And Through The Woods

Barley, a dog, looks up from her sniffing to glance down the wooded path that extends ahead of her a short distance.

Barley is generally well behaved on wooded paths, so long as she remains on leash. In general, any furry creatures that find themselves in a wooded area, lurking at the edge of a path, make themselves scarce long before Barley comes a’sniffing, and while on leash, she generally understands not to try to go places I can’t follow. She’s even become quite mindful of staying on the same side of trees as me so the leash doesn’t catch. That said, I’ve seen her sensibilities off-leash and she will absolutely chase prey through the underbrush. So the policy is clear, even far from any roads: Without rock-solid fencing, the leash stays on.