A day in the life of dog walking in Arvada...Meet the clan

I wanted this post to introduce you to a few more of the fur buddies I have been walking. They live in Arvada, and though they are all different, they make a great team.

Meet Lohtse, Tiny, and Fritz.

These pups each have very distinct personalities. Lohtse, the fun-loving mother of the other two babies. Tiny, the ‘fraidy cat. And Fritz, the bad boy.

Lohtse’s walks are easy. She is always quickly ready to go and excited for the outside time to work out. She also tends to try to parent the little guys, which, as many people with older siblings know, is not always appreciated. But she does it anyway… Being the older one, she can’t walk very fast, or long before her feet start dragging and we (me, Fritz, and Tiny) drop her off and continue walking.

Tiny is the most difficult from the pack. Her previous owners didn’t love her as much as mama does now. They didn’t treat her right. She is afraid of people she doesn’t know, and right now, that still sometimes means me. With some slow non-threatening movements, I succeeded in putting on her collar and that is half the battle. It's an interesting fast sneak that is required. The key is to slowly sneak up and when she sits still enough that you can catch her, you snap the collar on real fast. It probably wouldn't matter so much, but she doesn't like to be left alone either. I guess it's all about gaining trust, making sure she knows you won't hurt her.

Fritz is pretty simple too. Being a small dog, he wants everyone to know that he is there. He wants people and dogs to see him as someone they don’t want to mess with. He really likes to make himself look bigger, even though most people can see beyond it.

Anyway, we wander about the neighborhood, up and down the street, and around the block near their house. We walk for 15 to 20 more minutes. Fritz tries to get in a barking match with any dogs that wander past. Tiny freaks out when a trash truck drives by. Fritz pees on everything in his path, and Tiny sniffs at all Fritz’ puddles. Fritz poops, and Tiny freaks out when I get out my bags to clean it up. Fritz runs around my legs, and Tiny freaks out if I lift my foot too high to get untangled.

When it's time to be done, we go back home and take off their collars. Sometimes Tiny lets this happen, and sometimes she doesn’t. Progress is key though, and soon we will be good friends. At least that's the hope. For now, though, it's the little victories that matter. But isn't that the truth with most things?