leading

I woke up with residual soreness but no pain. It would have been a relief, but I didn't even notice until it was time to run the dogs. I decided to risk the Goldstream trails again. We haven't had substantial snow, but we've had several dustings and I've seen ATVs and snowmachines out on the trails so I know they are at least packed down.

Leo continues to impress. It was the first time we left from our driveway, and the route to the trail is slick and tricky down our snow-but-mostly-ice covered road. He took my directions and found the trail-head with more finesse than the trapper dogs managed after running the same route every day for a month. When we reached the point in our run when I realized my planned route was going to be impossible to follow, Leo brought the whole team around on a narrow trail like a pro, with zero resulting tangles. My feelings towards him are hard to describe. I don't feel affection for him like I do for Pico, or even for sweet Dottie. Yet is it a kind of affection, and it is certainly tempered by his aloof attitude. Instead, I feel a growing respect for him that is borne out of a sense that I will be able to depend on him when I screw up. I have loved dogs before, but this is the first time I've started to trust one.