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Took Fleek out for the first time tonight after he had moved down to stay with me, we made sure to stop at every street corner and check carefully that it was safe to cross. Being a country dog, he isn't used to all the traffic in the city at my place. He did well though and is really good to walk, but pulls a bit more than I would like. If I insist he will heal properly, but I have to hold my arm slightly back a bit to try and get his head level with my legs. He was much better tonight, after last night with Dad being away for the first time, he just sat at the gate and carried on like a pork chop every few hours. Tonight the big walk was supposed to tire him out, so he would sleep in his new kennel. however he still woke up later and had a few words to say, so I gave in, in the end bringing him inside. Screw the landlady, what she doesn't know won't hurt us.

--

On this sunny afternoon we caught a train to Clayton, Fleek seemed calm and collected as the train pulled in, sitting perfectly still until the silver beast came to a complete stop. "Well old sun, if you aren't perturbed by being this close to this monstrosity, shell we go for a ride?" I enquired. "OK" was the response as we strode confidently through the doors. BEEP... BEEP... BEEP... BANG! the doors shut behind us "Hang on!" Fleek said "Who are these people? AND WHY! Is the ground moving?" "Its all right." I said squatting down and patting Fleek on the head. "Hey this is just like being in the car, except I am too short to look out the window." Fleek said excitedly wagging his tail. "Oh I know, since your squatting down like that, I can climb on you. That's better now I can look out the window." I wobbled a bit while I adjusted my stance to handle the weight of the GSD's front paws now perched upon me. BEEEEEEP! "What the ride is over?" Fleek said as we stepped on the platform at clayton station "Lets wait here a second" I said as the train tootled off. "Ok lets walk home Fleek" we crossed the road at the lights and went through a car park to the path that leads back to Huntingdale besides the train tracks. When we reached the path Fleek suddenly seem to change up a gear saying "I know where I am, we walked here the other night. Follow me and I will show you the way home!" By the time we got home I was starting to get sun burnt, even in winter the sun is a pain. "That's why we always go walking at night Fleek".

--

There was a Yapper in McTosh street, Fleek lunged toward the irritating little white hair ball, giving the other dog a good scare. I don't think Fleek was being aggressive, I think he just wanted to say hello, but the other dog took one look at the powerful sable GSD and decided that barking at him may not have been a good idea as they scurried away from the gate from where they had been telling Fleek off.

--

Uneventful today, here are some of Fleek's commands:

English Command: Fleek Translation of the command.

Forward. Lets go already.

Hup. Warp drive engaged lets RUN!

Woooooow. Okay, if I really, really, have to, I'll stop.

Left. At the next corner I will turn Left and you must follow.

Right. At the next corner I will turn Right and you must follow like it or not.

Fleek knows his left paw from his right paw. Which is very useful at times.

--

We walked up North road to clayton road tonight, a young woman maybe in her mid 20's was putting out the garbage, when across the lawn of her yard came this black and tan flash of dog to say hello. Fleek looked at the other dog wagged his tail slightly but pretty much ignored the other GSD. The woman called her dog and it stopped without saying a word (wish I could remember its name it gave me a chuckle under my breath it was Fig-gee or something). Then she said quite loudly ick-squ-sss me, I stopped and turned back replying "Yes?", "Oh" she said, "sorry I was talking to the dog" who had started to follow us up the road. It was probably a bitch captured by Fleek's animal magnetism, or stunning good looks and shiny coat. "Oh, no worries." I called back as Fleek and I continued our walk laughing slightly feeling a real goose, as I have used the same phrase and tone when the large canine beside me was getting up to mischief.

--

Uneventful again tonight. So here is another Fleek Translation of what he was told, I think I need to get him a new English to Canine translation book:

English:

Hold your horses! "My boot lace has come undone"

Fleek's Translation:

"Quick run as fast as you can down this foot path."

To which he replied "Hey why are you being such a drag man, I'm trying to run here." before he came to a stop and waited a little impatiently for me to refasten my footwear before we could continue, and he could kick it into gear returning to our jog.

--

It had been wet for a few days, not that Fleek minded the rain at all, but it meant we had to just go on short walks so as to not end up completely soaked, as it takes me ages to dry the big guy off if the rain gets past his guard coat when he gets properly wet. However when I finished work a little early today and the sun was shining I hurried home to give Fleek a surprise. He is always happy when I arrive back early. Walking through the gate I called out "Hey Fleek, you home." In little more than a blink of the eye a sable blur zoomed around the corner and skidded to a halt in front of me, wagging his tail happily. I opened the door and chucked my stuff inside the house, before I grabbed the essentials: a strong heavy duty rope lead with black stitched leather on the handle and a shiny smooth metal chain on the other end, my walking boots and hat, and a generous sized bag to pick up the inevitable end result of the large canines fuel intake.

I slipped Fleek's shiny chain connected to the lead over the broad and powerful Shepherd head, tossing the lead over his back, for Fleek to hold while I attended to my shoelaces. "Come on, Come on..." The big dog wined, doing a little tap dance but never straying more than a few steps from my side, urging me to hurry up and get ready. I asked Fleek if he was ready for his walk. The woof that came back in reply was almost deafening as he responded "WHAT DO YOU THINK! Now let's go already."

Turning onto the main road out of the short road we lived on, I could see some work men doing something with phone lines in a pit in the foot path. "Well that's good!" I said to Fleek "Maybe they are going to fix those old copper wires, that kept playing up and making the phone line almost unusable in wet weather." Fleek just looked up at me and smiled. "Doesn't worry me, my paws are to big for the buttons on the phone anyway."

