Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

Coco greeted all of her packmates with her usual excitement today.  Her tail is a dangerous weapon when she's happy!  Wesley always politely ignores her as he just waits to get out and walking; Rucksack tries to ignore her but she's more persistent with him and they eventually end up gnawing on one another; Toskey is just as animated as Coco when the two of them greet each other and there's lots of mouthing, whining, and groaning between them.  On the trails, Toskey and Rucksack ran and played together while Wesley and Coco hiked at my side.  Toskey found a stick that she carried around for a bit before Rucksack stole it from her.  Toskey has stolen sticks from her packmates before but this was the first time I remember seeing her pick up a random stick for herself.  We haven't hiked as far up the Third Flatiron this week as last week since it's gotten hot out again.  When I pause and ask, "Who's thirsty?" everyone immediately turns to me, sits down, and looks at me expectantly; I guess I must have a habit of saying that before I give them water from the Camelbak, because they all clearly know what it means!

The Play Pack

There was a lot of play going on at the park today!  Pico and Fletcher make a great pair since Pico loves being chased and Fletcher loves to chase her.  When she sees them having fun, Coco gets in on it too and either chases Pico alongside Fletcher or tries (though never succeeds) to tackle Fletcher as he runs by.  Brady played lots of fetch.  When we first got to the park, Mable waddled around when she met and was sniffed by other dogs, in a clear display of submission; she sometimes even rolls over onto her back.  By the end of the visit, however, she was trotting around with her tail up and chasing down tennis balls.  I'm amazed that she's able to hold a ball in her mouth that's as big as her own head, but she does it!  Brady also impressed me when he chased down a rubber ball that's bigger than a tennis ball that he was able to carry; It had a diameter probably about 30% bigger than a tennis ball!  Fletcher and Coco played some fetch, too.  Pico chased down a ball once but she didn't even bother to pick it up.  Mable saw that playful, fluffy black dog again.  He really wanted to play and hopped all around her, but she seemed overwhelmed and at one point even came over to me and hid under my leg; but she was still interested in him and kept going over to see him.