Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

We came by a couple of Benny's Ridgeback friends on our way back down the trail and all the pups took full advantage of the energy and excitement.  Coco and Rucksack gave an enthusiastic greeting to Benny's friends while Rucksack and Toskey ran in the field together.  After that, Benny, Coco, and one of the other Ridgebacks chased each other around.  The pack was thrilled!

The Play Pack

We walked a few laps around t...

The Adventure Pack

The pack had a good hike up the First Flatiron today.  The weather was nice and cool, and not windy like yesterday.  It was perfect for a hike!  Rucksack, Coco, and Benny all sat nicely and waited whenever I brought them over to the side of the trail to let other hikers (and sometimes their dogs) pass.  Coco even let a little boy pet her.  I warned her that she gets nervous about strangers approaching her sometimes and, after saying hel...

The Adventure Pack

While hiking up the Chautauqua Trail today, Benny and Oliver had a surprise encounter with their mom!  They were very, very excited to say hello.  Afterwards, Sputnik was all stirred up by the commotion and was pretty rambunctious for most of the rest of the hike.  He really wanted to tackle Benny and wrestle around.  Rucksack in turn wanted to tackle Sputnik.  The leashes kept getting very tangled very quickly, but eventually everyone ...

The Adventure Pack

Our packmate Sage from this summer rejoined the pack and came out with Coco and Rucksack this morning.  Sage had fun with Rucksack, nibbling at his front legs playfully and then running up and down the trail together.  Later on, Rucksack found a stick and he and Coco had a tug-of-war over it, which Rucksack eventually won.  It was crazy windy when we first got on the trails, but it was a lot less intense once we got up into the mountains, and had...

The Adventure Pack

We had a new pack member today: Sputnik!  Sputnik is a very cute, 19-week old Rottweiler/Australian Cattle Dog(?) mix.  Sputnik is from the same family as our former packmate Mogul, who passed away earlier this year.  Mogul was an amazing dog who helped me teach many of our current pack members the ropes when they were just pups, so Sputnik has some big paws to fill.  When he and Benny met this morning, they instantly hit it off.  Sputn...

The Adventure Pack

Usually the pack walks in two files, one on either side of me.  For part of today's hike, Coco, Benny, Toskey, and Rucksack were all walking side-by-side to my right and I was struck by what an impression they made all together like that.  It didn't last very long, though, because everyone wanted to go in different directions today.  Eventually we fell back into our usual pattern, with Coco to my left and Toskey behind her, Rucksack to my right a...

The Adventure Pack

Benny and Rucksack both got to spend the entire hike off leash today and were both very well behaved.  We went up the First Flatiron and when we reached the point were it gets steeper and rockier, we kept going a bit instead of turning around like we usually do.  Benny led the way up but when it was time to head back down he paced nervously back and forth, looking dubiously at the steep rock faces and whimpering.  Rucksack whizzed by his packmate...

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack, Benny, Oliver, and I had a very relaxing hike today.  The weather was cool but not chilly - perfect for hiking in.  The pups were all calm and very well behaved.  Benny and Oliver spent most of the hike off leash and were both very good about coming to me when I called.  Benny and Rucksack both carried small sticks for a little while.  Numerous other hikers commented today on the extreme variety between our three pack members....

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack got another try off leash today and did exceptionally well.  He didn't take off when I first unhooked his leash, he came right up to me every time I called him, and he found himself a job to do by carrying a stick as he so often likes to.  Coco was definitely jeaous to see Rucksack wandering with a bit more freedom, and she kept trying to run over to him.  If I had let her off leash with him, I think the excitement would have sent them r...

The Adventure Pack

Coco had an off-leash test run today and did very well.  She didn't bolt off when I took the leash off, she didn't wander too far, and she came when I called her!  Yesterday's intensive practice paid off.  We'll see how our other packmates do as the week progresses.  It was great for Rucksack, Oliver, and Benny to see an example today of better behavior when off-leash.  Benny is usually quite good, but Rucksack proved to be somewhat in ...