Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

Today was a beautiful day and the pack was great on the hike.  Benny and Mogul have very similar demeanors when hiking.  They both tend to stay behind me and often get caught up in a smell alongside the trail until we're a ways up ahead.  Then I call to them and they come running back up to join the pack.  They trot along in front briefly, then start haging behind again for a while until another scent catches their interest and we do it all ...

The Adventure Pack

Wesley and Benny enjoyed their time off leash together.  They both like to follow behind me - Wesley trots along just a few paces back while Benny gets caught up sniffing a spot off the side of the trail and then catches up before getting distracted again.  Coco has been working on walking on-leash without pulling.  She's had more trouble with it lately than she used to.  I'm wondering whether it's a common phase - Rucksack started pulling m...

The Adventure Pack

Welsey and Rucksack enjoyed exploring together during today's hike.  Rucksack found a couple different small logs to carry around.  Benny enjoyed nibbling at the ends of one while Rucksack held it in his mouth.  Later, Coco got a hold of one and she and Rucksack had a tug-of-war over it that was broken up by long periods of just standing side-by-side, each holding on but not trying to steal it away.  It's really cute when they do that. ...

The Adventure Pack

Coco and Toskey were both a bit wound up on today's hike.  On a couple occassions when another dog passed by us on leash, the two of them growled and pulled on their leashes toward the other dog.  We made frequent stops and took a slower pace after that so I could check them regularly and keep them calm.  Benny and Rucksack were both more mild-mannered.  Benny nibbled on his packmate's neck and Rucksack, who sometimes seems bothered by the a...

The Adventure Pack

The trails were full of people today and there were a good number of dogs out, too.  Rucksack and Wesley served as the pack's ambassadors to all of the hikers we passed.  They were both very affectionate and gentle in their duties and we got a lot of pleasant comments.  RUcksack drew a few laughs with his penchant for big-stick-carrying.  Coco was a bit freaked out when the first group of noisy kids passed us by early in the hike but she got...

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack and Coco were both in a pulling mood today, so I didn't trust them to go off leash.  Mogul met a friendly dog along the trails who he really wanted to follow in the opposite direction.  Eventually I coaxed him to join me and his packmates and we continued on.  Benny was very interested in checking out the brush alongside the trail today and hung back to sniff at every opportunity he got.

The Play Pack...

The Adventure Pack

Benny and Rucksack had a great time off leash together today.  They were both behaving very well and coming when called.  Rucksack was back to his old habit of stick-carrying.  Benny followed him around, nibbling at the end of the stick whenever he got a chance.  I caught a picture of Benny sneaking out from the brush to ambush Rucksack for his stick.  Wesley was well-behaved off-leash today, too.  He was less playful than his pack...

The Adventure Pack

Benny got to spend most of the hike off leash with Wesley today and he did very well.  He trotted along with his on-leash packmates, just a bit off the side of the trail, sniffing intently at everything we passed.  At one point, when we crossed over a small, open field, Benny had a burst of energy that he didn't know what to do with so he just ran around in circles for a couple minutes.  Coco and Rucksack watched intently, forgetting they were on...

The Adventure Pack

Coco was looking spiffy in her new collar today.  It look like it has a stronger buckle so we won't have an issue with it popping open again like it did last Friday.  She was well-behaved throughout the hike today, although I did hear her rumbling a little when we were standing to the side of the trail and another hiker passed by us.  It was only that one time though; during the rest of the hike she didn't seem bothered by anyone else we came acr...

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack had his first day off-leash in a few weeks, aside from the time I let him off for just a short bit earlier in the week.  He did very well with coming back to me when I called and not straying too far.  He was ecstatic when I first let him off and he leaped and bounded all around.  His excitement rubbed off on Wesley, who was off-leash with him, and the two of them romped around together.  Benny and Coco did well on-leash today. ...