Is it Time for our Morning Walk?

Vinson "asking" for our morning walk

As I've mentioned before, developing a regular routine with your pup is a key to keeping things running smoothly. We always take our morning walk early - what I do change up is the direction, path, length, etc. to keep it interesting (and sometimes, based on the weather).

This photo (taken by my coworker, Pat), shows Vinson's over-exuberant manner of "asking" if it's time for our walk. Pat has often joked that, if I were to write a book about raising Vinson, this should be the cover photo - me trying to work at the computer and Vinson "requesting" we do something else. Of course this behavior was more of a problem when he was younger; and I do correct any unacceptable behavior. Still, you can imagine this moment when you're sitting at your keyboard and the pup won't have it!

This morning's early walk to beat the heat took us down to the farmhouse at the end of The Seeing Eye's property. There, a large, fully-fenced yard is ready for staff to work their dogs - complete with a bucket of toys, dish of fresh water, a hose and poop bags. Now, Vinson and I have tried taking advantage of this yard in the past, but he wasn't quite ready for the stimulation, and ended up eating clumps of mowed grass rather than playing ball. Today was a whole different story! We both had a blast! Vinson would sit calmly and wait for me to throw the ball, then break into a steam-engine run, snatch up the ball and gleefully return it. We had a great time, and I'll have to admit, I felt proud of the little guy!

Both worn out, we returned to the comfort of the air conditioned office, where Vinson drank lots of water and fell asleep on the floor - where he remains now!