Panting heavily and shaking my head, doing my best to laugh, I think, <I still don't get what you enjoy about spoiled food. I will admit a little old wasn't HORRIBLE as an eagle, but food that old just isn't me.> I say to Shiners as I hear someone approaching and sniff the air. I'm still surprised how much I can tell as I give a bark to my dad, recognizing him.
My dad walks up with the leash and smiles, "Okay, Fluffy, it's time to go for your walk," he says, giving me a small wink. I sigh, I'm never getting rid of this name, am I, heck even if I turn human again, it's probably permanent, I suspect. I dutifully walk over to wagging my tail and barking. Outwardly, I was excited, inwardly, while there was some excitement, there was also the nervousness of how I will do around other dogs and people. Would my instincts get in the way? Would THEIR instincts get in the way?
I hear Shiners voice as he smiles, <Just relax, most humans don't think that much about dogs, if you do something aggressive maybe, or walk on two legs, but they aren't going to think something wrong if you're a little nervous or hyper.> He says.
I try to relax as my dad clips the leash to my collar and pats my head, so I relax a little bit and follow him back to the car as he opens the back door, and I climb into the seat, giving another small bark. He just smiles, "You got this, Fluffy, and I will be there in case anything goes wrong."
I give a nod of my head as I'm glad that my mom and dad so far haven't used my full name yet, fluffy butt. Remembering that name gives me a shiver. If I ever tell my sister the truth, I'm going to have to have a talk with her about proper name-calling. My dad soon starts up the car, and we're driving down to the beach as I watch everything go by out the window.
My dad rolls down the window as he chuckles, "Maybe you can answer the age-old question for me later. Why do dogs like to stick their heads out the window?" My ears perk up at this as I sniff the air out the window, enjoying the smell, so many strange things at once, nearly impossible to tell them apart, yet somehow enticing. No scent stays long enough to get more than a, ca, do, bur. and then gone, just how much of the world do humans miss, first eyesight, and now smells, it's incredible.
Soon, I catch the scent of the ocean, and it is so much stronger than normal. Usually it's just a hint of salt, especially on windy days, but today, on a sunny day, it's like I'm already in the water. My ears perk up, and I lean forward as I don't even try to stop myself from barking. My dad just laughs, "We're almost there, Fluffy, just relax," he says as we pull into the parking lot near the restaurant that was closed for the winter.
He soon climbs out and opens the door as I hop out and fight the urge to go running, so many smells and noises that I want to explore, I can hear dogs in the distance, smells of animals and birds. With a bit of effort, I manage to avoid running as my dad clips the leash on me and we start down to the beach. Oh, right, we're here to train a little bit, but also just enjoy the park. If I want to be able to travel and be with family, I need to learn to control my dog instincts.
As we near the ocean, I smell more and more of the ocean, it was like I was swimming in it, and maybe I technically was, since the smell was everywhere. I don't see dogs, but I do see some kids on logs by the water. We walk around for a few minutes as I sniff the swings, the trees. Then one of the kids and their dad walk up as he holds his son's hand and asks, "Is he dangerous?" He asks. It hurt a little bit, but then again, I'm huge, and adults might even get a little scared.
I give a small friendly or at least try my best to sound friendly woof as I wag my tail back and forth, not wanting to scare the kid. My dad pets me, "He's safe," he says as the kid looks up at his at his dad, who gives a small nod.
The kid walks over to me as the dad asks, "He's a pretty big dog, some kind of woldog?" he asks as my ears perk up curiously at that. The kid finally reaches me and begins to pet my head, far gentler than most kids I would imagine. I was half expecting to get my fur yanked out or something.
The kid smiles and says, "You're a good dog, aren't you?" he asks, making me woof and wag my tail as I hear my dad and the other move to the side to talk for the moment, but still keeping an eye on me. This makes me a little nervous as now it's my job to act like a dog unsupervised, and anything could happen accidentally. But I bump my head against him gently. As every thought goes through my mind, okay, how does a dog act? Probably want the petting right? I'm definitely liking it, and making me feel comfortable.
It's as if I'm being petted that I hear Shiners words, <Remember Mike, don't eat the kid, you're going to get into trouble.> He teases as I fight the urge to roll my eyes, as I can see him in a tree a few feet away from me. Shiners then adds sincerely, <I have faith in you and will keep an eye to make sure no danger.>
I give a small sigh of relief and then panic slightly as the kid asks, "Does he play fetch?" as that wasn't something we had even discussed, how would that work, would I want to...ughh, how would a ball or stick even taste, would it be bad? Though maybe another time we can practice.
Thankfully, my dad shakes his head, "Not yet, he doesn't seem to get it, but we will be teaching him," he says, covering for me. As that definitely makes me relax a bit.
The kid's dad smiles, "Let's head home your mom's going to be upset if you're home late," he says as my dad returns, ruffling my fur as I grimace just slightly as it feels weird. The two walk off heading in the direction of the parking lot, the kid giving a final wave.
My dad nudges, "Fluffy, you think you want to try the trail?" He asks. Knowing that it be a tough place, less places to move if a bike came by or a dog was walking around. I wasn't fully sure if I was ready, but I do give a nod. My tail was wagging a little beside me. My dad adds reassuringly, "You did good back there, see it's not quite as hard as you feared," he says.
I give out a bark as I shake myself out a little bit to relax. I still have concerns, but for the moment it at the least feels good. My first test went well, though my real concern is how it will work with dogs, which isn't exactly something you can trick, as they can smell what you're feeling.
