Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

Coco, Rucksack and Wesley all had a great hike together today.  Coco and Rucksack enjoyed their usual stick-related antics.  When I give Rucksack water from the Camelbak he has a tendency to bite/gulp at the stream of water and consequently swallow air, so I've been taking care to train him to drink less frantically by stopping the water flow whenever he starts to gulp.  It only took a few interruptions for him to calm down a bit and drink more g...

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack found a stick he liked early in the hike and brought it almost to the peak of our route, but left it behind a little short.  On our way back, Coco noticed it lying there as we passed by again and she picked it up herself and carried it down most of the way.  Mogul was complimented by a passing hiker for his unique markings.

The Play Pack

Pico had her first day of Pack Activities today when she joined the Pl...

The Adventure Pack

Toskey loves taking shortcuts when we're hiking up or down switchback trails, and meeting the back when we come around the bend.  While she waits, she usually finds a big rock to stand on and survey the area.  Wesley kept up alongside me the whole hike, although he seemed grateful when we took a couple water breaks along the way.  When we stopped for a picture, I asked the whole pack to sit; Wesley decided to lie down.  Coco was back to her ...

The Adventure Pack

Coco and Rucksack hiked together this morning.  As usual, they were both very interested in carrying sticks along with us.  Coco often likes to steal Rucksack's stick, only to have him grab it back when she lets her guard down, at which point she harasses him for it again until he gives it up, and so on...  But today, they passed their stick back and forth willingly, each dropping it more or less at the feet of the other when they were tired of c...

The Adventure Pack

Fletcher had his first day of Pack Activities last Friday when he joined the Play Pack, but today he had his first day out hiking!  He had already met two of his hiking buddies - Coco and Rucksack - and he met Mogul today for the first time.  On the trails, Mogul trotted along at the head of the pack while Fletcher would run up by Mogul, stop and look back at me, wait for me to catch up to him, and then run up next to Mogul again.  When he starte...

The Adventure Pack

Coco and Welsey met a couple friendly dogs at the beginning of today's hike and they pranced around with one another a bit.  I let Wesley off the leash for a few minutes to play with them since he's been so responsive to me and he was very excited to make friends.  He did perfectly well and came right back to me when it was time to move on.  Coco was also good about following me, as she typically is, even though it meant leaving behind their new ...

The Adventure Pack

Coco made friends with a boy on the trails today who was carrying a stick and threw it for her to fetch; she didn't actually bring it back but he was still very amused by her.  Rucksack was occupied with his own sticks throughout the hike, while Mogul was busy marking bushes along the side of the trail.  Mogul was a bit put off by the water coming out of the Camelbak spout, but he drank a little bit eventually.  On the way back, Rucksack made of ...

The Adventure Pack

It was a hot day for hiking today, and Coco, Toskey, and Wesley all came up to me eagerly each time we stopped for a water break along the way.  I think Toskey is the only one who's had previous experience with drinking from a Camelbak spout prior to when I started using it last week, but they're all pros at it now!  Initially, Coco's first instinct was to try to eat the rubber end where the water was coming out, while Wesley just tried to avoid the w...

The Adventure Pack

Coco and Mogul hiked together today.  At the beginning of the hike, we passed by a couple friendly Rhodesian Ridgebacks who were off leash.  Mogul took his poised, play-ready stance as he greeted them and Coco ran all around excitedly.  The older of the two Ridgebacks wasn't very interested in playing, but Coco ran around with the younger one for a little bit and Mogul got in on it too, briefly.

The Play Pack

At the...

Coco and Rucksack started off the hike by running around together through the tall grass.  They're both so excited at the beginning of their time out that they just need to run out some of that energy.  A little while later, Rucksack picked up a stick to bring along.  After a bit, Coco took the stick, and then a short while later Rucksack had it back.  Over the course of the hike, the two of them had a few different sticks that they passed back and forth.