[nagdu] When keeping you safe leads into distractions

[Daryl Marie]

So, I have come across this twice today, and have a sneaky suspicion it will happen again before we get everything all melted away, so would like some advice, pointers, or reassurance.

I live in northern Canada, and we are experiencing a very fast thaw. One portion of our walk includes half a block of sidewalk that is buried under 3-4 inches of water, with ice underneath.  Today, both to and from work, Jenny has guided me around it.  This morning, we walked down the street, parallel to another 1 or two dogs.  Jenny watched them, but didn't seem overly interested, and we kept on walking straight, got me to the sidewalk safely, no problems.

On the way home, we hit that portion of the sidewalk, and I found out later that another dog was approaching us from the opposite direction.  Jenny and I walked across the street, made it up to the opposite sidewalk, and made it to the corner, where the other dog and its owner - which Jenny was watching intently - approached us.  I asked them to keep moving, which they did, but Jenny kept turning to the right, in the same direction they were traveling.  I told her no, we kept going straight, and I realized that her instinct was right: going the same direction as the other dog took us home.

Writing this out has been helpful.  I think the other dogs just happen to be coincidental to the issue of keeping us dry and safe from the ice and sidewalk lake... but would love any other impressions, advice, etc.

Thanks!

Daryl