Our Sunday stroll

Thehallk

Thehallk

New member
Yesterday we took Gilly for an on-leash walk at a very populated (on a rare west coast sunny Sunday, anyways) waterfront concrete human park. A man offered her a milk bone (I know i know, don't take candy from strangers), which she politely took, walked about 30 feet away, then put down on the side of the path and kept walking. I know she was just too distracted to eat because we're not usually around so many people, but I felt like it was very polite for her to take it so nicely, then spit it out only when he wasn't looking :)

No one stopped or asked to pet her as they might with one of your giants or giantesses, but we did get lots of second glances, and I did hear lots of people say to each other just after we'd pass "Oh a newfoundland, they're such a nice dog." and "what a beautiful dog." A few little kids backed away slowly with wide eyes.

One little girl, about 8, was holding a large ice cream cone in one hand and a thick english bulldog on a leash in the other hand waiting for her mum outside the ice cream shop. One of Gilly's best friends is a bulldog, so we let her say hello, which made the bulldog pull on the leash a little. The little girl said as politely as she could "...can you take that dog away please? I don't want to drop my ice cream" - I like her priorities!
 
Bucephalus

Bucephalus

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Aw, sounds like fun, AND it sounds like Gilly is quite the little lady! Glad you had some nice weather after all the cold :)
 
NewfieMama

NewfieMama

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ElvisTheNewf said:
If Elvis got to choose between a bulldog and an ice cream cone, he sure as heck wouldn't pick the bulldog!!
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Yes, this. I'm also sometimes surprised by the people who will take their dogs in public but don't want them to greet other dogs, so I always ask first. If I were eating an ice cream it wouldn't be convenient to hold a Newf who's greeting another dog. :)

Really surprising how few people stopped you to meet her. What's up with that? I feel like we can't go 20 feet in a crowd without someone wanting to pet (makes my DH crazy).

Glad you finally got some warm weather!
 
dumainedogs

dumainedogs

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If we came upon a kid with ice cream.. it wouldn't be the dog greeting I'd be worried about... it would be how to apologize to a child for ice cream being stolen!
 
hemingway

hemingway

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aww, Gilly. I bet she is growing into such a sweet girl. Liza, do you think she's aware at all of the pending family addition?
 
Thehallk

Thehallk

New member
hemingway said:
aww, Gilly. I bet she is growing into such a sweet girl. Liza, do you think she's aware at all of the pending family addition?
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I'm not sure, there have been lots of new babies around (friends and family) and she seems to do okay with them (though most friends and family don't really let her get in any good time with their babies...I guess not everyone is comfortable with a giant dog slobbering all over their baby) giving sniffs and little kisses, and in general she has been walking on leash a lot nicer with me, not so much with Mark, she hasn't tackled me since that one time - though she does still high jump on me when she's mad at me in the yard. I think she's aware of SOMETHING, but not really sure what it is. She's been waking up at 5 a.m. whining, so maybe she knows and is trying to prepare me :)
 
Thehallk

Thehallk

New member
Angela said:
Wow, I can't believe all the people didn't want to talk to her :(
Where were you?
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We were in Nanaimo at the harbour (Swyalana). She did get a few pets in passing, like she'd sniff people as we walked past and they would give her a quick pat on the head. You could tell people were intrigued, but she is small so doesn't have quite the same presence, plus there really were a quite a lot of people and a lot of dogs on Sunday so I'm not terribly surprised, though I can tell you I would have stopped me! Every time I see a dog that's either a "rare" sight or one of my preferred breeds I stop and ask to pet them (boxer, sweet-looking pit bull, newf, golden retriever, great dane, mastiff, ridiculous-looking-mutt/mix...)
 
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