I have high-energy dogs. They are also more-than-a-bit territorial. When I am out and about running errands I am often flagged down to talk by kind neighbors (or not-so-kind complainers), and I enjoy stopping to talk (with both, actually; there’s nothing like a lively, good-faith disagreement). But my dogs do not like it when I stop to talk, and they end up reacting in ways rather unbecoming.

The dog trainer said the dogs are fine when other people walk them, but their protection of me causes their extreme bad manners. At her suggestion, when I walk the dogs I wear a headphone (singular; you know, “Walk with one ear open”). This discourages people from approaching to start up a conversation, which allows me to be less nervous about how my dogs will react, which allows the dogs to be their best selves.

A good thing all around.

Long walks with the dogs might seem like a great time to just take in the quiet sounds of nature, but when things are too quiet, especially if I’m walking, I end up creating seemingly endless to-do lists for myself: new projects, new ideas, ruminations on existing projects and old ideas, etc. My brain needs to be busy........

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