Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

Everyone kept close together throughout our walk along Bear Creek today.  Rucksack grabbed up a couple pinecones along the way but didn't hold onto them for long.  We passed by a few houses with barking dogs in the backyards, which got Coco a bit riled up.  I was happy to see that Oliver, who sometimes gets vocal, stayed at my side and kept walking without missing a beat.  Benny nudged my hand with his wet nose every once in a while while he walked next to me; I guess he wanted to make sure I was still there.  Or maybe he just smelled the faint residue of treats I gave them earlier on.

The Play Pack

Coco gets so into fetching that sometimes she ignores her surroundings as she chases down the ball.  Today, she barreled straight into the side of Hobbes, a young Mastiff who's about 4 times her size.  Hobbes was pretty much unaffected, but Coco was startled and yelped.  She didn't appear to have hurt herself, though - no limping and she was back to running around about 20 seconds later.  Meanwhile, Charlie was having a great time with an 11 month old pup named Alfie.  We met Alfie a couple months ago but haven't seen him in a while.  He and Charlie had a great time together.  At one point, Charlie ducked under Alfie and then they stumbled around together with Alfie sideways on top of Charlie's back.  Benny followed me around at the park but didn't play much with other dogs today.  He did meet a chocolate Lab mix who he was interested in but they had trouble getting into playful spirits together.  At first, Benny pawed at the other dog and was met with sharp growls to back off.  Then, a bit later, the other dog started wiggling and play-bowing around Benny but there were several dogs around and Benny didn't seem to notice.  Maverick did a bit of ball chasing, although he spent most of today's visit just standing around and watching the other dogs.  He's less hesitant about getting into the car with his packmates now.  I'm wondering whether a playful side will come out more and more as he gets more and more used to his new pack.