Marvel has been making it clear that she's ready to be spending less time with the puppies and more time in the house and with the rest of the adult pack. She doesn't seem to be nursing them anymore although they are still very interested. She is still cleaning up after them, which I really appreciate, but it's time to let Marvel be Marvel, as opposed to Momma Marvel.
I've been giving her more time out of the kennel to just run around the yard and to come inside the house. She always runs first to the van, so she must have figured out what that's all about. Late this afternoon I opened the door to the van and she hopped right into the crate. I put a slip leash on her and we went to the park for a hike.
She pulled pretty hard, she walked in circles around me, and she really reacted whenever she saw a squirrel. We hiked five miles and saw a lot of squirrels. She was also rather reactive when she spotted another dog so we steered clear of that. She didn't bark when it was just people, but she also seemed unsure of them. This was just her first walk so she has a lot to learn.
She settled down, a bit, after a couple of miles and pulled less but I still had to stay alert and keep a good grip on the leash because of the ever present possibility of a squirrel sighting. She really needs to be trained on a gentle leader; I'll try that next time. We both got a good amount of exercise. I put her back out with the puppies and fed her when we got home but it wasn't long before she was howling to come in. She's in a crate in my office now and will be stay there for the night.
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