When we got up to the wooden barricade that stopped people accidentally falling into the pit, while the service people had the cover off; I went to walk onto the grass to go around the obstacle when I felt some resistance on the lead. Looking down I saw that Fleek had walked right up to the edge of the hole, his height just letting him pass under the rail on the barricade. Curious as to what the guy in the funny white hat was doing, the large canine had stuck his head down into the pit to take a closer look. Taking a deep sniff he tried to use his nose to learn more. Before commenting to the workman: "Hey this is a pretty big hole, did you dig it yourself?"

Unfortunately the poor technician in the hole hearing the snuffling and something partially blocking off the light, looked up to work out what was going on, and almost had a heart attack! As he let out a few words Fleek said I can't repeat here, in response to the large canine face staring down at him with it's big GSD tongue panting happily from a dark sable muzzle. This caused the other 2 workers, standing at the top of the hole unloading equipment and cable from their work ute, to burst into uncontrolled bouts of laughter. I apologised profusely and moved Fleek away from the hole quickly. On our return journey we passed the workers on the opposite side of the road this time; as we passed, I heard one of them call out to the guy Fleek had surprised. "Hey Josh you better hide, that dogs' back!" Before they started laughing again. I found myself chuckling as well, when I saw a plastic spool that obviously once held cable come flying out of the hole and hit the guy who had spoken in the leg.

"See what trouble you've created Fleek" I said reaching down and patting my large companions head between the ears. Fleek looked up at me grinning before turning his head forward once more happily wagging us home oblivious to the excitement and entertainment he had instigated this fine afternoon.

--

Uneventful tonight. I think I have worked out Fleek's gear box

Fleek's PAW scale of gearing

1 Paw = Slow walk lots of sniffing to be done, gotta take your time and check for new P-mails.

2 Paw = Strutting my stuff, head up, slight curl in my tail, walking with style.

3 Paw = Places to go no time to talk, "I'm a bitches dog" no time to walk! (A fast jog)

4 Paw = I believe I can fly, the only thing keeping me on the ground is my slow human.

5 Paw = Over Drive - reserved for bitches in heat and trying to get to the car on a Friday afternoon, To go back home to see his siblings for the weekend.

This gear gives Fleek Super dog power that can run straight through garage doors without even slowing down noticeably. The landlady being a bit cheap had put an interior door on the back of the garage which obviously meant that it got wet when it rained. So when Fleek hit it at full speed in an effort to bump it open and get to the car that was being packed in the garage, the hollow door let out a cracking cry of pain as a sable shepherd head when straight through the ply outer layer before a corner of the door almost exploded as the rest of the muscular and powerful GSD body propelled him forward, before concluding with a happy dog sitting in the back of the station wagon and two humans looking on in shock. I guess he didn't want to miss his ride, I commented to Dad.

--

Uneventful.

That canned food Dad got for Fleek has turned things very soft and squishy, not so easy to scoop into the bag, I think I will give him a week off before we use the other tin.

--

Tonight I had a slightly confused dog on my hands; it was a fairly normal night although we had gone on a new path, that is one of the few good things about walking in a metropolitan area there are lots of roads so we can vary our journey and see and smell new things without adding to much extra distance to our travels. Walking the same circuit every night I think might get a bit boring for Fleek anyway, so I try to mix it up as much as I can.

About halfway through the walk on this new path, Fleek suddenly changed up a gear or two going from 2 paw walking correctly at my side to at least 3 paw as he started pulling harder on the lead and dragging me towards a familiar looking station wagon. I looked at the number plate as we approached the vehicle. The letters and numbers weren't even vaguely close to Dad's number plate and I tried to explain to Fleek that it wasn't our car. Paying no attention to me, he continued walking up to it before looking confused. Because it looked right, it was the right shape and colour, but didn't smell right. But just to be sure, we had to walk all around the vehicle in the off chance the other side smelt the way it was supposed too. Looking at me for clarification I told Fleek not to worry about the impostor car and encouraged him to resume the walk saying "Ok, good boy, let's go." When we got home again Fleek spotted Dad's car and raced up to it, sighing with relief when it smelt right after he had given it a good sniff, but just to be sure it didn't lose it's smell again, he walked over to a back wheel and raised a leg to pee on the tire.

--

Mostly uneventful tonight. However a factory guard dog barked at Fleek, who took offence to what the other dog was saying. We crossed the road which made Fleek feel better as he barked over his shoulder: "You lick your mother with a muzzle like that! You're just lucky my human is here or I'd teach your tail how to be polite to those passing your rock covered yard. If you had a nice human like mine they would give you some grass to lie on, maybe then you wouldn't be so rude and grumpy."

--

We Started out slow tonight, stopping at every tree, but by the end he was tugging very strongly on the lead, I think it was the wind picking up, he always seems to get a bit more hyper when the wind is blowing in his ears.

As we approached a long row of shops on the side of the road we Encountered a footpath sweeping machine, I didn't realise it was on the footpath at first, I thought it was cleaning around in the large area with bins and seats out side the shops. But Fleek banged his head against my leg twice, getting my attention. Looking up at me, before glancing at the machine again asking "Do you really think we should just walk right up to that strange looking noisy thing?" Deciding he was most likely right I guided us off the foot path and out of the way of the machine. while saying "Ok boy, let's wait over here on the edge of the road in a car parking space, till it goes past us."

