Well, I was wondering when this day would first happen, and today it has. We were off on our morning walk, and about 100 feet in front of us I saw them. Two off-leash Golden Retrievers, bounding in our direction. I glanced around and noticed immediately that they did not *belong* to anybody there. Gaci and Shimmer noticed them but didn't pay much attention since they were so far away. We crossed the street and started walking in a perpendicular direction. Being the only other people with dogs out and about, they started to follow us. I kept walking, not speeding up. I got around the edge of a building and in our jolly routine I said *quick!* and off we went at a jog, just to gain a little distance. Then we stopped and started walking again. The dogs popped out about two houses down from us, and kept approaching. My girls started noticing by now that they were following, and began to get a little anxious - nothing dramatic, but tense. I saw a large pile of bags of leaves and decided that would make a decent barrier, as I knew this was not going to end right away. The Goldens approached quickly, one looked quite happy to see the dogs, the other was a bit tense, which I didn't really like the look of. I asked the girls to get behind me, with these two large dogs only four or so feet away. And they did. So they were sitting behind me, and the Goldens were standing in front of me, looking around me at the dogs. Shimmer let out one yip, and I turned and looked at her, and she didn't make another noise. I stood up tall and looked at the Goldens and said *Get outta here* in a stern voice, and stepped toward them one step. They took the message pretty clear and bounded off on their own.
However, I was uneasy that these dogs were running loose, as they were very nice looking, well cared for dogs, with tags, so I decided to try to find who they belonged to. I found a tree that was a good distance from the other dogs, and tethered my girls there. I walked away, called the Goldens to me, and they came running. I caught both of them and a nearby girl who also saw them came over. She held one and I held one while we looked for tags, and called the number on the tag. No answer. So much for having contacts on tags *G*. My girls were beginning to get upset at being tethered and left there, and I didn't have an extra leash, nor did I have any way to get them to safety, not with my girls with me. Thankfully not too long after a woman drove up in a car and asked about dogs, and the situation was resolved.
But man, am I proud of my girls today. When the work I've been doing was finally put to the test, I'm proud to say they passed with flying colors. They got behind me when requested, stayed calm (behaviourally, I could see anxiety in their eyes and face) and quiet, and the situation was resolved peacefully. My girls got super big rewards and a great long run for that. Now we're back home and they are both pooped out together in a sunny spot on the floor. Hopefully we won't have to test it again too soon in the near future!