When you’re walking Maggie and she suddenly surges forward or pulls away, you know she’s found something to eat in the buffet that is our neighbourhood.
One in five times she succeeds. The rest of the time I pull her back quickly enough.
But now she knows that I know…
A red dog being walked on a lead in a residential neighbourhood sniffs at a patch of grass in the nature strip by the side of the road.
So these days, when I yank her to a halt (and she’s not still straining because Dammit. She. Is. So. Close.), she immediately feigns disinterest. Sometimes she even takes a small step in the other direction.
Then, the second there’s some slack on her leash, she lunges forward to grab the forbidden morsel. It’s a smart tactic that’s even worked a few times.
But now I know. And she knows that I know.
I’m curious to see what she'll come up with next :)
A red dog being walked on a lead looks back over its shoulder at the photographer who has stopped walking to take this photo.
I do occasionally let her grab a doggy street food snack, by the way. We have a primary school and three cafes nearby so there’s always fresh bits of sandwiches and the like strewn across our neighbourhood.
Finding and eating random stuff on the road is the highlight of her day!