--

Uneventful again tonight; I found a new way to take the pressure off my wrists, when Fleek uses 3-Paw or higher and I have to keep him close. By putting the lead around my back and using my opposite hand, I can use my body weight to take the pressure before it is past onto my hand. Sort of like using a tree to winch a car out of a bog. The lead is just the right length to handle Fleek comfortably using this approach. He does know how to heal properly, but I am willing to give him some leeway within reason on our nightly walks, they should be fun for both of us after all. And sometimes you just want to put your paw to the pavement and zoom zoom.

--

Fleek and I got a little fright tonight while waiting for all passing traffic to go past, when a big tanker indicated that he wanted to turn left off the main road beside us, onto the small street we were about to cross. I always make sure any traffic on a main road passes before we cross just in case they turn without blinking. The truck seemed to be travelling far to fast to make the corner cleanly so I jump backwards further from the road edge dragging Fleek with me. It was my sudden move that gave him the fright, rather than the large vehicle hurtling towards the side of the road and the corner we were standing on.

As it turned out the truck pulled over on the main road in a bus stop just past the road we were crossing; so I didn't need to worry. But when it comes to Fleek's safety I would prefer to act first and feel like a nong, if I am wrong, than do nothing and have something happen to Fleek.

--

Caught a train to Huesdale tonight, for a slightly longer ride for Fleek and some new smells to investigate on the longer walk home. Fleek was trying to climb on the seat beside me to look out the window. I pulled him onto my lap, well the first half of him anyway. He was happy like that for a while, but then he wanted to get closer to the window. I could just see him putting his big cold nose on the neck or head of the person sitting behind us, who was talking on a mobile phone and may have jumped out of his skin if a big moist GSD nose touched his bald head. So I pulled him back and we went to the door to wait for the train to stop.

--

Fleek saw something and went from 2Paw to 5Paw mid stride tonight, I barely managed to stay on my feet as I was forced into a flat out run in under a second. fortunately what ever it was disappeared under a fence and he stopped and started madly sniffing the ground around the fence. My best guess is that it was a cat or possum, but I still don't know. It did take me a good minute of coaxing to encourage the sable locomotive to leave the area where he had been forced to stop.

--

Tonight I had no place in mind to go so I said "Ok Fleek, where to tonight?" giving him a bit of slack in the lead. We headed down the main road and we went down the ramp of the under pass at a trot and swung left travelling under the road and the train line. Fleek turned again and took a few steps up the station ramp and stopped. Looking at me and then back up the ramp he asked "Are we going up here?" "You tell me, its your choice tonight" with that he charged up the ramp and onto the platform. I pushed the green button which seems to always surprise Fleek when the computerised voice starts talking. "15 minutes" the voice said. "Are you sure you want to wait that long?" I ask as we went back to the top of the ramp leading out of the station. "You know how I like to ride the rails!" was the reply as he forcefully dragged me onto the opposite platform and away from the exit. 15 minutes later after several laps around the station platforms and some zig-zags through the upside down, horseshoe shaped bike racks; Fleek's big silver chariot arrived and we got on. However it had more than the usual sparse number of people on board, probably because it was Thursday/Pay day. A voice from the middle of the carriage "%$#@ that's a big dog, can I pat him?"

"He's friendly" I said more for the benefit of the passengers sitting close by. "But I wouldn't, he doesn't like strangers touching him." I should have just said NO! because the next thing I know he is patting Fleek on the head. Fleek shied away slightly but patiently put up with the uninvited petting. Then to my incredulous amazement he asked if Fleek would like a Smoke. "I DOUBT THAT VERY MUCH!!!" I exclaimed as Fleek backed behind me to get away from the clearly previously lit smelly brown and white object being offered to him. "What on earth do you think you're doing!" I demanded raising my voice. "Chill man, it was just a joke." the moron said as he sat back in his seat. We got off 30 seconds later and I apologised profusely to Fleek for ever letting a drop kick like that near him. However he just wagged his tail and took off down the station ramp like he was trying to beat the train to leave the station. I slowed him back down to a fast walk since the bottom of this station ramp was a level crossing and I wanted the train well and truly gone before we got there. We crossed the road at the level crossing and ran down some back streets for a while, but within 5 minutes my legs felt like jelly; probably because I hadn't warmed up enough, before trying to match Fleek's speed on the deserted streets. After that we walked for the next one and a half hours back to the house. Running occasionally when it was safe to do so and my poor old legs were up to it. I don't know where he gets the energy, its probably all that sleeping he does. We took a slight detour as we got back to Moroney street near the station, so as to pick up the load that had been parked on the side of the road there 2 hours earlier, before returning home. Where in his usual manner Fleek let everyone know he was happy to be alive, with a 1, 2, cha cha cha sort of beat, he pounded out with the fluffy drum stick he takes everywhere with him. "Shush" I said "You will wake Dad". "Hey Dude, I am happy and I know it!" was the reply as he burst through the door as I turned the key and door handles together.

Fifty gallons of water later he lyes sleeping contentedly as I type this. I don't think we will catch Thursday trains again; all the other nights of the week with the exception of Saturday, seem to have no more than ten people on a carriage that can handle 100 or so. There is always plenty of space for Fleek to enjoy the ride without having to worry about people, and he does love the ride especially if he can look out the window at all the pretty lights and stuff we go past.

