There is much to like about walking dogs, once summer is finally over, of course (it’s not over here yet, despite technically being fall). Of course, there are also somethings I do not enjoy about walking my dogs.

The thing I hate the most is that I can no longer make friends with outdoor cats. Not that I should be seeing little kittens outdoors, as I did today, of course. My very first reaction to seeing a cat outdoors is to go over to it and pet it.

Unfortunately, the dogs aren’t always so cooperative. I have, a time or two, put them in a down stay & petted a cat. But their instinct is more often to growl and bark at the cat.

I am also turning this into a training opportunity for the dogs. I used to dread seeing a running cat, knowing the dogs’ prey instinct would kick in. So now I use it as an opportunity for clicking them for looking at cats, running or otherwise, without barking or growling. The hope is that this will translate to home, so that they can be come when the boys are playing or fighting.

I used to make friends with quite a few outdoors cats in our neighborhood. Sadly, they almost always disappear. The outdoors dogs disappear too. They may hang around for a few years, but eventually, they’re gone — hit by a car, bit by a snake, who knows how. All I know is it’s a sad life.

I would love to be able to allow both my cats and dogs to roam free, as nature intended for them. But we live in a world that’s far removed from how nature intended, and the dangers are just too great. So for now, they’ll have to make due with their walks.

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