Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

Mogul discovered a tennis ball buried in the snow along the trails today and proceeded to bat it around playfully while his packmates looked on with excitement.  Coco whined and shivered from her excitement and jealousy at Mogul's lucky find. A bit later on, when Mogul left it behind, Benny scooped it up and carried it with us a short way further.  Rucksack wasn't quite as interested in the ball as his packmates but he was very excited ...

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack and Benny chased each other up and down the trails today.  They had tons of energy as they romped together in the snow.  During down-times, Rucksack ate up mouthfuls of snow from beside the trail while Benny preferred the packed snow along the trail itself.

The Play Pack

Coco played catch with a tennis ball today; I call it 'catch' instead of 'fetch' because most of the time, she chased it down and caught it mi...

The Adventure Pack

I took note of each pack member's position during today's hike:  Toskey and Rucksack both walked ahead of me while Mogul and Coco both followed behind.  Toskey spent most of the time with her nose down, sniffing off the side of the trail.  Meanwhile, Rucksack had his head up and was looking intently ahead the whole time.  Mogul seemed to direct his gaze off to the side, watching Toskey sniff aroung, while Coco looked to me frequently.

...

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack and Wesley started the hike off with a lot of romping through the snow together.  Wesley typically trots along behind me for most of the hike like a devoted trooper but the cold weather and snow on the ground really brought out his playful pup side.  Their play got Coco all worked up and she practiced her Chewbacca impression again.  We bumped into Rucksack's human granddad early on in the hike and Rucksack was very excited to see him - ...

The Adventure Pack

Benny kept sticking his face into the snow beside the trail and then leaping back excitedly like he just found buried treasure.  The snow brought out Mogul's playful side and he chased Benny around on and off throughout the hike.  Coco was warm in her stylish winter coat and she was very good about greeting the couple other dogs we saw politely.

The Play Pack

Maverick had fun hopping through the snow and he had a couple...

The Adventure Pack

A number of joggers passed us on the trails today and Coco was very good about leaving them alone.  Not only did she not bark at them - she acted as if they weren't even there.  I gave her treats to encourage her good behavior.  Wesley was his usual self today and followed along behind me for the whole hike.  He occassionally stopped to sniff an interesting spot here or there and then hurried to catch back up.  Benny did a bit more wand...

The Adventure Pack

Benny and Oliver met several friendly pups along the trails today.  We lingered for a bit with an excited black Border Collie who kept running up to Benny and bowing.  Oliver didn't want the high-energy pup to get too close and step on him, so he gave a little growl whenever the Border Collie ran up toward him.

The Play Pack

Maverick was back to the stump with the dug out space underneath it.  He poked his head out...

The Adventure Pack

About halfway through the hike, Toskey decided it was time to pick up a stick and she carried it about halfway back to the trailhead before losing interest.  Mogul and Toskey have gotten playful with each other lately but today they did their own things.  Coco was anxious to greet a dog who passed us on the trail today and she growled for a moment as the dog got close but then she settled down and greeted the pup very politely.

T...

The Adventure Pack

Benny and Oliver had a good time on the hike together today and met a few other friendly pups.  Oliver was rude to the first pup we passed and growled at him but later on he was happy to greet the furry pups along the trail.  Benny got several comments on what a beutiful Ridgeback he is.

The Play Pack

Coco was into fetching right from the get-go today.  She chewed her tennis ball in Benny's face until he started mo...

The Adventure Pack

Toskey and Mogul stayed on the trail and just followed each other around, sniffing at interesting spots.  Rucksack ran around with what looked like a Staffordshire Terrier/German Shorthaired Pointer mix.  The other pup chased him around in big circles that crossed the trail until his guardian and I continued farther along in opposite directions and they broke off to rejoin their respective people.  Coco got very worked up watching Rucksack run ar...