A walk in the other park

On occasion, Elka and I hop into the car and go to another park that's just outside of town. It's nice and quiet there, and there tend to be few people or other dogs around. 

Reward Calmness

I was at the park today with Elka on the long line, when I saw a person approaching with her dog.  It was a yellow lab puppy, I'm not sure how old, but twenty to thirty ish pounds. They were all over the path as they approached, so I put Elka on her regular short leash to wait them out. The puppy was on a retractable leash, and I heard the mechanism squeal as he pulled out more length, even though it was "locked". Elka put herself in a down, and I stood on the long leash (still attached to her harness). She seemed less than happy with the puppy antics, and since the woman didn't seem to have full control, either due to puppy exuberance or lack of interest in doing so, I didn't think they ought to "say hello".