Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

Due to the heat and the fact that most of the trails around the Chautauqua have temporary on-leash requirements for dogs because of bear sightings at this time of year, I took Oliver and Rucksack walking along the Boulder Creek Path.  The air was cool by the Creek and almost the entire path is shaded throughout. We kept up a pretty quick pace.  Rucksack was very interested in all of the new surroundings and his head darted all around to take it in.  Oliver was focused on keeping pace and didn't take in the environment the way Rucksack did.

The Play Pack

Benny was obviously feeling a bit better today.  He spent almost our entire visit on his feet and even had a few playful moments with a couple other dogs.  He dropped into a play bow a few times and pawed at the other pups to get their attention.  Charlie again found a puppy to play with for almost our entire visit.  This one's name was Oliver and they went on and on wrestling with one another and chewing each other's faces.  Maverick seemed to be in better spirits today than yesterday.  He's seemed a bit wary of the other dogs, including his packmates, and I was concerrned he felt like an outsider.  He's hesitant to hop into the car when the other dogs are already inside so I had Benny come out when we picked up Maverick (we hadn't gotten Charlie yet).  Maverick growled at Benny a little when Benny sniffed at his face, and then Benny backed off.  After a minute, Maverick went up behind Benny to give him a good sniff and then they stood side by side.  I had Maverick hop into the car and Benny followed, and they each got a treat.  When we got to the park, Maverick went out into the open space instead of hanging around the gate.  He followed along with me and Benny as we walked around the park; meanwhile, Charlie was playing with his puppy friend.  Maverick was generally more interested in being around the other dogs today and I think he'll be comfortable at the park before too long.