I still haven’t got to the story of Maisy yet, nearly at her Gotcha Day – blame COVID, a ski trip and now a family holiday, but this seems like an appropriate time to consider life and life experiences.
We are currently very much enjoying a family holiday in the Lake District, Joe and I, and Sam and Maisy. It’s a place none of us have been before and all of us seem to be enjoying. Being able to take the dogs for a walk in the countryside and a paddle in the lake and stop for an ice cream or a picnic is simply lovely as an experience for all of us. We’ve seen and nicely met (from all parties) many dogs and dog walkers in this popular area of the world this week and it’s one of those weeks that makes me stop and reflect.
So many spaniels and Labradors and cockapoos and other more familiar family dog breeds tearing up and down the path and chasing tennis balls into the water. All very well behaved and so many wonderful responsible owners putting their dogs on leads so ours can either politely say hi or walk past if they so choose. So many dogs for whom this is clearly a regular joyful occurrence.
I look at you, my brave beautiful hounds. This is terrain and territory unfamiliar to you, particularly Maisy on her first proper holiday. Your days shut in kennels or on the race track – did you ever imagine woodland trails and lakes to paddle in could exist? That you could walk across commons with sheep (without batting an eyelid) or past strange people and dogs without caring for anything but the sniffs and an occasional fuss from your people? The different textures and smells and sounds that existed outside of the world that people limited you to.
Your initial hesitancy at a new texture or sensation such as slight shingle and some water – then your joy as you realise you can splash a bit and paddle and maybe lick and kick at some of the water. Watching you discover the sensations your world has, how you experience them and deciding what you like and dislike is absolutely our favourite thing about taking you places. We’ve been privileged enough to be able to experience these things all our lives and to be able to introduce you to these is an even greater privilege. Maisy says water is yay, gravel is nay and Sam loves to try and walk off any steep edges.
Holidays can be simultaneously simple and complicated – how much is too much and how much is just enough? How can we introduce something new without it being overwhelming? A tea room is too much right now but a pub beer garden for a drink or two is ok. A trip into the farm shop a step too far but sharing fish and chips on the lakeside is wonderful. Managing the delicate balance between enjoyment and the fear of too much can be tricky – we are lucky enough to have dogs that tell us, we know the signs where they tell us they have tried but can’t anymore. Particularly Maisy – the Princess of “It’s called Walkies not Stoppies”
Being able to understand what’s enough that it’s fun and what’s too much is key to making sure everyone has a happy holiday and the key to that is time. Trying to do too much too soon will just inevitably have an adverse effect and something that should be great will end up becoming a negative experience that you struggle to repeat, Sam will happily do things now like wandering into shops and tea rooms and pubs and saying hi to all the other patrons in a way that we could have never imagined two years ago. Maisy joining us in a beer garden would have been unfathomable a year ago but going inside a new building with new people is a bit too much right now. Maybe one day.
For now, let’s all enjoy what we can enjoy. A beautiful walk around a stunning landscape where the star attraction, Sam and Maisy, is always you. Watching you learn, process, understand and then take joy in your holiday. We take the absolute greatest joy in doing that with you
