Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

Benny and Wesley had a good time running together on the trails today.  As usual, Benny started nibbling at Wesley and trying to get him to chase him but Wesley ignored him for a while.  When we reached a ridge where a light breeze made it feel much colder, Wesley seemed to get a burst of energy and then ran with his packmate.  A short while later they briefly disappeared over the ridge together and I suddenly caught a whiff of skunk, but thankfu...

The Adventure Pack

The pack was really into sniffing on the trails today.  Coco, Rucksack, and Benny all stopped at several places together and then all had their noses glued to the ground for several minutes, no doubt finding out interesting things about who or what had passed through before us.  Oliver was less interested in the world of smells.  He followed along behind me when we were on the move and when we stopped for his packmates to get a good sniff, O...

The Adventure Pack

We stopped along the trail at one point and everybody sat; but instead of giving them treats as I usually do, I scooped up a snowball for each pack member.  Benny gobbled his up in a heartbeat.  Rucksack also polished his off pretty handily.  Toskey sniffed at it for a moment before chomping down.  Coco, who was the most excited and was sitting poised the whole time with her butt slightly off the ground, grabbed it in such a hurry that ...

The Adventure Pack

The pack did a lot of sniffing deep in the snow today.  Benny led the investigations and as soon as his head popped out of the snow, Wesley and Coco were there to see what he had discovered.  Most of the time, there was nothing I could discern, but now and then Benny would come up with a pine cone or a small branch that he paraded around proudly while his packmates searched for anything still left for them in the freshly dug pocket of snow.

The Adventure Pack

Benny tried to get his packmates to run with him by nudging them with his nose and then turning and bolting.  Wesley ignored him for a while but then eventually went after him.  Wesley ended up flopping down in a snow bank and letting Benny mouth at his neck for a minute before hopping up with a grunt to let Benny know he'd had enough.  Rucksack would have chased Benny around as well but he was on leash when Benny was trying to taunt him into it....

The Adventure Pack

We met a friendly woman who asked to say hello to the pack today.  Rucksack went right up and leaned his side against her.  Coco started to get a little worked up and bit at Rucksack's leash so I squatted down and got her attention to calm her.  Then the woman came over to Benny and Wesley, who both just stood and looked up at her.  Coco had settled down at that point and then she got some love, too.

The Play Pack

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack and Benny played more together than they ever have before.  It started off with Rucksack jumping all over Benny and then they ran all around together.  After a bout of play, they would pause to chomp on snow.  Then, it was right back to wrestling and running, almost always instigated by Rucksack.

The Play Pack

Maverick chased Coco again today but then they came to a standstill and just started barking at o...

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack and Toskey romped in the snow together along the Mesa trail. Every so often, Rucksack flopped down in the middle of the snowy trail and wiggled around. Afterward, they found a pine branch to play tug-of-war with and then ended up just walking side-by-side, sharing it. Coco snatched up a twig that broke off of her packmates' branch and then Benny greedily stole it from her and chewed it all up.  He also ate several mouthsful of snow.

The Adventure Pack

The pack loved romping in the freshly fallen snow today.  Wesley and Rucksack ran around together for a while.  Every so often, Wesley would just lie down in the snow and then Rucksack would jump around him while he threw his head about playfully, daring Rucksack to come and get him.  Benny and Coco had a lot of fun together later.  In addition to just leaping through the snow side-by-side, they played a game of tag while running circle...

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack and Benny had a bout of playful wrestling during today's hike.  Afterward, they both enjoyed chomping on snow.  Oliver wasn't interested in eating any snow but he met some friendly dogs including a little Westie.  We also came across a mild-mannered black lab and Oliver went straight up to him, stood up on his back legs while leaning against the dog's chest with his front paws, and they sniffed each other's faces.

T...