Yesterday was an interesting day in dog walking. I have a regular dog that I walk Mon-Fri named Riley. He can best be described as a lab mix, he is black with tiny white patches on his paws, and a little around his muzzle like white old man whiskers. He has deep brown eyes, is 7 years old and a little pudgy.

Well he absolutely loves his walks, and has been the most well behaved dog I have ever seen until yesterday when we had a mishap exactly 4 seconds after hitting the streets for our walk.

When I was taking him past a neighbor’s driveway, I spotted a flat narrow square bone lying there, just the right size for him to get choked on. Unfortunately Riley spotted the bone the same time as I did, and before I could tighten his leash he had snapped the bone up in his mouth in a flash.

I immediately stopped dead in my tracks and demanded that Riley spit the bone out. I understand now why dogs are said to have the mental capcity of a 2 year old human toddler. He knew EXACTLY what I was asking him, because he clamped his mouth shut, and tried to pretend as though nothing was in there. Little does Riley know that I’m smarter than a 2 year old. I decided to bring him over to the “poop patch” as its called where all the neighborhood dogs like to go. The whole time we walked, Riley drooled as his mouth filled with saliva because he was trying sooo very hard not to allow me to see the bone he was hiding in his mouth. Therefore, he couldn’t swallow.

When we got to the “poop patch” I tried to open Riley’s mouth, but was terrified that I would inadvertantly make him swallow and choke on the bone. So I decided to wait for him to spit it out.

Like a bad child he plopped down in the grass and started knawing and chomping on the bone. Everytime I saw him put it on the grass I would lunge to grab it, in which case he would snatch it up and growl at me….THE NERVE!! This went on for about 15 minutes, for an older dog, he sure is fast, much faster than me.

So, I decided to let him continue laying there in the sun. I figured eventually he would get hot and want some water. So I waited a few minutes and took out my collapsable water dish. I poured the cold bottled water in the bowl. When Riley saw it, he dropped the bone (forgetting in an instant that I was trying to steal it from him). When he turned his back and started drinking I grabbed the bone, and put it in a plastic bag for posterity.

After he got his fill of water he turned around and started looking for the bone again, but it was already safe and sound in my back-pack waiting to be shown to his mother when she got home.

Once he went to the bathroom, I marched him back to his house instead of taking him for his usual half mile walk, all the while telling him how bad he had been. Then when we got inside I directed him to his water dish. When he heard me leave the laundry room, he ran out to the cabinet with his treats in it. He looked at me, and then looked at the cabinet, as if to remind me that I was forgetting something. I’m not forgetting anything I told him, to which he said Oh yes you are sitter.

I left a note for his mother detailing his deviant behavior while he watched me intently, and then I left the bone evidence on the counter where Riley couldn’t reach it.

When I left, Riley was halfway up the stairs peering at me from around the corner. He knew 2 things, that he hadn’t gone for his walk, and that he hadn’t got a treat. Hmmm what is going on here?

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Interestingly, when I went over to walk Riley today, I was greeted with a note written on Riley’s behalf. It said that he had gotten a stern talking to, and no treats before bed.  It also said that Riley was sorry and that he had baked me some cookies (which were lying next to the note) to smooth things over. 

So Riley and I are friends again, and he is back to being my favorite client.