We arrived at the ‘rents home late last night. Both dogs did exactly as I predicted and futzed around the car, moving as long as possible then finally settling down while we were on long stretches, getting up when we slowed down or changed lanes. Once when we were between Peoria and Galesburg, both dogs were finally sleeping, when in unison, they bolted up, sniffing the air above them. Max sniffed with nose to the ceiling, and Beeks sniffed with his nose also up but looking around like he expected to see some animal corresponding to related odor. He remained attentive with his nose quivering and his body moving around his seat for a good 8 minutes or so. I find this both amazing and interesting that dogs have the ability to smell a passing odor, in a car when we were not able to even tell that we had encountered it. If we were to have passed a dead skunk, dead dear, or such, I could understand. This wasn’t the case.
This morning we got up early to head down town to the QC Criterium. These bike races are extremely competitive and are a mixture of child to adult races with varying skill levels, culminating in large purse winnings by the end of the day. Riders come from multiple states and the course winds around the down town district. Multiple turns create the backdrop for multiple bike crashes which is both scary and exciting. I have seen 16 riders go down on a single turn. That's extreme biking. Although the rains often squelch (depending on your perspective) or increases the fear factor, today’s rain had all but diminished by the time we arrived. We took the dogs with us so that they could get an outing and also have some exposure to other people and dogs (ie: socialization). This turned out to be as interesting as the bike races. Yes, we saw multiple dogs and owners walking on crowded walks. We maneuvered along sidewalks with observant eyes. Both Max and Beeks heeled wonderfully and listened to our commands. We were so proud. The unexpected adventure turned out to be that we forgot Max’s obsession with fast moving bicycles. Max went into prey mode as soon as we got to the observation fence. His eyes were focused and he didn’t move. I tried to distract him with bits of sweet potato, without luck, and he loves sweet potato! Actually this turned out to be a “teaching moment” for Max. He started to half whimper and half bark. That is the only way I can describe the funny sound that came out of his mouth. He knew he couldn’t bark, he knew he couldn’t jump up and so he sat there and “woofed” in a short high pitch notes. It was extremely funny. He stopped after the last bike went by and then started again when more bikes came around. He was entertaining to say the least! He was cheering on the bikers like the rest of us. Dogs walked by behind Max and he didn’t see them. Beeks,not being interested in the bikers very long,was much more interested in other dogs. Different dogs,different interests I guess. We ended up petting Max and talking to him in quiet voices as the bikers came around. Then we decided to walk with him. This seemed to work the best. It is difficult to do two things at one time. He couldn’t heel and look at the bikers at the same time. Many people wanted to pet Max and engage with him while we walked along. This is always good for Maxie since he sits and is patient with interested strangers. Beeks just kept his nose to the ground looking for bits of dropped food. The day was overcast so we were able to spend a great deal of time outside without fear of overheating the dogs. Foour complete races later, we headed for home and a tasty afternoon barbeque. More on that adventure tomorrow. Suffice to say, the barbeque was delish and a good time was had by all, even the four dogs.
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