35 lb kid vs. 100 lb dog

[Adina P]

I let my daughter walk Rosco at a park today. I never let my kids walk the dogs alone normally, but it was about 10am on a Sunday and pretty empty there.


I taught my daughter a way to hold the leash so she had more control but could easily release her grip if needed and she could give a quick correction if his head started wandering.   I didn't expect much from either of them.

My daughter felt very proud walking him herself and said she felt like a 'real owner' and a 'grown up.'

At one point, an off leash labrador was coming our way so it was better for Rosco to be able to greet without being pulled by a leash.  I shouted at my daughter to "let go!" a couple of times, but she hung on and ended up being pulled down. She was fine, but upset. I asked her why she didn't let go and she kept telling me she "couldn't" so I demonstrated by having her hold the leash again and showing her she just had to open her hands (duh, right?). Turns out she didn't WANT to let go because she wanted to walk him like a grown up and be able to control him. 

[Pat and Traveler]

Awww...so cute.  Big girls don't let go of the leash.  Actually, I was a bit younger than Natalie when a woman asked me to hold the leash for her little dog while she went inside a building.  The porch we were on was pretty high off the ground, several feet, and the little dog saw something and jumped.  I hung on to the leash and went off too.  The dog was fine, but I can still see gravel marks on my face when I'm cold. 

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

How cute this story is and the picture is so sweet!  I bet she will be walking Rosco more often!  

[Donna K & Quincy]

That is so cute! They take things so seriously. My niece wanted to walk Quincy once because she had never walked a dog. I gave her the leash and let her walk him around the yard. He walked perfectly until he had enough then he gently took the leash from her and came back to me. It was so funny. I wish I had taken a pic.

[Brittney & Cally]

What a great picture. I am glad she is all right and now understands how to let go :) how cute!

[Camilla and Darwin]

Aw, I love the photo. :-) It sounds like she will get the hang of it quickly. 

[Adina P]

He's pretty calm, but all it takes is the right thing to get him running.  He's also oblivious (it seems) to me if he's far enough away.  So it's always with some fear and trepidation that I let him run free.  We were nowhere near cars or traffic, but still.  He's the dog that when it was time to leave a playground (nobody else was there on the weekend), several years ago, refused to come to me with enough stubbornness that I had to get in my car and drive around the school to the other side before he got nervous about me leaving and came to find me in the adjacent parking lot.  He doesn't have much fear of being lost or losing track of me.  

Boca is not at all calm, but she's quick to check in and care where I am.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Oh, Adina, this is so cute.  All she needs  is a bit more practice and she will feel 'grown up' enough to let go when needed. And Rosco is such a calm guy that letting go probably won't need to happen often.