--

It's funny Fleek will walk up to a gate and then seem genuinely surprised when the four legged occupant does not take kindly to being sniffed out and says so in no uncertain terms.

--

I have started trying to get Fleek to push the button on command at traffic lights, but when I gave the "Push" command tonight he jumped up and bopped me on the nose, instead of pushing the button on the pole. True they are both big round things but still... I laughed and called Fleek a silly sausage, before guiding a flailing limb onto the large button. It is more than likely just good luck, but when Fleek does push the button the lights seem to change straight away.

--

Sandy barked at Fleek and his owner apologised for the out burst. I don't know what it is about Fleek, but other dogs either seem to love him; or insist that he is the scout for an invading army coming to rape and pillage their lands.

--

Things have been pretty uneventful for about a week, Fleek has been on his best behaviour apart from his usual lead pawed attitude down the straights; I have been starting to get pains in my legs and think I might have pulled something. Or it could just be the fact that my boots are starting to wear rather unevenly due to a rather soft soul and the number of K's Fleek and myself have been putting in lately.

--

We went north tonight and went over a big high pedestrian bridge over the highway. Fleek seemed fine going up the ramp onto the bridge, but then with all the cars zooming under him he seemed a little confused, that they could disappear under him. He squished his muzzle up against the rails to try and see under the bridge to work out where they went. I tried to show him that they were coming out on the other side of the bridge. But he either doesn't seem to get that when cars go under one side they come out the other, or he was just uncomfortable with the fact that they were traveling so fast under him. In any case he was fairly eager to get off the bridge, and a little reluctant to cross it again on the way back. I was hoping the bridge would allow us to keep moving rather than wait for ages for the lights to change to cross the highway otherwise. But if Fleek doesn't like the big bridge we won't use it, the walks are for him after all.

--

Fleek put his paw in a refreshment container spilling water all over the big rug on his way out the door tonight, putting back departure by 20 minutes while I cleaned up as best I could. I had left it out on the rug after the exhausted lump of a dog had lay there panting, following last nights huge two and a half hour walk. Although to be fair to the young shepherd, I had also slept pretty well after we got back home last night.

--

We encountered two stray dogs tonight, one was a Black mixed breed that looked to have something boofy in him like an Amstaff or Pitty. The other dog was a shaggy grey terrier of some sort. We stopped to say hello as they seemed to be following Fleek and myself. I try never to lead dogs away from their homes to far if they do start to follow us as happens sometimes. I mean who wouldn't want to hang out with the gorgeous sable fellow I was traveling with. Well apparently these two dogs that's who, for we had no sooner stopped to say hello to them, when the black dog started growling at us. It's ok I said trying to reassure the dog we meant it no harm, but when I tried to reach out a hand slowly towards him for him to sniff me he started growling in a more threatening manner. At which point Fleek said "HEY! That's my human! Mind your manners Mr!" At this point the hackles were up on all three dogs, and I decided things were rapidly getting a little out of hand. I guess we were intruding on their turf or something. So I started to back Fleek and myself up slowly to try and de-escalate the situation. Fleek didn't want to move back; he had his paw firmly on the trigger with the safety turned off, he was ready to protect me, and backing down was not the front he obviously wanted the two aggressors to see. However after having been closer to the two other dogs while I was trying to make friends; it was clear that they both had been in more than a few fights and I didn't want to risk Fleek's safety. Not that he probably couldn't have done some serious damage to either dog, but I'm also sure Fleek wouldn't have walked away without a scratch either. Once I had gotten a few metres between us, I turned around and started walking away from them, pulling the reluctant GSD along with me. Fleek was looking more behind him than where he was going half the time, as the two dogs had begun following us once again. At the next corner I turned to them and yelled at them to get lost. To my surprise and relief they actually dropped back a bit although they continued to follow us at a distance for at least another 5-10 minutes before leaving us in peace. After they had given up I truncated the walk somewhat and took a few short cuts to get us back home sooner, fortunately it was just a local area walk, there would have been no short cuts if we had caught a train to a few suburbs away as we often did. When we got home I let Fleek relax and de-stress on his bed with a raw hide chew to nor on.

--

After the walk last night with those dogs I wasn't sure if it had effected Fleek or not, but he was his usual eager self to get out there and pound the pavement. Not only that he actually seemed to want to head off to where we had last seen the other two dogs. Was my gentle giant wanting to go rumble I thought to myself, or could he simply not care any less if he came across them again. Me on the other hand I was in no hurry to see if they were still there and I turned him at the next corner and pointed his nose in the direction of the train station, which he quickly realised and started to increase his pace obviously most eager for another ride on his big silver conveyance. The rest of the night passed without incident and we both just had an all around relaxing time.

