Coast Lines: Walking the Dog

I have a 10-pound terror at home that I call my dog. My wife and I named her Gracie because she walks beautifully due to her Miniature Pinscher heritage, but that’s about the only graceful thing about her.

Gracie is a big fan of terrorizing people on her walks. From standing on two legs, hoping to give unwitting people passing by a hug, to barking and trying to eat every motor vehicle she can see, every walk with her is a small adventure. Although she may jump at every person she sees, she hates to be touched while she’s on her leash. When unleashed, she’s perfectly lovable. On her leash, she’s easily scared and protective of whoever is walking her.

This is what made me nervous to walk her down Corey Avenue and toward the water. Corey Avenue is full of wonderful people, cars and things to distract and make my four-legged friend go wild.

I decided that I needed to brave it, not only to get her used to the area, but also to to get her to be a more social pup.

I ended up parking across the street from the  about 2 p.m. and got Gracie’s harness on and ready for her walk.

Not one minute after exiting the car, Gracie got on her hind legs and started jumping toward one of the afternoon patrons of the .

Although this didn’t surprise me as I’ve come to expect this type of rambunctious behavior, what happened next did.

While walking by the older gentlemen at the Swigwam, he called me over to take a closer look at Gracie. Before I could interject, he stood up and kneeled to down to start petting Gracie.

Keep in mind that I wasn’t worried about Gracie at all, rather worried that she’d do something that I’d later regret or have to apologize for.

To my surprise, though, she stayed very calm and receptive to the man’s touch, something that she has yet to do in my six months of owning her.

After the man pet my dog for a minute and explained how he owned a dog just like her when he was younger, we ventured back on our journey toward the beach.

We didn’t encounter any more people hoping to give Gracie a little bit of love, but I did notice a stark difference in her behavior.

Gracie was walking calmly and behaving like she never had before. I don’t know what to attribute it to. It might have been the new location or the salty air of the ocean. Whatever the reason was, my puppy was finally acting like a well-behaved pet on her leash.

Although I don’t think that I’ll be letting my guard down anytime soon and I don’t think she’s ready for any of the bigger street festivals like the , I think I’ve found a new spot for my dog and me to go walking in the afternoon that makes both her and me happy.

If you ever see either of us walking down Corey Avenue, feel free to say hi. Just don't be surprised if Gracie tries to jump up on you and give you a hug.