Hiking mixed with a little training

I took the dogs over to Morgan Territory again for a hike after I left the Osteen Pumpkin Farm today. I decided to work a little on the commands for sledding/carting with them. Right now I'm getting them used to the words, "Gee" for right and "Ha" for left and "Hike" for them to "mush" so to speak.

Timber did most of the work when I had them help pull me up the hills, a few times Jade looked back to check something out but was jerked back to attention since they are attached together at their harnesses. I use one leash and then a "V" shaped attachment at the end that hooks to their collar or harness. I finally bought a new harness so they both have one now.

I also allowed them to run free off leash quite a bit. I'm really proud of how obedient they are when let off leash. They run far ahead of me, but when they loose sight of me, they turn around and run back to me to check in. If I whistle to them to return, they will come right back. I feel really fortunate to have such good dogs, many people with Huskies or Malamutes have trouble with recall and keeping their dogs from running off.

Since the rain last week, there was actually water in the ponds and creeks. They got so muddy and got right into the ponds in the dirty water! My car is filthy, well the blanket on the back seat mostly. I've been looking into getting a beat up truck or SUV for cheap to use when I take them out so I can save my little Civic from getting too much more beat up. Not to mention they are getting a little cramped in that backseat.

Jade is growing quickly and is about 47 pounds. She is almost as tall and long as Timber now. Timber is holding pretty steady and is about 69 pounds and he is pretty strong, yet still so gentle. I love my dogs, they are so much work, but give me so much in return.

A couple of dirty, wiped out dogs

Morgan Territory

A missed opportunity to go to the Tamele festival in Sacramento led to a great afternoon hike in Morgan Territory with my friend, Nikki, her dog Murphy and her neice Reagan and nephew Terry....and of course my pups Timber and Jade. The hot weather we've been having was forgiving and it was cool, perfect for a hike....and with the storm coming in I was able to get some beautiful photos of the landscape and cloud formations. The dogs of course, were in heaven running loose through the trails and exploring all the smells from cows, coyotes and mountain lions. The kids had a blast looking for cow bones and trying to keep up with the dogs...poor Murphy had to stay on leash though...a bloodhound has a one-track mind. Surprisingly, I wasn't sore the following days, depsite the hills and piggy-back ride I gave Reagan. :-) Good times, we all can't wait to go again!

Quality time

Today was a bit stressful at my new job. People seeming to be dropping like flys as the "bug" makes its way from one teacher to the next. What a season to be jumping into a new job! I'm learning this new school's processes as I go. I have to say though, the people I work for and with are really great and supportive. I am pretty hard on myself and expect a lot of myself, so things are always a little worse than than they really are in my eyes.

The moment I got home from work, I grabbed Timber and my nephew, Christian tagged along. We intended to find the trails near my house...but with no luck. So back to the dog park at Black Diamond...

Timber, Christian (Bub) and I all needed to get out. Bub is quite the emotional young boy and in great need of one on one time and time to himself. As much as I value my time alone to mellow, I know getting him out, just the three of us does him a world of good...not to mention give my dad a break from Bub's many meltdowns, many of which are a result of his little brother's annoying behaviors that run on an energizer battery! Poor Bub, he starts out so nice and calm when he responds to Patryk, but Pat doesn't let up and eventually Bub snaps!

It's great to see how happy Bub can get around dogs. He loves Timber and today there were a ton of dogs at the park thanks to the nice sunny day....regardless of the chill in the air. Bub was grabbing tennis balls left and right trying so hard to get all of the dogs' attention. Timber sure got a good work-out himself. He was worn out by the time we resigned from the dog area to play in the sandbox.

Our little outing ended up lasting two hours! Bub, Timber and I were the last ones to have dinner when we finally arrived at home about 7 pm

"Play Therapy"
....and he wondered why he had sand inside his socks when we got ready to go home!

Worn out little pup