Yesterday's visit to Tucson to walk more of the Loop encouraged me to do more of the same thing today, but with SteveT and his dog Trace. Fritz did well around other people and dogs and I wanted to see how he would do around Steve and Trace, people that I hang out with on a regular basis. I called Steve early to see if he were interested in a trip to Tucson. He said yes.
That means I had to walk the other front yard dogs for a good work-out before meeting Steve at 11am. I took Gretchen, Fritz and Sweetie down to the Hereford Pit. The perimeter lap is just over a mile around, but I add mileage by walking among the mesquite and along cattle trails. The dogs enjoy the open space and being able to run off-leash. This is especially important for Gretchen, who is tethered up the rest of the day when I'm gone. She needs 2-3 miles of non-stop running at each exercise to relax.
The exercise started out with the usual happy dogs off leash. They were having fun galloping along the dirt paths and among the desert grasses. Sweetie stayed by my side while the other two dogs ran with each other. But when I was ready to leave after two miles around the pit, Fritz and Sweetie came back but Gretchen was out there somewhere. I then heard her bark. Oh geez: she found a lone bull she was barking at. There had been a herd of cattle lulling around just east of the pit, hidden by mesquite and watching us. I hadn't noticed them earlier due to their black hides.
In the end she came back, tired and happy and willingly jumped into the truck for the return drive home. Her delay then delayed me in taking off at 10am. At least she got a good run in early and would be less stressed on her own. I didn't get to Steve's place until 11am.
My next hurdle was seeing how Fritz would act around others in his truck. Would he resent having another human in the truck, taking away his passenger seat? How would he behave around Trace, who was trained not to fight? Steve was willing to test Fritz with me as I parked a block away and walked Fritz on leash, approaching Steve's place. He was sitting up front with Trace by his side, prepared.
Fritz reacted to the yapping of the smaller dogs in the area as I walked toward Steve. I had to pull on his leash to keep him focused on walking on ahead, keeping his head forward. He barks when others bark first but seems to understand not attacking others.
He kept his cool as we neared Steve, but Trace was visibly afraid and hid behind Steve's chair. Trace remembers Fritz snapping at him during earlier encounters. I calmed Fritz down and he did calm down with constant encouragement. We got Trace's crate in the truck, and then Steve sat in the passenger seat (that's Fritz's seat!). Fritz didn't snarl or bark at either intruder
But here is when the German shepherd drama began.
Fritz didn't get aggressive, but he was unwilling to give up his seat to Steve. No way. And he stubbornly refused to budge or hop in the back behind me. He was not going to relent easily with me pulling on his leash. He instead took his position on the middle console with his body leaning on me. I couldn't safely drive like that for 75 miles with a 70-pound dog on my right side obstructing my line-of-sight. I had to pull over at the Love's Truck stop before entering the interstate at Benson to coax him to take the back seat. He eventually did.
We finally got started on our walk at 12:46pm from the Roy Schoonover trail head parking lot on Kolb Road, the same place I had turned around yesterday. This trail head has flush toilets, a bike repair station, and benches to sit on. This is a busy parking and resting area I feel safe in. The palo verde trees lining the perimeter surely provide cooling shade in the hotter months.
There were a lot of cyclists on the trail again. The path going west is along a newer housing area, barren of mature trees and landscaping. Fritz wanted to walk on the black asphalt but I wanted to take up as little room as possible for the speeding cyclists. There was no equestrian parallel trail along this route, forcing me on the uneven gravel off the path while Fritz stays on the asphalt. This was most likely not a pleasant experience for Fritz.
The first mile from Kolb Road to Wilmot Road is nondescript. This will be a much better walking area when trees are planted, mature, and there is more shade along the way. The Union Pacific railroad line, which follows the I-10 corridor, rumbled along with freight cars on a regular schedule. Scenery is lacking along this section. The only thing of interest are the various air craft taking off from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base on the east side of Tucson.
We crossed Wilmot and walked another half-mile before stopping at Sanderling Court, where I last turned around in August when I came from the opposite direction with Hansel. Fritz seemed glad to take a break here as we sat on a cool concrete bench and just chilled. We were now in the middle of an older housing development with mature palo verde and other desert flora.
After a 20-minute break we returned to the truck the way we came. We had walked 4.6 miles. It was now almost 4pm and almost the same time it was yesterday when I finished the walk.
Fritz was clearly tired and this time didn't fight me so much for the passenger seat. We stopped at Nico's Mexican on Broadway for a filling and cheap meal, then took a break at Borderlands on 6th Street for a beer each, and again at Arizona Beer House for a second round, and then drove home.
Fritz seems to have learned to tolerate others now. Yes, he still needs to work on his trust of other people as he snaps easily when things startle him. It will take time for him to completely relax, just like it did all the other dogs I've had. It helps that Steve understands dogs and is patient with Fritz, but I also want Trace to feel comfortable around Fritz. So, more training is in the future but at least I have confidence that Fritz will become a much more friendly dog toward others.
No comments:
Post a Comment