Leader of the Pack

Adventure Pack

Sputnik and Coco were both feeling less amiable today than they have been lately.  They barked and growled at the first dog who passed the car right after we parked by the trailhead, and required a bit more distance as we passed others on the trails.  When we weren't managing social skills, the pair of them walked very nicely in place just behind me and made occasional stops to sniff around.

Play Pack

Isaac broke up his usua...

Adventure Pack

The skies were surprisingly clear this morning despite the fire in Sunshine Canyon still burning.  Sputnik and Coco took up positions on the scent-investigations committee while Mamacita supervised.  The pair of them were adamant about checking out various spots off the side of the trail.  While Mamacita didn't show anywhere near as much enthusiasm as her packmates, she did occasionally join them for a casual sniff before we moved along.

Adventure Pack

Sputnik has been behaving himself in a much more civil manner in his encounters with other dogs on the trail lately.  There was one dog who was pulling at the leash to come over and sniff hello with the pack, and Sputnik only gave a subtle grumble before walking on.  Rucksack, on the other hand, returned the other dog's enthusiasm as they sniffed hello.  Mamacita and Coco were indifferent and just trotted on by.  Sputnik was less interested in s...

Adventure Pack

So many hikers wanted to stop to say hello to the pack today.  Monarch, Clover, and Sputnik were all eager to give and recieve love from everyone that was interested.  Coco was happy to greet the first couple groups of hikers who stopped to say hello, but seemed to grow a bit uneasy about all the attention we were getting and started to hang back while her packmates licked at faces and got all the pets they could.

Play Pack

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Adventure Pack

Sputnik was actually the one who stayed calm and friendly while Coco and Mamacita growled a bit at an excited, young dog who came up to say hello on the trails this morning.  We passed by a few other dogs later on and everyone was fine.  Sputnik wasn't as insistent about sniffing and peeing on everything today.  Coco, Mamacita, and him all just trotted along happily.

Play Pack

Colby, Ruffers, Thompson, and Coco h...

Adventure Pack

We encountered an friendly, old chocolate Lab at the trailhead this morning.  He waited in place on the trail ahead of us for the pack to converge on him.  Roger Roger, Mamacita, Sputnik, and Coco all sniffed their greetings.  Once on the trails, the pack was very thorough in their olfactory investigations - stopping frequently for long assessments of various points of interest.  Sputnik usually punctuated their stops with a scent-marking.  ...

Adventure Pack

Even though Mamacita and Rucksack were hiking side-by-side today, Rucksack didn't spend any time licking Mamacita's ears.  He seemed much more interested in making progress on the trail, as he pulled a bit throughout the hike.  Whereas Rucksack was eager to move forward, Sputnik kept wanting to make stops so he could leave scent marks along the way.  Meanwhile, Coco and Mamacita were much less insistent than their packmates and just followed me aroun...

Adventure Pack

We came across a Burnese Mountain Dog at the trailhead, right at the outset of today's hike.  Clover and Monarch were both eager to say hello, but we kept a little distance since Sputnik's reaction could have been unpredictable.  We did pass by pretty closely, though, and Sputnik kept calm, so he got some love and pets right after we passed.  Again there were no deer sightings today.  Monarch took a couple long drinks from the Camelbak today. &#...

Adventure Pack

There were no deer sightings on our hike this morning.  Coco, Sputnik, and Mamacita just made their way along the trails around the Chautauqua together, making occassional stops to sniff around.  We passed more people and dogs on the trails today, as the warmer weather has brought out the hikers again.  We had mostly peaceful and pleasant passings, except once when Sputnik got riled up at the passing of a dogs who didn't even seem to be paying any at...