little differently. The woods could wait for calmer weather.

The wind picked up even more during our late walk.

At least it was still dry.

This week, that was already starting to feel like a luxury.

🐾 Thursday — Asking Calmly Works Better

At the dog park gate, we started by waiting.

Odin found that difficult. He wanted to get inside and had very little patience for this new stop of mine.

When I called him back, I saw him flinch.

That still gets to me. I’m asking him to do something, but I can see that, in that moment, the way I’m asking is too much for him.

I can’t know exactly why he reacts that way. What I can see is that my tone of voice makes a difference.

Asking more calmly helped.

Eventually, he managed to sit a little longer. Then all that energy came pouring out anyway. Inside the park, he was full-on, kept going after Zara, and struggled to settle down.

As we were leaving, Odin ran into someone. Thankfully, they stayed on their feet.

I needed to step in. I wanted Odin beside me so I could put his leash on.

My first stern call didn’t help. Again, I saw him flinch.

So I softened my voice.

Then he came over, and I could clip on his leash.

A boundary is still a boundary. Nearly knocking someone over isn’t okay. But I also want Odin to feel safe coming to me.

That morning, I needed to pay at least as much attention to myself as I did to him.

🐾 Friday — Wet Dogs and One Frustrated Human

Friday evening really delivered.

Stormy winds. Rain. And according to the weather radar, no end in sight.

There wasn’t much point waiting for it to dry up. With that wind, the woods were out, too. So we chose an open field where the dogs could run.

And run they did.

Playing, chasing each other, clearly having a wonderful time. While I stood out there in that weather, those two were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Back home, it was time for the next part: drying them with the dog dryer under the covered area outside.

Odin was happy to let me take care of him. When he was dry, I opened the door to let him inside.

Zara saw her chance.

I’m coming in, too, she must have thought.

Except she was still wet. Very wet.

Calling her back didn’t help, and meanwhile, she was making a mess inside. I got angry, grabbed her leash more forcefully than I needed to, and pulled her back outside.

Not my finest moment.

That belongs in an honest diary, too. I like to write about patience and calm, but I don’t always have an endless supply of either.

Once she was back by the dryer, Zara relaxed. Toward the end, she even positioned herself for it.

She especially loves having her belly dried.

Head tilted. Tongue half hanging out.

She was already enjoying herself again. I was still thinking about my own reaction.

🐾 Saturday — Just Watching Two Dogs Play

Stella joined us for the midday walk on Saturday.

Toward the end, Zara started trying to get Odin to play. There was room, so I let him off his leash for a bit, too.

Fifteen minutes of running and playing.

I love watching that. Two dogs choosing to spend time together, chasing each other, doing their thing.

After all the moments when I need to pay attention, call someone back, or hold on to the leashes, it’s nice to simply stand and watch for a while.

Later that day, a break in the rain suddenly brought everyone outside. We all seemed to have the same thought: now’s our chance.

So the dogs stayed with me, and we finished our walk on-leash.

Home almost dry.

For this week, that counted as a good result.

🐾 Sunday — Mud, Holes, and an Old Friend

Garry and Sem were at the dog park on Sunday morning.

Sem knew Ayla back in the day. Zara adores him and always likes to go over to him. He was less familiar to Odin, so I watched to see how things went.

It went well.

We didn’t stay long. All that rain had left the park pretty muddy, and there were holes dug all over it, too.

That does bother me.

I’ve filled those holes in myself several times before. Others have, too. It’s a lot of work, and sometimes they’re dug right back up again.

Once they fill with water, you can barely see where you’re putting your feet. That’s no fun for people or dogs.

We all share that park. Surely we want the next person to be able to use it safely, too?

Just filling in a hole after your dog has been digging would make such a difference.

We kept our visit short that morning and headed home along Heerlerbaan.

🐾 Twelve Weeks — We’re Both Still Learning

Toward evening on Sunday, we drove to the off-leash area near Cranenbroek in Landgraaf.

Rain and wind. Hardly anyone around. Plenty of room for the dogs.

The clocks had gone back, so it was getting dark even earlier. Time to bring the lights.

Odin still had plenty of energy. Zara joined in the games.

More than anything, this week showed me how many things can be true at once.

Odin checks on me more often while he’s running. He can barely wait at a gate. He flinches at a stern voice, yet comes over when I ask calmly.

And I want to teach him to be calmer, but on Friday, I lost my own patience.

We’ve been together for twelve weeks.

We’re getting more comfortable with each other. We know more of each other’s habits. But that doesn’t suddenly make everything clear or easy.

So we keep working on the little moments.

Wait a second. Ask calmly. Step in before things get too much.

And in between, leave room for two dogs racing after each other through the wet grass.

After the last walk, one more session with the dryer at home.

Then we were all ready to call it a day.

📖 The Language of the Shepherd

You can read more about our life with German Shepherds, and our approach to calm, clear boundaries, and living together, in my book The Language of the Shepherd.

Explore the book on our book page.

🐕 No Wikipedia. Just us.

This is our honest diary of Odin and life with our dogs. What’s going well, what’s still challenging, and what we’re learning along the way. Week by week. Step by step.