Yesterday evening Ayla and I took our walk alone. Stefan had to leave for business and will be coming back home tonight, but he had to leave before Ayla’s usual walk time so I took her alone. It was around 80 degrees when we went out for the walk which isn’t so hot to humans but when you’re wearing a very thick fur coat, it’s not so great.
As we started out the front gate, Ayla grabbed the remainder of a big chew bone which she has been working on for a few days. She doesn’t usually take things on walks with her but who am I to protest? She looked so cute with it in her mouth, I couldn’t refuse…and it’s small so if I ended up carrying it back myself, so be it.
She carried the bone down the streets which lead to our walking paths and almost as soon as we got to the grassy area, she laid the bone down. It was right on the corner of everything and I knew if another dog came along he would want to take it for himself. So I picked it up. Ayla immediately came over and took it from me…then went deeper into the grass, as far as her leash would let her, and dropped the bone. She knew I wasn’t going to go in for it, and quite honestly if she wanted to leave the bone for someone else, that’s her choice.
We carried on down the tree-lined path and after Ayla made her boo-boo, I asked if she was ready to turn around. She hesitated a bit and then I asked her if she wanted to go back for her bone. She thought about it and then turned back in the direction we’d just come. I was rather hoping to keep her in the shaded area anyway since it was much cooler in there so this fit very well with my plan.
As we approached where the bone was laying, I wondered if she would go back in for it. I was looking for the correct spot which was easy to see since the grass was laying down where she had walked and Ayla was apparently sniffing it out as well. When we got to the spot she just reached down and scooped it up and we continued on our way.
This is only the second time she’s done something like this. The last time was last August when she was still a puppy. But then she didn’t really want to carry the bone back, she seemed to be thinking she could just leave it there. Maybe she figures all that is her own property…although I know she smells the other dogs around. Or maybe she’s found a boyfriend and wanted to leave it for him as a gift. Perhaps we’ll never know… 🙂
