I have a secret.
Would you like to hear it?
I learned… how to exhaust an Aussie. You heard me right. I now am the keeper of powerful knowledge. So powerful, it’ll put a young Aussie (and a middle-aged Lab) out of commission for 36 hours. And it’s really very simple.
All you have to do is hike 7 miles, then play fetch in the water until they refuse to go after the toy.
Two days ago we hiked the Stone Dam trail. It’s roughly 3.5 miles long one-way, and we got far enough in o see the lake. Sadie was tagged but loose, and I kept the Energized Doggie on-leash. Sadie was romping and exploring the whole way out, and Maxwell had fun with every patch of mud he could find. We brought some water for them, plus there were a few streams along the way to supplement. By the time we reached the end of the trail, though, both dogs were showing fatigue. As we paused in the clearing, Maxwell flopped in among some tall ferns, and Sadie stayed close.
Trying to get rid of the merling, perhaps?
The route back to the car proved fairly quiet, as Maxwell no longer had the energy to pull me along the trail, and Sadie stayed only just ahead of us on the path. The pup was so tired, in fact, that I allowed him loose (on his drag-line) for perhaps a mile. For the most part he was very good, pausing to wait for us to catch up a bit, or crashing back through the underbrush to check in. After he scampered off and would be called back, though, I leashed him up again. Once I caught him, of course.
Nothing like walking in your drinking water
When we got home, we were all hot a sweaty, so we played in the lake. Maxwell is now fearless in his life jacket, though still hesitant to challenge Sadie for the toy. Imagine our pleased surprise when, after only a short while, they both stopped wanting to swim. Sadie wandered off first, sniffing down the shoreline. Maxwell shortly follow suit, hauling the fetch toy out of the lake one last time and taking it up the hill, out of reach. I gave them each a stuffed cow hoof to chew while the humans swam and waded, which kept them more than content.
That night, and all the next day, they were quiet.
Not just calm and polite, but tired. They were both ravenously hungry, so I gave them extra kibble, but wanted little more than to sleep all day. They flopped around a bit, trading couches, stretching out on the floor, even taking over the armchair… but that was about the extent of their activity. My attempts to initiate a game of fetch in the woods with a soft disk were adequate only to get them on their feet and outside.
Belly rubs!
Today, they are finally back to normal (mostly). It rained most of the day, so they both slept a lot. Sadie still twitched and whined a bit in her sleep, but she was happy to engage with me as well. Maxwell slept also, but when he shifted positions, it was with a vehemence that bordered on aggression. It stated, as clearly as any cooped up human child, I’m bored. This sucks.
When the rain finally let up I took them for a short hike down the old road. Sadie is back to crashing through the brush, heedless of the branches whipping her face. Maxwell is back to pulling me along, wanting desperately to charge after Sadie. And I was happy to let him drag the leash in exchange for some attention. A few good recalls down the path earned a shower of treats for him, and a few for Sadie.
Now let’s hope that that, plus the short aquatic fetch session this morning, is enough to hold them over until tomorrow. When I just know the weather will be better.
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