Leader of the Pack

Rucksack had his first day of Pack Activities today!

I took a few minutes when I first picked him up to get him used to hopping into the car on his own, which he is now doing without a problem.

Although there were no packmates today (Chelsea's leg is hurt so she couldn't come out), we came across a yellow Lab and a yellow Labradoodle on the hike who we walked with for about the first half.  Rucksack had a great time running around with these new f...

During our walk today, I noticed a long row of completely empty bicycle racks by Stazio ballfield, and it gave me an idea.  I took Chelsea and Mogul to the racks and had them follow me as we weaved through them, side to side.  They both had a little trouble following me on the first few weaves, trying to just walk alongside of the racks instead of going between them; but halfway through it they had the rhythm.  We went down and back and at the end of it I gave them each a treat...

Marley and Chelsea started pawing playfully at one another the moment Chelsea hopped into the packmobile today.  They continued to play with each other throughout our visit.  Marley also had a lot of fun wrestling around with a dog named Stella, who I think is an Irish Wolfhound mix.  Chelsea found a little dog who caught her interest she and followed her around nose-first while the little dog danced all around, excited to have Chelsea's attention.

Mogul stopped at that same fork in the road today as he had a couple weeks ago.  I decided to let him lead the way for a bit, but he eventually just stopped and didn't seem to have anywhere in mind to go; so we turned around and headed back down the right path.  So much for seeing why Mogul always wants to go down that way...

I can't keep track of all the playmates Marley finds at the dog park!  Any dog with a bounce in his/her step becomes her playmate - unti...

Marley had a good time playing with some big dogs today.  One was an Alaskan Malamute, the other two looked like Anatolian Shepherd mixes but I'm not sure.  They were all probably 2-3 times her weight!  But for what Marley lacks in size she more than makes up for in energy.

Chelsea hung out in the shade a lot of the time.  She layed down under a table with Buzz for a while and they chewed and licked each other.  They're so affectionate with one anoth...

Whatever was bothering Mogul this morning seemed to have passed.  He kept up during the walk, his poop was solid, and he felt good enough to wrestle around with Chelsea at the park.

Chelsea also played alot with a German Short-Haired Pointer named Kora.  Kora tried to get Mogul to play with her too; but Mogul preferred chewing on Chelsea, or just lounging around and watching.

Misha, Sophia, and Chelsea all had fun at the dog park today.

Misha loves chasing down tennis balls when I kick them around.  She was a little shy around other dogs, I think because she hasn't been to the park with me in a while.  She, Sophia, and Chelsea had a good run together all around the park, though.  With new playmates, she just needs to get to a certain comfort level and then she has a blast like she did after she met Mogul a couple months ago.

Mogul, Misha, and Sophia went on an off-leash hike in Chautauqua this morning.  Mogul's tendency to lag behind a bit was more pronounced without a leash on, as he was pretty consistently about 5 yards back from me for most of the hike - until the the end of our return trip when he would go up ahead, turn back and wait, and then go up ahead again.

Misha and Sophia stuck around me most of the time, but a little more than halfway through the hike Misha saw a chipmunk and d...

Mogul stopped at the same spot on the way back during our walk today as he did last week.  I didn't fall for it this time, but I wonder why he's so interested in going down that way.  If he does it again on Thursday I may indulge him just to try and track down the source of his interest.

At the park, Chelsea and Mogul played together a bit until a yellow lab named Neptune showed up and they both became interested in him.  Chelsea followed Neptune around for mo...

The wind made for a chillier outing today than I expected.  Marley and Chelsea were full of energy today.  Chelsea did more running around than usual and found a big, fluffy, white Lab mix to play with.  She also met a little Rat Terrier mix with a bit of an attitude, but wasn't bothered by his growls - it just made her all the more curious about the little one.

Marley and Buzz teamed up in chasing a long-haired black dog named Stella around for a while.&...