Enrichment

 We live in the city, so opportunities for off leash fun are limited with few dog parks and strict rules with hefty fines for running dogs free even secretly in the wee hours or at a quiet time in the glorious parks we do have around us. The tempting fenced off baseball parks and tennis courts are well-kept, supervised and padlocked, strictly off limits to dogs. Long leash running is no good with three dogs simultaneously to get all tangled up...so we make do as best we can with a nice long walkies on a 1.8m Ruffwear leash which offers just the right amount of space so I don't tread on everyone's paws and the babies are both safe in traffic and free to sniff and roam around me. Kirsti Benson has a thought-provoking blog post about the trade-offs we dog owners face trying to give our babies the best opportunities we can within our individual life-styles and personalities.

But with the summer heat after the very early morning walkies, the day indoors stretches far into the evening. Times like this, the best enrichment is a visit from a doggie friend and a good cup of coffee or tea, or even home-made red shiso and molasses syrup with sparkling water. Chewy snacks for the dogs. Everyone gets a smile on their face...

Claire has been with us six odd years now, which is roughly 24 years in human terms...Originally she wasn't much of a socialite, but her one exception right from the word go was shiba Ryu, her favorite boy who made her skip and gambol...and today her big smile is for him as he and Moko and his mummy come by for a chat...both he and Claire are getting on a bit, but the endearment has not faded!

Photos by Ryu-Mama