Matched Pairs - Maya and Cody

Sweet love bug.

I don't often have more than one foster, in part because fitting four dogs and a human in a Chevy Impala is easier said that done! The other reason though is that walking four dogs at once at lunchtime is a exercise in irritation if some of the dogs aren't trained in loose-leash walking.

Cody agrees with me - walking four is a bad idea!

Instead, I split dogs up into pairs and we take shorter but more directed walks. While all the dogs walk together fine, it is important that I match them up in a manner that the dogs (and myself) will enjoy it most. Dogs can have very different "walking personalities." Some dogs want to walk in a direct line and rarely stop to sniff. Some want to stop and savor every molecule of scent they encounter. Some want to mosey; some want to speed walk.

Maya and Cody share the same walking styles. They are sniffers, and Cody is also a marker. Their goals are to sniff and urinate on everything along the route.

This sniffing and marking means we move pretty slowly since we're stopping every few seconds at some new smell, but it also means that there is more intimate exploration that occurs. Instead of seeing things at a distance, Cody and Maya like to get up close and personal to investigate. Cody hopped up on a low half wall and decided to check out the grates on his own - I didn't prompt him to go on this strange new surface!

And of course any lunchtime walk includes a stop to say hello to the valets!