Walking the dog with Maeve is always a challenge for me. When it's just Patches and I, we go at a quick pace; he gets good exercise, and I only let him stop a few times to sniff/mark/whatever.
But when Maeve is with me, she wants to stop sixteen times per block to poke at dirt, pick up rocks/leaves/trash/sticks, and in the winter, break ice. She loves breaking ice, and I remember as a kid how deeply satisfying it was to break those unmarred sheets of glass-like ice.
And when I walk with Maeve and Patches, he is relentlessly pulling me forward and whining, and she is forever stopped, or running to catch up with me as I wait at the corner so we can cross the street together. I end up exasperated and tired of yelling at a naughty dog and a dawdling kiddo.
Yesterday, though, I decided the dog could whine and pull and do whatever, I was going to make sure Maeve got a shot at breaking every patch of ice she wanted. Just for once.
It was a great walk, and I finally didn't feel aggravated when we got home. What a relief! I'm going to try and prioritize Maeve on our walks from now on. The dog is getting his walk, after all, no matter how slow.
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