see zeke run

Yesterday I decided it was time to see if Zeke was smart enough to run with me.  He's just over one year old and while we have lots of yard for him to explore, we still try to keep him away from the road.  Nothing good would come from him getting too curious about the traffic.  I also prefer to not be jumped on by an 80 pound dog while running. 

But yesterday I walked out for my run and as I walked out of the porch he pushed his way inside hoping to rest in his bed.  When he raced in his bed he was attacked by a vicious 13 year old chihuahua who had taken up residence there in Zeke's absence.  It was a scary few seconds but wisely Zeke retreated while the chihuahua said something like, "that's what I thought" and flashed gang signs at him.

So Zeke was back outside with me and it was time to run. 

The first few hundred yards he tried to jump on me and bumped my feet a few times.  As we neared the road he slowed down and waited to see what I was doing.  After I made the first turn and got on the trail around the perimeter of our land, he followed pretty well.  He would race by me showing off his speed and then circle back to stay with me.  He fell into a good pace with me on the first lap but on the second lap he started to realize that we were just making big one kilometer laps around the plantation.  That's when he started cheating.  He'd round the corners off a little and he'd run ahead so he could lay down and wait on me for a bit. 

On the third lap he proved he was smarter than me.  He ran with me along the edge of the woods and then disappeared.  I did the rest of the lap alone only to find him laid up in the shade when I came back around.  Again he ran with me along the woods before doubling back to his water bucket and then seeking the shady spot. 

At the end of the 5th lap he jumped up and ran the last few steps with me as if he'd been running hard the whole way.  Then he looked at me like he was wondering why I was having trouble breathing.