Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

We practiced on-leash manners again on today's hike.  Rucksack has a tendency to anticipate where we're going and always wants to beat everyone there, which causes him to pull ahead on the leash.  After about 30 minutes, though, he fell into place at my side and was much better.  When we come to a fork in the road, he leans in one direction and looks at me to see if he's right.  Coco was snippy when someone we passed reached out to pet her, ...

The Adventure Pack

Sage has gotten totally comfortable with me and her packmates now and she got to enjoy being off leash on our hike for the first time today.  She followed Rucksack all around - splashing in the stream, chasing him in circles around the trail, sniffing interesting spots along the way.  Rucksack thoroughly enjoyed her tagging along with him, and gave her playful head-butts to get her attention and rile her into chasing him.  Later on, Benny followe...

The Adventure Pack

We practiced good on-leash walking during today's hike, and the pack did very well.  We passed several dogs at different points along the way, and Coco, Benny, and Rucksack all stayed at my side without trying to drag me over, even though they were all very interested in saying hello.

The Play Pack

It was drizzling a bit when we got to the park, but cleared up after the first 20 minutes or so.  Benny and Oscar had a gre...

The Adventure Pack

Isaac, an energetic Australian Cattle Dog who usually goes out with me in the late afternoons, joined the pack today.  His bubbly energy got Benny feeling playful right from the beginning of the hike.  Benny tried to keep up as Isaac kept sprinting up the trail and back.When Isaac found a big branch to carry, it slowed his pace down enough for Benny to acually follow him around.  Rucksack wandered up ahead a lot during today's hike but he was goo...

The Adventure Pack

Coco just loves rolling around in the grass.  I wonder whether it's an itch on her back, or the smell of it, or if she just really loves grass.  Benny hovered over her and watched, perplexed, as she writhed around ecstatically beside the trail, chomping at blades that found their way into her mouth.  Later on, Toskey and Rucksack had a great time off leash together.  Toskey found a stick to chew on for a minute and then Rucksack gave her a c...

The Adventure Pack

Coco and Rucksack were off leash together for the first time in a while and they really made the most of it.  They love to chase each other, which is part of why I usually let them off separately - once they get going they sometimes don't listen to me and run way up ahead.  They stayed close today; but they still did a lot of running!  Wesley and Benny were much more mellow during their turn off leash together.  Wesley flopped down in some g...

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack and Sage were both thrilled to splash around in the stream we passed early on in today's hike.  Rucksack found a big log in the water that he carried up to the top of the trail.  Sage got playful with him and tried to steal his log, though Rucksack didn't let that happen.  Oliver followed Rucksack up the trail as we made our ascent, with me, Sage, and Benny following.  After dropping his log at the top of the Amphitheatre trail...

The Adventure Pack

I snapped a few photos of the pack sitting by the trail during today's hike.  Rucksack sat in place and waited patiently; Benny decided to lie down instead of sitting; Wesley kept getting up and inching closer to me when I knelt to take the pictures; and Coco quickly got bored and decided to flop down and roll around in the grass instead.  Check out the Pack Photos to see.

The Play Pack

After making a couple rounds alon...

The Adventure Pack

Oliver and Benny followed behind me and Rucksack throughout their time off leash.  Usually, Oliver takes the lead on the way down but today he was content to just follow along.  Rucksack picked out a stick to carry after having taken the past week or so off from his usual stick duties.

The Play Pack

Coco and Oscar both played fetch throughout today's park visit.  Maverick was feeling fiesty today and he hung out ar...

The Adventure Pack

The Pack stuck close together throughout today's hike.  Coco, Benny, and Rucksack all sniffed out a lot of the same spots together.  When Rucksack found something worth investigating, Benny was quick to join him, and then Coco would shoulder in alongside her packmates, not to be left out.

The Play Pack

Oscar managed to snag some tennis balls today even though he had to compete with Sage, who is a tennis ball maniac....