Leader of the Pack

The Adventure Pack

There weren't any lizard encounters on the trails today but Wesley had a fleeting curiosity in a grasshopper that took a couple leaps to cross the trail just ahead of us.  Benny was stopping in place and planting his feet every 30 seconds or so at the beginning of the hike so I tried taking a slower pace.  When he kept doing it, I lined up behind him with the rest of the pack and let him lead the way instead.  At first, he moved very slowly and stopped regularly but with a little coaxing and nudging from behind he started trotting along at a good pace, glancing back every so often to make sure the pack was still behind him.  Rucksack had trouble letting Benny walk in front at first because he always strives to take the lead but he got used to it before long and then walked at my side very well.  He tried out a couple different short sticks along the way but didn't keep either for long.  Coco and Wesley followed along happily throughout, sticking by my side and not getting into any trouble.  Coco leaned over to sniff the hands of passing hikers every now and then.

The Play Pack

Coco and Benny played keep-away and tug-of-war with a well-chewed frisbee and later with a big stick.  Coco did most of the keep-away, then Benny caught up and unsuccessfully tried stealing it away.  After a brief standoff, Coco took off with it again.  When Coco wasn't playing with Benny, she and Charlie were running around the park and wrestling around with each other.  Charlie also had a great time with a young white Australian Cattle Dog mix.  After running around a bit, they lied down face-to-face and alternately rolled onto their backs while the other chewed at them.  Toward the end of our visit, I picked up a small branch that had a bunch of leafy twigs to get Coco's attention but Maverick, who was standing by me, surprised me when he dove for it.  He immediately started stripping the leaves off - grabbing a twig in his mouth and then pressing the branch down with a paw to snap it off.  He worked diligently until all of the leafy twigs were removed.