A hound dog in his natural element

We took Chopper for a nice walk in the woods on Sunday.  Not a long walk, but it was nice nonetheless.  He spent time alternating between putting his nose to the ground and up to the breeze.  Tail was up and he was content!

Nose down.

Nose up.

The best part of the walk for me, though, was when we decided to turn around. See, I had Kolohe and I went first on the narrow path. Greg and Chopper followed. When it was time to go back we turned around and Greg and Chopper were in the front.  Well Chopper wouldn't move! He kept turning around and looking at my face for direction.  It was an important indicated that he trusts me as a leader.  A fearful dog with a trusted leader becomes a more settled and peaceful dog.  Yay us!  Hopefully Chopper will start to look at Greg that way soon, too, so he has two people to help him feel safe.

Here's a few more pictures.  No wait, Mom is supposed to lead, you're going the wrong way!

 

Right Mom?

Two happy dogs. I think he was actually smiling though I couldn't get a picture of it. You can easily see Kolohe's happy face though!