Confidence!

On the homefront, we've resumed our adventures in our forest. Shyla and I try to make it out in time for sunrise, but it's getting harder each day with sunrise racing earlier.

I've been noticing a change in Shyla, a contentment and trust that has surely been slowly evolving, but has really shined through recently. For example, she knows that she "owns" this boulder, the one that she chose for sunrises months ago. She settles in and even doses, letting down her guard in a wonderful way.

Moreover, Shyla now has the confidence to defy me sometimes. When we are training, she'll sometimes grab a stick and insist on a game of fetch instead of our normal training. Our trainer says that this is a wonderful development in an under-confident dog. It's a stage that she often sees as a fearful dog loses her fear. Thus, for now, I should let Shyla take the lead so her confidence keeps growing. It's a great sign she sometimes acts like a teenager who just wants to play rather than work!

I captured this photo of Shyla in the wind this morning, almost by accident. I think that, in an abstract way, it shows the sparkle of the confidence that she exudes these days.

Her brother R has always had that confidence but he's recently been demanding (loudly) that I spend training time with him. Here, he is finishing a "spin", a trick that he is quite proud that his sister doesn't know yet!

Let's raise our glasses to confidence! At times since I met Shyla, I never thought that she would behave with the self-assurance and happy-go-lucky attitude that she has these days. And, R always had it - but he's glad to get a chance to show it off!