Coming out of her shell

It was sunny but cold at our house this morning. I've been feeling "off" all week so I slept in. The boys (R and the Runner) had already departed for their run by the time Shyla and I rolled out the door.

Shortly after we hit the trails, Shyla sat by an aspen tree and cocked her head in a way that I've never seen her do before. It captivated me. R has learned over the years that we give him a treat whenever he cocks his head in this cute way. I hope that Shyla learns the same!

We headed straight up high to Hug Hill to see what the recent days of mountain storms had done to our peaks. My guess is that the easy hiking days are finished for this year, based on the coating of snow all over the mountains.

As we stood on Hug Hill, clouds started invading from the lower elevations. This is one view but they were actually coming in from all sides.

The peak in the above photo is in Rocky Mountain National Park. I've read that the state has provided emergency funding to open the park, a great thing for the mountain towns that rely on tourists for their livelihoods.

After seeing the clouds moving in, Shyla and I pedaled with extra speed through a forest to a gorgeous aspen area, where the majority of the leaves are down but a few remain. The sun was still shining so we took advantage of it!

We are lucky to live in one of the few spots in our flood-ravaged region where the forests are open for recreation. Because so many places are closed, we've been running into strangers on trails where we normally see no one.

The amazing part has been how outgoing Shyla is. She wants to meet all the strangers, even the men! She still backs off if anyone kneels down to her eye level. However, as soon as I explain that she's afraid of that posture, people stand up, and Shyla greets them with incredible enthusiasm. It's as if a switch has flipped in her head, and suddenly, she's much more comfortable with all sorts of people than ever before. In fact, she's so comfortable that I've had to stop her from jumping up when she greets them. We are working on having her sit in front of them, and they only pet her when she's sitting.

Can you believe that Shyla has jumped on strangers in the past week? I can't. With all my previous dogs, jumping on people would be nothing but a very bad thing. With Shyla, it's a huge step forward because it shows that she wants to meet people. Now, we'll work on "appropriate" greetings with all four paws on the ground.

I think the real Shyla is emerging from hiding!

And, after a year of working on helping her overcome her fears, I am thrilled!

Happy Saturday!