--

So tonight was anything but uneventful! Fleek and I were just minding our own business on one of our usual paths to the north. I thought we'd come back through the centre of town so I could find a shop I had to visit in a few days time. As we approached the main road I noticed 3 guys standing in the middle of the foot path. Something about them made me a little nervous, so I moved well onto the grass nature strip beside the foot path, to give them a bigger gap than I would normally do to pass someone. I pulled Fleek a little closer to my body, a move that instantly put him on alert, as he picked up on my tension. Just as we reached the guys I heard one say, "Hey watch this." And with that he stepped out in front of us forcing me to stop. Now at this point I am about ready to piss my pants, I am no fighter, and I was worried they might hurt Fleek, they had the numbers after all. "Can ya spar some money mate?" The guy said slurring his words slightly and at the close range now, it was obvious to me that these 3 had been partaking in some refreshments in a rather substantial quantity. "Nah sorry man, got nothing on me, I'm just out for a walk with my dog," I said tilting my head towards Fleek. "Are you sure?" He replied pushing on my chest with a finger. Now at this point I could feel Fleek starting to pull on his correction chain. I looked down at Fleek and said quietly "Please don't do that." as I spoke I ran my hand down as if to pat Fleek. But in actual fact, I was putting a little slack in the lead as I took hold of the clip at the end of Fleek's lead. Pulling the release while moving it sideways so the second ring was now attached to the lead. Effectively disabling the correction function, so the chain acted as a regular restraint only. Now if things really went sideways Fleek would be free to act in his own self defence as no matter how hard the lead was pulled now, it would not constrict on his neck. And if he pulled hard backwards he would get his head out and be able to run.

As hoped, the guy was distracted by trying to hear my quietly spoken words and hadn't paid attention to what my hands were doing.

"Whaaat?"

"I said please don't do that!" I replied louder trying to force myself to stand up straight and preying I wasn't about to get stabbed or beaten to a pulp.

"Why not?" he asked laughing.

"I don't want to embarrass you in front of your friends" I replied putting all my concentration into speaking confidently. At this point Fleek feeling the change in the way the chain was pulling on him as he tried to move, had walked in front of me, putting himself between the intoxicated guy and myself. The brave canine had started to growl quietly with his jowls pulled back. The guy's attention now captured by the large imposing GSD standing in between us. I continued raising my voice a little to ensure the other two guys could hear. "Your odds aren't great taking on a guy with a black belt and a fully trained canine unit at his side!" At that moment Fleek gave a loud WOOF! before returning to his quiet growling. I could have kissed Fleek at that moment for his perfectly timed WOOF! But obviously a smooch on the nose would have to wait till later given our current situation. Thankfully one of the other two guys came over at that moment and dragged his friend away saying "Just messing with you officer, no hard feelings." before lowering his voice, "You @%$#ing idiot, he's a cop couldn't you tell by the dog?" as he dragged his friend away in the direction Fleek and I had come. "Stay out of trouble boys." I called after them as I almost fainted inside with relief. Giving Fleek the forward command I abandoned the idea of looking for the shop, and headed straight for the police station a few hundred metres down the main road. I headed inside to hopefully sell the illusion and confirm what they had assumed if they were still watching me. As well as to report the incident to the Sargent on duty.

"So you said you were a police officer? Because you know that's an offence." The Sargent asked when I got to that point in my story. No sir, I replied "I said I have a black belt." which I demonstrated by patting the leather holding my jeans up. "And that he's a fully trained canine unit, he is trained in Obedience, Agility, Tracking and herding." Looking over the counter at Fleek he laughed, "And they thought they would try their luck with him beside you? I wouldn't want to try! I've seen what big Sheps like that can do!"

"Nah he's a gentle boy." I replied scritching the soft sable hair behind his right ear, which caused Fleek's tongue to Loll out.

The Sargent said he would let the patrols know to keep an eye out for the 3 guys and we headed off home, where Fleek was given a big hug and a tummy rub for his bravery before we headed off to bed. Where I struggled to get to sleep, while thinking about how many different ways things could have gone wrong. But they didn't because I have an amazing and brave companion willing to step in when the chips are down, letting me finally drift off to sleep with a smile on my face.

-->

At this point the journal skipped forward a few years to after we moved house and Fleek was a fair bit older. He would still head back to the family farm when I wasn't working on the weekends, but after spending so much time on week nights in the city he had gotten used to the hustle and bustle of traffic. He even lost his concerns about bridges, after we visited a train station with an over pass a few times. At which point he saw a train go under him on one side of the bridge and being far slower as it took off from the station platform, than the cars on the highway had been; he was able to see it coming out the other side when he rushed over to look. At which point something clicked in his head, and it was like "Oh they come out over here, they don't just disappear." So I guess it was the speed of the cars that was previously confusing him, because by the time he would get across to look down the other side, it was a different car coming out from under the bridge, not the one he had seen going under previously which was a good ways up the road in the time it took him to walk across the bridge to look.

Our new home was in an outer suburb and the distance between train stations had grown significantly; so sadly now Fleek had a few more years under his paws we would only catch the train once a week for a longer walk, as going everyday would have been to tiring for him. However the trail beside the train tracks was still often included in our walks.

--

We walked up beside the train tracks again this afternoon till we got to the hole in the fence, that let us get through into a small grassy park with kids play equipment in it. "Wow!" I said to Fleek, as we entered the park "I knew it rained a bit last night, but this place is completely flooded." "Hey you're right." he replied with a happy bark as he tentatively tested the water with his paw, before he took his first real step into the 100mm deep water, being a big dog he caused a splash. At which point he started reverting back to his puppyhood, seeming rather excited by the idea of splashing water around, he quickly followed up by slamming both front paws down, causing a much bigger splash and a small wave to head off from the impact site. Fleek's little wave managed to send a small bit of tree bark floating off away from us. What followed was both hilarious to watch, and apparently a great deal of fun to do. As for the next minute or so Fleek seeming intrigued by the bark floating around would charge after it, pouncing every so often trying to catch it with a paw, or grab it in his mouth. However every time he made a sudden move or close the gap or landed after trying to jump on the bark, the wake coming from his own movement kept the tiny bit of tree skin teasingly just barely out of his reach. Eventually though he cornered the little sucker when it floated against a bit of play equipment and gave the great sable pursuer the break he needed. Mind you once he had caught his prize he gave it one chomp in his powerful maw and decided it tasted yucky, so let the now two even smaller bits of bark fall from his muzzle to land back in the water with a watery plop. We then continued our walk heading out of the park back onto the somewhat dryer streets beyond that would eventually lead us home once more.

