Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

Rucksack found a tennis ball along the trails that Toskey left behind on our hike yesterday.  When he popped up from the side of the trail with it, Brady became very interested, but Rucksack kept it for himself.  Brady had no trouble keeping up on his first hike with the Adventure Pack.  When we took a brief break at the peak of our route, Mogul sat down right next to me and enjoyed some petting.  Earlier in the hike, we came across a couple super-excited Pit Bulls who were on leash and Mogul went over to say hello.  He walked up and stood calmly in front of them, a couple feet away, while their guardian was struggling to hold onto their leashes - they weren't aggressive, just very excited to meet some new doggy friends.  I called Mogul over because I could see that the girl had her hands full since Mogul standing there was driving her dogs wild.  He lingered for a few moments before coming to me, though - I think he was quietly taunting them.  Coco got riled up by the other dogs' energy and barked at them before I got her attention and we continued on.

The Play Pack

At the park, Mogul saw the playful Oscar again.  Oscar was excited to see him and play-bowed and pawed at his face to get him going, but Mogul wasn't really into it today.  Later on, I got Mogul to run around with me a bit.  Brady played a lot of fetch and I worked on having him drop the ball when he comes back with it.  I tempted him with a treat and he immediately dropped the ball and focused on me; then I had him sit and wait while I picked up the ball before giving him the treat.  After just a few repititions, he was dropping the ball and sitting even if I didn't have a treat in hand (though he probably thought I did).  Mable chased down a few tennis balls again today, too.  I don't think it will ever stop amusing me to see her trotting around with a tennis ball held in her tiny mouth.  She got the attention of a hyper 6-month old puppy and she came running over to me for shelter when his energy got to be too much for her.  Coco got excited by the scene and came over to me, too, and she and Mable nipped at each other anxiously, so I had them both calm down for a minute.  Coco gets very playful with Mable and likes to play-bow and lie down in front of her while whining and groaning for her attention, but it's usually a little too intense for Mable.  By the time we left the park, however, Coco was asleep in the packmobile and Mable was walking around between her outstretched legs while sniffing at her.