Sunday pupdate.
Mixed week, this week. Which I probably deserve since I've been telling anyone who will listen that Pod has been such an amazingly good boy recently and I really feel like we're making progress. Pod was obviously listening and decided he was well overdue a crime spree.
The annoying thing is this - so the hole in the fence of the field where I walk him must have actually been there forever (you can tell by the way the plants have grown), so he's obviously walked past this bloody hole virtually daily for the last 18 months without so much as sniffing at it.
But on this occasion Pod (the dog who, in training, flatly refused to go over, under or through any of the apparatus, because "scared") got one micro-whiff of something and yeeted himself head-first into the unknown hole.
So obviously I couldn't get through this bloody hole, so I went around the outside, over the fence and started thirty minutes of what can only be described as a combination of wading and falling (and hating everything). The area behind the fields is mostly underwater , covered in brambles and with that really black, sucking mud at the bottom that absolutely honks, varying between ankle depth and mid thigh. My boots and baggy jeans were FULL of mud, and I fell in the stream twice. All while screaming pods name, hyperventilating, trying to get the stupid tracker to work, and wondering if you can actually die from being claimed by a bog.
I could hear all this yelping so I was picturing him stuck in a bear trap, under a log, down a well etc etc so I was flailing around trying to find him until I saw a huge fox fly past at top speed followed by an enraptured pod, both screaming.
Realised to have any hope of getting him back I required phone signal, so waded/fell about 200m downstream and sloshed over a barbed wire fence to phone DP to come and help me search and tell him to contact the girls to postpone my hen-do, yelling all the while so pod could echo-locate me, when the bastard turned up, wringing wet, marinaded in filth and thoroughly unrepentant.
After some sketchy logistics getting him to the right side of the fence which involved a lot of chicken and me getting scratch to buggery, I squelched back to the car sobbing (natch) while Pod trotted behind me looking mildly interested. We both had to thaw out in the shower to get the stink off and the plug hole is still full of twigs and bits of soil.
What actually hurt my feelings though was the day after, another dog walker told me off, which, you may be astonished to hear, hasn't actually happened to us before. Pod was in his favourite hunting field, and normally when he's hunting I could light myself on fire and he wouldn't even look up, however on this occasion one of those GSDs that is mostly shoulders was being walked by its owner in the distance. Clocking this, Pod looked up and did one measly woof (which I barely registered tbh, actual action usually starts around woof number 7) and carried on with his mousing. However the owner stopped then shouted over at me to get my dog on a lead. He was miles away so I had to get him to repeat it, and if there's one thing Pod loves, it's any sign of conflict, so he bustled off, noodle tail a'wavin' to see what was going on. The man then proceeded to shield his dog like he was protecting a head of state, and when I eventually caught up with Pod and popped his lead on, the man told me "If he's that bad, keep him on a lead". OOOOOOOOOOOOOh my heart. I mean, yes he was right. But I wish GSDman could see all the things pod CAN do now. Like he's recently learned the word 'ball'. He always waits now before crossing the road. He's so gentle when he takes treats. He can catch six mice in two hours. But yes, he was right. So it made me feel sad and guilty and sort of squashed, and I've been obsessively replaying it ever since.
But THEN my friend and Hippo II showed up, and she was very sympathetic as Hippo II is a rescue also and sometimes needs managing carefully. And then we bumped into a wonderful couple with two rescue pointers, and Pod, Hippo II, pointers and their new foster pointer all had a rip-roaring time chasing each other. Pointers owners were absolutely stoked to see their foster having so much fun and it made my heart all melty.
He's been a bit of a shit the rest of the weekend as he's still coming down from his foxy, so it'll be gentle sniffies for the next few days.
Urgh. I am so very tired and I've only made one more wedding cloud (7 out of 12 required clouds). Wedding in 20 days, eeeep.
Love Hanging and Pod xx