--

On our walk today Fleek became an unwitting super star. We were just walking along on this lovely sunny day minding our own business, when two young girls walked over to their front fence and asked if they could pat Fleek, I said sure. But I certainly wasn't expecting what happened next. While one of the girls came out onto the foot path and started patting Fleek asking what his name was and what kind of dog he was etc. The other girl had disappeared behind a gate beside the house, only to return with six or seven other kids of varying ages who apparently had heard about this big dog out the front and whom also wanted to see him and give him a pat. Before I knew it Fleek and myself found ourselves surrounded by the great horde of adoring sprouts. Fleek is very good with kids, but the numbers all clambering for a pat at the same time, started to make him a bit nervous. Detecting the very slight change in his body language, I decided to intervene and asked them if they could please take it in turns to give him pats; as he didn't like to many hands on him at the same time. Thankfully they complied without question and Fleek was much more relaxed with all the attention now, being able to look at each person in turn as they patted him, rather than feeling touching coming from every which way at the same time. Eventually we were allowed to continue by Fleek's fan club and the rest of the walk progressed without any further flash crowds emerging to shower my beloved dog with praise and adoration, leaving that responsibility to land squarely back on my shoulders alone. A task I accepted willingly.

Mind you it didn't stop him singing as we walked home. "I'm a super Fleek. A super Fleek. I'm super Fleeky, Ahwooo, woo, woool!"

--

I had a bit of a problem today Fleek and myself had only gotten about 100m down the road from home, when I was stopped by a lady saying "How Cruel, you should be ashamed of yourself!" This instantly got my attention, because I loved this precious dog beside me more than life itself; so the mere suggestion that I could ever be cruel to him was outrageous, to say the least. Now with my full attention standing in front of her, the woman continued her tirade "How can you keep a majestic wild animal like a wolf as a pet!" "But he's a German Shepherd!" I said, under any other circumstance Fleek being compared to a wolf, I probably would have taken as a compliment. "Don't give me that! German Shepherd's are black and tan!" she spat back obviously not believing a word I said. In the mean time Fleek had stepped around in front of me, placing himself between me and this yelling woman, just in case it became necessary for him to intervene. While I trusted him completely not to act first, I still picked up on the body language and I decided it best to end the "conversation" with this woman. Giving Fleek the forward command we left her to her ranting as I called back over my shoulder "Google Sable German Shepherd." I don't think she heard me, and chances are even if she did, I don't think it would have penetrated her rigid opinion that the stunning animal beside me was anything other than a wolf.

--

It seems to be the month for strange encounters. We got talking to a guy today who stopped to ask if Fleek was a police dog, I replied no he only rounds up sheep not criminals. At which point I had to try really hard not to laugh, as when I told this guy that Fleek had his sheep herding championship title, he replied and I quote "Oh do German Shepherds round up sheep?" Trying to keep a straight face I replied "Um, yes that's why they are called Shep-herds" There original job was to live out with the sheep and keep wolves and other predators away from the flock. The also acted as mobile fences when it was time to move the flock to new pasture.

--

Fleek and I were out on one of our usual circuits tonight, when a group of 3 girls passed us heading in the opposite direction to what we were walking. One of the girls said to her friends "He's cute!" To which one of the other girls replied "Who the dog or the guy?" "Both" the first girl answered. I just smiled as I looked down at my studly companion, saying quietly "Did you hear that? They think we're cute." Fleek just looked up at me with a happy expression on his face and a wag in his tail as he strutted his stuff. "Hey man, I know how to impress the ladies, you're just cute by association." "Why you cheeky pup!" I muttered while we continued on our way.

--

Often on our walks Fleek gets very caught up in smells, not that I can blame him mind you, if my nose was that sensitive I might experience the world with my nose a lot more than I do as well. The trouble is sometimes he forgets to look where he is going, if I don't notice he is distracted an make a last minute course correction with the lead, a stomach churning sound is the result. As my dear companion slams his big hard head into a solid object like a Brick letter box with a very disturbing thud. Usually he just shakes it off and says "You didn't see me do that? DID YOU!" Thankfully it doesn't happen very often, but tonight was a particularly bad one and he was a bit shaky on his paws for a second afterward. I brought us to a halt and let him recover for a minute before I headed us straight back home so he could sleep it off. At least he has never knocked himself out, I am no weakling but he's not a small dog and carrying him any real distance would be quite the challenge.

--

So today we were out walking in a park near the pizza shop; I don't know about Fleek but going there always makes me hungry. But still, it's a nice park with lots of trees and paths to walk around on in the shade, which is most welcome on a hot day like today. A young boy who was playing in the park ran up behind Fleek and gave him a pat. Like he had rockets under his paws Fleek practically lifted all his paws off the ground at once as he spun around on the spot ready to take on what ever had suddenly touched him hackles raised and ready to go. The second he saw it was just a small boy he just powered down all weapons and chilled out. I was so proud of him and felt more than a little sorry for the kid, who's mother had seen what had happened and ran over dragging the boy away; yelling at him never to touch a big dog like that again without asking first.

