Puppy's First Run

Leia after her first run

Yesterday, as I opened the door to my tail-wagging pup,

I decided to take Leia for her first run. While she has enjoyed countless trips to the dog park since her arrival, I wasn't too sure how she would react to my usual trail run. Many dogs have tripped me up in their own leashes with the various new smells, sights, and people. Leia especially loves smelling every inch of ground as well as obtaining any human contact she can get her paws on. As we walked further than her usual potty run, it began. Leia's ears perked up and her nose hit the ground. She immediately stopped to relieve herself and all I could think was, "Great. She doesn't even have the attention span for this." However, one thing you'll learn about me is I'm faster to doubt and lose hope than I ever am optimistic to the end. Somehow though, that doubt and loss of hope pushes my determination to succeed. So shortly after my "oh wonderful" thought, I decided there was no way my perfect puppy could dislike something I have such passion for. As I tried to gather her and my thoughts, a couple strided past us. Leia immediately jumped toward them with her harness simultaneously jerking her back to the ground. She turned to me and as our eyes met, it was as if we both felt it. I started to run and so did she. However, I'm pretty sure she thought we were running to catch up with the couple that had just passed us for the first five minutes... but it was a start. As we veered off the path the couple continued down, Leia kept right up, running just enough in front of me to make it feel comfortable and natural. As I watched her with a smile, it was like she was prancing down the trail. My short legs were no match for her long ones as she reached a delicate fast walk while I ran my hardest. Just as we were getting into the swing of things, she saw another dog. As the German Sheperd approached us, she stopped in her tracks nearly resulting in me falling over her. As I caught myself, I had no choice but to take it down a notch and walk past the big dog with my curious little 18-pounder. As we were passing, the sheperd's owner nodded the ever-knowing "Look at us dog owners walking our dogs!" nod. Leia proceeded the usual sniff and lunge. I pulled her along and after a few sniffs at various plants, we were on our way again. Toward the end of our run I found myself with a smile that beamed from ear to ear. We had reached a groove and I was impressed with how well Leia was doing for her first time out on the trail. Even as I grew tired, her excitement only peaked as we continued up a hill. At this point, I actually found myself using her for motivation as she kept running when I tried to slow down. There was no better feeling than taking her out for that first run. When we reached the end, I turned toward the dog park since she still seemed to have the energy of a cheetah chasing a gazelle. When I let her loose, she took one sprint around the park then jumped in my lap with a panting smile. It seemed to me like a look of complete satisfaction and pride, much like my own. I don't think I'll ever forget that first run and I hope the passion only grows for both of us!