Dave and the Leaf Blower

The idea of cleaning out the leaves in my backyard made me a little nervous because I didn't want to scare Dave, a dog we are taking care of this week. I started out slowly - quick on and off bursts of air to move the leaves closest to the house .

Dave reacted by jumping and barking, wagging his tail and flexing his body all over the place. He seemed unafraid and, in fact, looked at the whole thing as an opportunity to play. He leapt at the airborne leaves and chased others along the ground. That's when he realized what it was like to have his hair ruffled by the leaf blower.

He liked it so much that he constantly strolled, accidentally on purpose, in front of the machine to have his fur windblown and tosseled. I was careful to only point the nozzle towards the trunk of his body as he didn't like getting that wind in his ears. But he would have stood there for hours if I'd have kept the air on his skin.