--

I almost managed to dislocate my shoulder this afternoon. Fleek and I were coming back past the shopping centre on the highway when we got to a set of traffic lights on the corner; Fleek jumped up and pounded the big button on the traffic light pole with his paw without me even giving him the push command. He's come a long way from when I originally taught him how to get the lights to change for us to cross the road. I still don't think he knows what the red and green pedestrian lights are for. But he certainly knows what the different sounds the light button makes mean, after he had slammed the button he sat down next to me and waited for the button to make the correct quicker beeping sound that meant we were allowed to cross. At which point he stood up again and started across the road knowing that all the cars would be waiting for an important dog like himself to cross in front of them. I followed suit taking a step out onto the road, before yanking with all my strength and them some as I moved backward dragging my faithful dog back off the road as a 4WD passed where Fleek's head had been a split second earlier, The large vehicle who ran the red light came within 100-200mm of Fleek's front paws as I had forced him up onto his rear legs from my sudden and firm pressure on the lead. I'm not really sure if Fleek knew how close he had come to being badly injured, if not killed out right, as he twisted landing back on all fours now at 90 degrees to his previous direction. It left me feeling quite shaken and I guided us over to a nearby bench to sit down for a few seconds while I rubbed my sore shoulder and patted Fleek. I asked him if he was Ok, apologising if I had hurt his neck at all. He seemed pretty unfazed though, but I decided we might head home on the back roads after that and avoid any more traffic lights for the day.

--

It was a warm day today and I had the back door open out onto the deck, while I was doing some dishes in the kitchen. I suddenly heard claws scrabbling on the deck and looked out the window to see Fleek almost bouncing like an astronaut on the moon as he ran flat out. Making me wonder what on earth he was doing; my question would be answered a split second later, as he came screaming through the open back door into the lounge connected to the end of the kitchen. My 36kg Adult Dark sable shepherd had temporarily forgotten he wasn't a puppy any more, and was in hot pursuit of a fly, that must have said something rude to him. I started to yell at him to slow down before he broke something when I heard CRASH! The fly had landed on a window and apparently Fleek needed new brake pads on his paws; because he quite literally pushed the fly through the window pain with his nose. Fortunately he didn't even get a scratch, the fly wasn't quite so lucky. Hangs my head, today was the day my gentle giant of a dog, lost the title of "He wouldn't even hurt a fly." I escorted Fleek back out the back door again shutting it behind him before very carefully setting about cleaning up all the glass. Half an hour later after double checking Fleek's paws again to be 100% sure he hadn't got any glass in his pads, we walked up to the glaziers shop we often passed on our walks. We walked in the door and I told Fleek to sit and stay. Draping his lead over his back while I went to the counter to ring the bell for service. When the person came out I explained that Fleek had just put his head through a house window. At which point, as if on cue, Fleek dropped his football out of his mouth onto the floor with a loud thump as it hit the ground. The noise made us both turn to look at Fleek, who was just sitting on the door mat where I had left him giving a few wags of his tail, as he became suddenly aware that he was the centre of attention. The guy then looked back at me and asked "So you brought a dog who likes to smash windows into a shop full of glass?" "I did." I replied choosing to take the statement as a joke. Although I'm not really sure he was joking. The sales person took down my details and Fleek and myself went home again, to wait for the new window to be delivered and fitted into place. Fleek kept a close eye on the install to make sure the guy didn't do anything suspicious, as the window in question was next to where one of his dog beds was located normally. With the window all fixed, I put back Fleek's big beanbag bed next to the window. The bed was specially made for dogs with the actual beans inside a separate heavy duty bag, inside the outer cover, so the beans could never be accidentally spilt by an active canine like my fuzzy fellow. Fleek took the prime position on his bed before he resumed keeping watch out the new window, to ensure his den would be safe under his watchful gaze. Well, that is, till he drifted off to sleep after being content that all was in order.

--

So there is something about Fleek I don't think I have told you about yet, but since it came up in the last entry I probably should mention it. Everywhere Fleek goes he wants to take his big brown plastic foot ball with him, being a very lightweight toy it takes very little effort for the big guy to cart his ball around with him. There is only one problem, after a while he gets bored carrying it or he just wants to sniff something. At which point he puts his ball down on the ground, does what ever he was distracted by, like checking his P-mail on a nearby power pole, before sending a reply at the maximum height he can manage to lift his leg at without tipping over; then he just moves on leaving his ball on the ground. I am not sure if he was intending to pick it up later on the way home again or just assumed he could retrieve it on our next walk. So like the dutiful servant to my adorable hair covered master, I pick up the ball to take it with us. I have tried to carefully explain to the large dog that humans aren't always nice and some two legger might find his ball and steal it from him. Which is about when he will reach over and take the ball back out of my hand saying "No! this is my ball I'll carry it." Which works for another 5 to 10 minutes before it gets left under another tree, until once again I pick it up before we continue the walk and repeat the cycle again. If I can covertly scoop up the football without him noticing that I have done so, as we take off down the footpath again; I am permitted to hold the ball until he next becomes aware it is in my hand, and he insists that it be returned to his large mouth once more. This little game can be repeated 4 or 5 times on some of our walks. He did once enquire though why I was allowed to leave his bag of poop under a tree till we were heading home, yet he couldn't leave his ball there. The question gave me a good laugh as I told him 2 leggers wouldn't steal that, they just like taking shiny things that capture there eye, like his ball.

