You can't take the sled dog out of a mutt.......

Casanova has always wanted to be the lead dog. On walks with more than one dog, he'd always be in front to the point where he would pull someone to make sure he was in front. Never will he walk behind the person holding his leash. He's like a sled dog in that he wants to lead the pack. We still don't know exactly what kind of dog mated with a chow to produce his unique look, but it's pretty safe to say that some type of work dog was part of the mix.

So, we took our walk this morning around the 1/2 mile walking path in our area. Nova checked the usual spots along the path, marking them as needed. There was a lady walking just in front of us. Nova, seeing someone in front of him, sped up and passed the lady. At some point shortly thereafter, he had to stop and mark a spot. The lady passed us as we were stopped. Immediately, Nova took off pretty quickly and kept up a pretty good pace until he was ahead of the lady again. Always wanting to be in the lead.

Later, I had to stop and pick up a mess that he made in the grass. Once that was done, we keep on moving forward. As I was walking along, I realized that I had passed the garbage can along the path by about 10-15 feet. I told Nova to stop and he did. I then pulled on the leash to have him come back so I could throw away the bag. Nova wouldn't budge. Finally, I dropped the leash and just told him to stay. As I was walking back to the trash can, I realized that the lady that we had passed saw what had happened and was chuckling at Nova's stubbornness. She said, "It doesn't look like your dog is any more excited about exercise than I am!"

She hit that one on the nose. If it wasn't for the bunnies and puppies on the trail, Nova wouldn't even bother.