Today I decided to bite the bullet and give Mason his six monthly attempt at offlead. Buoyed by my daycare lady's insistance Mason would come back and was 'much closer to me than I realised' plus her promise she would come and help me find him if it all went wrong we headed to Yellowcraigs. Those who witnesses our last effort know he loves the rabbit fields so I decided to start at that end and work towards the beach. We walked through the woods to the stone wall at the public loos with him on lead and then, with a deep breath, I took it off. He immediately disappeared up some old stone steps I hadn't even realised were there but rather than panic I waited a few seconds before deciding to follow. I needn't have bothered, having realised I wasn't following he was on his way back down. He was an absolute star, following me as I walked towards the dunes and onto the beach. He only took one wrong turn and, again, when I carried on my own way, came back. Once on the beach after some coaxing he was off, haring up and down a few times. Always stopping in the distance spotting me and haring back. After a few bursts he was back at my side desperate to have his sand-filled muzzle off. The walk back up the boardwalk to the car with him back onlead panting at my side was possibly the proudest moment of my life. I'm so proud of him, and of me for taking the plunge! He was probably only off for less than half an hour but its a start and I'm looking forward to taking him back. What a star
That's great. He'll be delighted at getting off for a gallop. Tigger is enjoying her spells off the lead - even if it is only in a field at the moment.
Marie, Well done you and Mason. I so enjoyed reading about your little adventure as we went on our own on a weeks holiday (last week). We walked to a deserted (ish) bit of beach in North Norfolk but could still see people in the distance (we couldn't tell if there were dogs present unfortunately). As there were big wooden sea defence groins in place we had limited vision. In the end we chickened out as I had forgotten the muzzle. He went in the sea though and had an amazing time.We walked miles around the coast.
I have some great pics of us but cannot get them to work on here.
Great news Emma and Mason I can almost feel the "bursting with pride" from here. Before I got Hazel the beardie lurcher as a companion for Flash the beddie lurcher I toyed with the idea of offering to rehome a grey and went through in my head loads and loads of times how I would handle the introduction to off lead stuff. I wasn't terribly sure if I could cope with training a full sighthound and so from me.....heaps of gold stars and loads of admiration to all of you that take on adult sighthounds or sighthound/sighthound xs and work so hard to be able to give them the off lead freedom to run. Love to all Eleanor Flash and Hazelxxxxx
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WAHOO, Mason has come to his senses. It must have been awfy scary watching him bolt off, but it would have been worth it just to see him run back. Wish I'd been there, we could have all gone for a drink to celebrate. We could send Mason to get the drinks, safe in the knowledge he will come back
Well done. Your heart must have been in your mouth when he tore off into the distance but I can imagine it would have been bursting with pride right enough when he started heading back to you.
That is terrific news Marie no wonder your " your bursting with pride". It was the same for me the first time I let Cas off, my heart was in my mouth but she came back. The beach is perfect for that as you are away from cars and there is less chance of small furries running around. Keep up the good work. Nora
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You've every right to be proud Marie! And I'll bet Mason is pleased with himself too. I can remember letting Vegas off-lead for the first time - I was so nervous he wouldn't come back, but he did. Well done!
Well done to the pair of you. Sounds like Mason had a blast - did you manage to get any photos?
I took my camera but was so caught up in watching him running up and down the beach I didn't get any shots Fully intend to capture it next time tho! Marie
Mason is such a star! Well done Marie for taking the leap of faith. It is such a nerve-wracking moment when you see them disappear over the horizon - but such a thrill when they come speeding back
Well done Marie, have you been taking bravery pills .Mason what a star you are. Marie a very well earned result, especially after all his other , shall we say little escapades.
Well done Marie, have you been taking bravery pills .Mason what a star you are. Marie a very well earned result, especially after all his other , shall we say little escapades.
A huge well done to you both.
Nicki and wee Janie.x
Nicki, I had intended to take a friend for moral support but in the end realised I had to do it alone and, to be honest, I think the fact it was just us two made him more focussed. It was very scary tho not having back up. Just goes to show GAL matched me with the right dog
Well done Mason, what a clever lad, and well done to you Marie for having the courage to keep persevering with him. I remember the first time we let Dust off lead, after several failed attempts previously, I was ill just thinking about it, but it was such a joy to see him running around free with other dogs, or just going off and doing his own thing.
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Well done to you both, it is very scary to do for the first time, i let rowen off the lead at the palace grounds park in hamilton, there are lots of dogs there, all sizes, but he never wanders far from my side and always trotts off with the kids, he's a plesure and i'm sure you'll have many more proud days out, Rowen
How goes it - Mason had any more spells of freedom?
I tried Tigger in a new field this evening (with much shorter grass and fewer reeds) and she had a ball. Even better was the fact that she was as good as gold - behaved like she normally does. It's such a joy to see her getting some freedom and running about like a dafty.
How goes it - Mason had any more spells of freedom?
I tried Tigger in a new field this evening (with much shorter grass and fewer reeds) and she had a ball. Even better was the fact that she was as good as gold - behaved like she normally does. It's such a joy to see her getting some freedom and running about like a dafty.
Karen, I'm planning another go this weekend at Yellowcraigs. The plan is to make it a Sunday thing there til we see how he goes at the same place. Keep fingers crossed it wasn't a one-off Either way I feel much more relaxed about the whole thing now! Marie
Well round two at Yellowcraigs today and this time we had friends to run with. Mason had a ball, racing around like a loon and was, again, I thought, pretty good off the lead. Unfortunately we had to curtail our adventure when he managed a head-on collision with the only dog bigger than him, Tara, at speed. Poor Mason, my heart was in my mouth as he stood stock still wailing until I reached him. Thankfully it appears to be nothing more than bruising and shock. He managed to limp back to the car and is crashed out on the sofa just now. I'm pretty sure he's going to feel it in the morning tho...ouch! Thanks to Nora and the gang for tailoring the walk around Mason, can't wait to try again. Here's a brief snatch of Mason leading the chase with Tara hot on his heels. hopefully next time I'll get more on camera.
OOOOOPS! Tara is a whole lotta woman, for any man. I hope Mason is feeling better. Tara chased Cara on one of Noras walks, Cara ran through a group of people with dogs on leads, she's thin and so just jumped between the folk, Tara being a bit larger, got a bit tied up. It's great to see Mason and Tara running, I can't wait for the next walk. I hope you're cooling Masons head with a soft ice pack and feeding him nice treats, he is a man after all and he'll need nursing
well done marie & mason! Glad Mason did so well it's really hard sometimes to try new things like that. Are you still going to the links in the morning? My partner has been walking Jet whilst I had a morning job but we have been out and about again!