--

Today's walk unlike most of our walks, had a destination in mind. One which I failed to in form my fine four legged friend about ahead of time, as he isn't overly keen on the place. However he has started showing signs of a bit of arthritis in his front left leg. So we were off to see the vet, and get some powder called "Sasha's blend" to see if that could help keep his joints moving properly again.

Upon reaching the side street the vet was located on I gave him the left turn command and he just stopped and looked at me, then glanced at the vet building before he started walking forward once more saying "Nope! I don't know what you mean by 'Left Turn' I have never heard you say that before. There is no possible way you would want to go to that place it smells funny. And the two leggers there poke me with sharp things." Bringing us to a halt I looked down at him and said "Now Fleek we have to go there, Ok? There won't be any needles today."

"Oh very well, if I must!" Then noticing I had something in my hand that was not holding his lead, he continued "Hey why have you got my ball in your hand again, give at tu me." Or at least I think that's what he said, his words get a little muffled when he shoves that large toy in his muzzle.

Cutting across the garden and car park we went inside the vets. The receptionist took one look at Fleek and said "Um I can't quite think of his name, but there is only one dog around here, with a ball like that." After we confirmed Fleek's identity beyond "That GSD who always has the brown plastic nob covered football" it was time to climb onto the scales to get a reading so we could work out how much Sasha's Blend powder he should be getting sprinkled on his evening meal.

This proved slightly harder than you might think. Fleek apparently very conscious of his weight did the biggest puppy sit you could imagine; where he managed to get one of his back legs completely off the scales, making him much lighter than he actually was. The Vet nurse told Fleek "That there was no cheating allowed." and I got him to stand up and sit again. This time he dropped his footy which hit the edge of the scales and rapidly started rolling off across the floor. followed a split second later by a sable coloured dog intent on retrieving his precious ball. On the third try with me holding his footy, after giving him the "Give" command the large canine did a proper sit keeping all his paws on the scale and sitting still waiting for his footy to be returned to him once more. Just after the weight of 36 Kg was read and Fleek's ball was safely back in his mouth, the vet came out of the consultation room and said "Oh it's Football dog! How's your paw Mr?" and with that, he walked over and examined Fleek's paw bending it carefully back and forth. Which obviously wasn't the most comfortable for Fleek, for when his paw came close to the limits of travel when being tucked back towards the rest of his leg Fleek pulled his leg back. "Oh sorry mate." the Vet said at Fleek's reaction. "Here have a liver treat" Fleek put his football down at his front paws and licked his jowls, but made no move to take the treat. "He's been trained not to take food from strangers." I explained. "Oh ok, but I'm not a stranger boy." He said to Fleek. "Your stranger than the rest of us." The vet nurse interjected with a laugh. "Hey don't forget who pays your wages young lady." The vet replied with a chuckle before turning back to me and handing over the liver treats bag saying "The bag's almost empty, you might as well take it and he can have his treat later." I thanked the Vet and paid for the tub of powder to help Fleek's joints and we headed home, where after Fleek had his usual big drink of water and settled on his bed, he received the long awaited liver treat which was consumed with great gusto.

--

Today we encountered the enemy, boldly daring to walk right in front of agent 005. Naturally Fleek couldn't permit such a blatant example of disrespect as a cat not giving way to us as we walked down the foot path, so obviously he took off after the cheeky feline. The cat ran around a hedge beside the foot path and into a driveway. I was pulled around the end of the hedge also by the unstoppable force on the other end of the lead. When we entered the end of the driveway things got a little surreal, as the cat had stopped in the middle of the driveway and was just sitting there calmly looking at Fleek. Whom was now very slowly approaching the cat, before coming to a stop and just sitting down to return the cat's look. The two animals separated by less than a metre at this point. Unfortunately I don't speak fluent cat, so I can really only relate the gist of what they were saying to each other based on Fleek side of the conversation. Fleek seemed to be saying "What are you doing? I'm a dog, a big dog! You are supposed to run, so I can chase you!"

The cat just seemed to casually lift a paw to give it a lick asking "Why?"

"Because it's the rules." Fleek stated plainly, remaining in a sitting position but leaning forward to close the gap between them even further.

"Why?"

"It's just how you are supposed to play the game!" By this point Fleek seemed to be a little perplexed, this cat was not acting right. Sure he had known our family cat growing up and they were on good terms, but this cat wasn't part of his pack and it should be running so he could chase it.

At this point the cat raised a back leg to continue his bath, exposing himself to Fleek in the process. "Ah, my eyes." Fleek exclaimed getting up and heading back out of the drive way to resume our walk, calling back to the cat "Ok, be boring then, see if I care."

We saw the cat on subsequent walks from time to time and Fleek would stop for a quick muzzle wag, I also caught him stopping at the driveway to check for the cat every time we went that way, just in case it was around to talk to. It seemed despite their brief encounters they had become friends.

--

Sadly there are no more entries after this point. Fleek's Arthritis slowly got worse in the next few years and he was no longer able to go on long walks. But even at the end when his walks were little more than wandering around the block sniffing flowers and stopping to talk to anyone we met along the way; that didn't stop him from being by my side, every time I picked up his strong German made rope lead, that had seen every single kilometre we had Journeyed together on our almost daily adventures over the years. But it really didn't matter how far we traveled, or where we went. As long as we were together, life was good.