We walk along the beach down to the trail. The smell of things changes a little, I can smell dogs, people, and other things. My ears perk as I raise my nose into the air to sniff about. It feels overwhelming as I'm mostly getting by on just trying to focus on a few smells. But the trail is heavily used by people. There was no one currently on the tail, but I could smell their passing.
We walk along the trail as I sniff the ground and then stop, my ears perked as I stare at the side of the trail. I don't know why, but I thought I had seen something move, but now I can't find it...WAIT, there it is, what's that over there? I notice a squirrel sticking its head around the corner of a tree as I go fully into alert mode before I have time to realize it.
I take a few steps closer as my dad spots it, "Fluffy, you shouldn't chase the squirrels," he says, catching me off guard as I look back at him, licking my lips but giving him some puppy dog eyes, what I wasn't going to eat it....I mean, probably couldn't catch it.
Running back to him, I rub against his leg, trying to sound contrite, or however such a thing would sound with a dog's ability to communicate. It was at that point that Shiners calls out, <Mike, we have a husky coming down the trail, good time to see how you handle another dog.> he says.
I perk my head up and nudge my father as I point down the trail in the direction where I could catch the scent of a dog coming down the trail. My dad nods and quickly holds the leash a little tighter as I assume he's making sure that I can't run up or anything. My tail is sticking behind me, and ears are alert and facing forward as I look for the source.
"What's up, Fluffy? Something coming?" he asks me as I just get a little nervous, especially with the leash. Yeah, it's meant to protect me, but if there is a sudden problem with the dog, it could be dangerous. I try to relax as I soon spot a husky coming around the corner on a leash, who then stops. It tilts its head to look in my direction.
I look nervous but try to wag my tail and pant excitedly to show I'm no threat. I soon realize from the scent that it's a female, which makes my ears perk up a little more. She soon looks up at her owner and gives signs that she wants to come say hi. I'm noticing no sign of threats from her, thankfully. Okay, this is it, just your normal dog, you're a dog too...sorta just relax and act normalish.
The owner slowly walks up to me and my dad as I fight the urge to hide and keep wagging my tail. Looking for ANY signs or smells of aggression or otherwise. The dog seems to be almost saying, 'man, you're big. You friendly?' as her owner asks the same thing, "Your dog looks a bit like a wolf, is he friendly?"
My dad nods his head, "He's still young, and only had him a short time, but he's friendly. If nervous, we're trying to get him used to being around others more," he says as the husky moves up closer to her as she wags her tail. I give a friendly little bark, wagging my tail and relaxing a little bit.
I remain still as she moves and sniffs while she moves past me, and I hear her behind me sniffing, my instincts telling me to sniff too as I get a weird big of scents that I don't really understand and have to sneeze. But she seems nonplussed by it as she turns around and gives a playful bark. I can hear Shiners groaning, <Dude, did you just butt sniff?> He asks, making my ears warm up from embarrassment.
My dad raises an eyebrow at me as I try to ignore it, but I was confused by it, it was natural, and sorta...got why it was, if a little confused. The husky crouches down, giving a playful bark as I watch her, unsure how to react. My instincts tell me play, but I'm confused as to what play is like. The owner asks me, "How old is he?"
My dad watches me play, unhooks my leash, deciding to take a chance, as does the Huksy's owner. My dad replies, "fif... few years old," he says, catching himself as my ears perk up, making me groan slightly. But I can't focus on it for too long as the Husky barks again and starts taking off down the trail.
I try to ignore my dad's little blunder and give chase after and follow the husky as she runs down the trail. I stop short as she turns around and runs up to me and bounces slightly, pawing at my side in what would appear to be the canine version of, 'tag your it.'
She then takes off running away as I follow after her, my heart racing and panting as I'm loving it. It feels so natural and fun. Though in the back of my head, I hope no one throws a stick or ball, unsure how I would handle that in the confusion."
Though for the moment I just tag after her as she turns around and tries to catch me, but I dodge to the side elegantly and incredibly agile....well, least that was the plan, but still not used to the body and first time really running, I trip over my feet and end up skidding along the ground.
I hear my dad running up, "You okay, m...fluffy?" he asks as the husky comes over and noses at me, licking my face as I slowly get to my feet, nodding to my dad. I then shake myself out, okay, nothing broken other than my pride. I give the dog a light swat playfully to show that I'm fine as she relaxes a little bit.
Shiners laughs a little bit, shaking his head, <The mighty male wolf tripping over his own paws. Though admittedly you're doing better then I was expecting.> He says as I stretch myself out and move over to nose my dad, thinking I'm a little embarrassed and tired.
My dad looks down at me and smiles, "I think Fluffy here needs to go home and rest. We just got him, so probably a lot of simulation for him."
The Husky's owner nods his head, "Yeah, it's getting late, and I'm sure she's hungry for food." He gives a small wave as I give a friendly bark to the Husky, and soon the two of them are heading off. My dad smiles, "Good job, Fluffy," before we too turn around back the way we came. We didn't go too far down the trail, but a nice start. All I can think of is, as my brain teases me, good job, first girl to pay attention to you, and you embarrass yourself.
Soon, we make it back to the car, and my dad pets my head, "You're doing good. This is so confusing for the both of us, but we're learning," he says as I bark excitedly before lying down on the seat to rest. He pulled out and was soon driving back home.
