You can guess what's happening. I'm talking ridiculous dog talk in an attempt to get a reluctant dog to take his evening constitutional. Come ON! My voice deepens to bass in an attempt to establish authority. It works, for a few steps.
Eventually we are on the lane and heading for the bottom road. There is to be found a footpath sign on a wooden post. It points up towards the monastery. This public path cuts close to the main buildings then on up through the fields to the top road. We rarely have people walk this path and when we do they will stop to chat in a friendly fashion.
On the same public footpath sign is pinned a white arrow. I only found out about it's meaning recently. Our two dogs are fine together, off the lead, however it's a very different story if they meet while on the lead. The white arrow helps walkers, dog walkers, to make sure the dogs go in different directions. If the arrow points to the right, that's the signal to turn left, and vice versa. This system works for the most part but like all systems human fallibility kicks in sometimes. Oh well, we try.
My walk this evening reminds me, once again, to remember to speak in a friendly, and respectful, fashion. I think animals respond best this way. As do humans.
