Crossing the great divide. Since serious melting started last Saturday, our back field has been divided by a small river. It flows right through the middle of the field working its way over to the side of our property bound by a regular stream that runs down from the mountain behind our house.
This new development caused disparate reactions from the dogs. They needed to cross this temporary river caused by so much rapidly melting snow to get over to their favorite hunting hill. I had such fun watching how the three dogs handled the situation. King approached the river at it’s widest portion and leapt with the grace of a gazelle from one side to the other. This guy takes every opportunity to get in a good jump. Lily, also selecting the widest section to cross, plodded across getting soaking wet (and loving it!). Annie, serious, cautious girl that she is, slowly studied the lay-of-the-land, trying to figure out just how she was going to manage this.
Meanwhile, her two pals had made it to high ground atop the hunting hill. This disturbed Annie, because she, too, wanted to be there. It took careful planning on her part, but she finally made it. She found the narrowest section of the river and gingerly stepped across, barely getting wet or muddy. I love watching my dogs interact. Watching them study a situation. Their minds working to figure out a solution to a problem. Canine behavior is fascinating.