Adventure Pack Due to the smoke that was thick in the air, I decided to take a leisurely pace along flat trails with Sputnik and Dylan. The boys were happy to take their time and thoroughly sniff various shrubs and blades of grass along the way. When they both got to be off leash together for a while, they just ambled along a short way ahead of me. Sputnik ran up ahead and spun around once; but when Dylan didn't react to the goading, Sputnik just trotted back and returned

Adventure Pack When I let Griff off the leash today, he looked up at me a couple times as if to check whether it was really okay to go ahead. I reassured him and he trotted up the trail to sniff ahead of the pack. Sputnik joined him a short while later, and the two of them together headed for the shade of the nearest tree. During our first water break, I decided to keep the water coming until Sputnik and Racer each turned away - Griff wasn't interested in taking a drink.

Adventure Pack Sputnik and Riley had a good time sniffing and marking spots all along the trails at the Chautauqua this morning. Sputnik was usually the first to home in on a point of interest, and then Riley would follow up behind him. There were several areas that caught their attention, and more so near the trail head. Variety Pack Poppy, Rey, Lou, and Zoey headed to the Bear Creek Path for their walk this afternoon. When we stopped for a photo, Poppy, Rey, and Lou were

Adventure Pack Roger Roger followed Dylan around, as Dylan scouted ahead on the trails at the Chautauqua today. They never wandered too far, and were both pretty good about turning back and checking in when I called them. We came by quite a few other dogs along the way, so Sputnik stayed on leash with me for the hike. The pack was very good about pulling over to the side of the trail with me and staying calm as the other dogs passed. Variety Pack Poppy and Lou were both fu

Adventure Pack Sputnik, Griff, and Racer enjoyed hiking at the Chautauqua this morning. Sputnik got to spend some time off leash with Griff again today. Every now and then, I remember how much Racer used to pull on leash during our hikes, and I am struck by how greatly she has improved on that front. Variety Pack Mamacita and Avo were back at it with rolling in the grass together today. Riley even joined in at one point. As usual, Zoey did not indulge in such antics durin

Adventure Pack We came across a pretty empty and open stretch of trail at the Chautauqua this morning, so Sputnik was able to join Dylan off leash for a bit. There were a couple forks along the way where Dylan had different ideas about which trail we should be taking, but he wasn't too stubborn when he saw me heading the other way. I stopped to offer Sputnik some water at one point, and Dylan came and sat at my feet with his back to me, implicitly requesting some love. I a

Adventure Pack Griff sniffed at the air for a while when we stopped for a water break just before heading up the mountain from the Baseline Trail. We weren't far from the Gregory Canyon Trail Head that accesses the Saddle Rock Trail that we are avoiding for now, since other pack members have bristled at unseen disturbances there in recent days. We saw quite a few other dogs on the mountain today, and Sputnik minded his manners very nicely. He only got a little annoyed when

Adventure Pack Riley and Sputnik headed to the Chautauqua this morning. We started up the Saddle Rock Trail, but the dogs both started to seem a bit unsettled. After the pack's unease around a similar point along the trail last Friday, I might have been making something out of nothing; but I decided to head back and go up a different trail again. I am thinking that we'll just skip Saddle Rock for now, to avoid the chance of any unpleasant potential encounters with wildlife

Adventure Pack The pack was heading up the Saddle Rock Trail when Dylan suddenly stopped in place, perked up his ears, and started growling. Sputnik, Roger Roger, and Curie were all pretty quick to join in. They were staring off the trail, into the brush. I couldn't figure out what they were looking at, but Dylan was fully focused, and the others were all uneasy. Concerned that Dylan might have detected a bear or mountain lion hiding in the brush, we headed back and went

Adventure Pack The packs have been all about sniffing lately. Sputnik, Racer, and Griff were no exception, today. We took our time on the relatively flat trails that go through the Chautauqua Meadow, giving the dogs ample opportunity to sniff to their hearts' contents. Variety Pack Zoey, Mamacita, Riley, and Avo were less focused on sniffing than their morning counterparts, but still wanted to check out a few spots here and there on our way around Wonderland Lake. Everyone