Adventure Pack Sputnik had a playful bounce in his step at the beginning of our hike. He sidled up to Dylan a couple times to try to coax him into running with him, but Dylan didn't take the bait. He was more concerned with finding locations in the snow that were ideal for wiggling in, and he found some suitable spots. A little later on, when Griff and Dylan were off leash together, they took turns as lead sniffer while the other would follow a couple steps behind to smell

Adventure Pack Dylan made the most of the snow by rolling around in it numerous times during our hike at Shanahan Ridge, often coming up with a face covered in white powder. Griff was more tame in his off-leash wanderings, aside from one big victory sprint after what was apparently a very satisfying poop. Sputnik was far less insistent than usual when it came to sniffing around today, so we made very few stops. However, he was on the ball when I threw a handful of snow to

Adventure Pack Sputnik and Griff were surprisingly tame when I let them off leash on the snowy trail this morning. They just followed their typical routine of sniffing along the edge of the trail and marking spots along the way. Sputnik munched on a little bit of snow, but that was it. He didn't even notice when I threw a snowball at him. Racer tromped through the snow, getting a mouthful of it now and then. Variety Pack Zoey and Rey had some fun running through the snow

Adventure Pack Ruffers and Sputnik hung out on leash together with me, as we hiked at Shanahan Ridge this morning. Griff and Ruffers went back and forth between off-leash time and on-leash time, as we periodically encountered other dogs and people on the trail. There was one area just off the side of the trail, which had a bunch of holes where the dogs were very interested in sniffing. I wonder whether they were prairie dog dens, or the homes of some other critters. Variet

Adventure Pack Griff and Dylan explored the trail at Shanahan Ridge, mostly independently of each other, while Roger Roger and Sputnik were on leash with me. Every now and then, they all found a spot they wanted to sniff together. At one point, Griff sniffed a particular area for a long time. Dylan went over to check it out, and immediately shouldered down and started wiggling in the grass. I hurried over and called Dylan to get back up, expecting that they had found some

Adventure Pack Griff and Racer were just as interested in the scents at the Shanahan trail head as their counterparts were yesterday, and Sputnik still had a lot of investigating left to do. The trails were empty enough that Griff and Sputnik got to spend a while off leash together, once we got a little way up the trail. They were in pretty mellow moods, so they just wandered up and down the trail, poking around here and there. Variety Pack Blu and Gidget joined Mamacita, R

Adventure Pack Sputnik, Ruffers, and Dylan were all possessed with an intense interest in sniffing around the trail head at the Shanahan South Fork this morning. Even though the Mesa Trail has been less busy than some other parts of the Chautauqua, it has still been pretty bustling compared to usual; so, I decided to bring the pack to Shanahan Ridge a bit early. The packs are always especially interested in sniffing around during their first few outings on a new trail, and

Adventure Pack Sputnik was cool as a cucumber with all the dogs we saw today. He was so relaxed that I let him drift toward the center of the trail to sniff closer to the other dogs as they passed by, and he didn't get an attitude with any of them. Griff and Racer were also calm and friendly, as usual. Everyone was thirsty today - even Griff licked his lips while his packmates were taking a drink, and he then proceeded to accept some water from the spout. Variety Pack Avo

Adventure Pack Sputnik and Riley did a whole lot of sniffing near the trail head at the Chautauqua this morning. We inched our way up Bluebell Road toward the Mesa Trail, with Ruffers back-tracking every so often, when she decided she should also smell what her packmates had been so interested in. The devotion to scent investigation continued on the Mesa Trail, but with slightly less fervor, so we were able to make our way along the trail at a good pace. Variety Pack Rey an

Adventure Pack Dylan found a couple spots to roll around in the snow during our hike this morning. Roger Roger was about to roll around in a different spot that he and Dylan had been sniffing, but I called to him and stopped him. I have known Roger Roger long enough to know that when he stops and sniffs a spot and then moves to shoulder down and roll in it, it is usually a pile a scat. I caught him just in time, and Dylan also left the scat - without attempting to roll in