Adventure Pack I guess the ditch along Bluebell Road has finally lost its charm for Racer. She only pulled over to sniff in it a couple times, and not for long. The rest of the pack passed by without much interest either. Griff and Arlo and Rey got a bit worked up when an off-leash dog with a ball started to approach the pack as we were first heading of Bluebell Road. We encountered another dog a short bit further up the trail, who approached with a less direct and imposing e

Adventure Pack After a stop at the water bowl by the Chautauqua trail head, Bear seemed like he would be game for hiking up Bluebell Road. Ruffers had other ideas, though, and kept stopping, backtracking, and standing in place; so, we took the first detour back across Chautauqua Trail and hiked the flatter trails of the meadow today. Lucy and Tozai enjoyed romping through the meadow together, while Ruffers and Bear were more focused on finding the shade and lingering there. E

Adventure Pack Griff and Racer lagged a bit as we headed up Bluebell Road in the heat, but for the first time in a while Racer didn't insist on stopping to sniff in the ditch every ten feet. Arlo and Racer had their fill of water at the trail head, while Griff and Imogene skipped it; however, everyone was happy to take drinks from the CamelBak each time we stopped in the shade along the way after that. Variety Pack It took a while before we found a ball for Carl to fetch at V

Adventure Pack Ruffers, Bear, and Rey were all a bit slow heading up Bluebell Road at the beginning of our hike. We eventually made it up to Bluebell-Mesa Trail, where Tozai and Rey played a bit off leash. Tozai is still learning not to be too pushy with his packmates. I implored him to be a gentleman and invite Rey to play rather than just tackling her, and he reluctantly agreed to give that approach a try. Rey didn't try to engage when Tozai backed off, and instead they jus

Our beloved packmate Dylan is no longer with us. After having fought through throat cancer at age 8 to enjoy 6 more years full of love and adventures with the pack, he passed away with aggressive metastatic cancer and pneumonia last Thursday. When I first met Dylan and took him for a meet & greet stroll, he stopped in place as soon as we crossed the street from his house. After a long standoff, we finally got going, and when I returned with him and looked over the form, I lau

Adventure Pack Griff, Arlo, Rey, and Racer headed up toward the beginning of Royal Arch on our hike today. Racer was dead set on checking out the ditch by the trail head, but actually allowed us to stay on the trail starting about halfway up. Everyone was nibbling a bit at the fresh spring grass. Variety Pack Dylan, Tozai, and Carl went to Valmont Dog Park this afternoon. Jen joined us for the afternoon, as well as Carrie - a family friend of Dylan's. Tozai ran off to find fr

Bonus Pack Arlo, Dylan, and Racer went on a short neighborhood stroll in the direction of Wonderland Lake. We made a lot of stops for sniffing, and covered little ground, so we ended up turning around and heading back before we got to the water. Adventure Pack Unlike Monday, Bear and Ruffers put up no resistance to our intended route up Bluebell Road today. Tozai chased Bear and annoyed him like a little brother, only Tozai is even bigger than Bear. Still, Bear stood his grou

Adventure Pack Imogene galloped up and down the empty trails today, while Griff kept steady a short distance ahead of me. I guess the overcast and slightly rainy weather kept a lot of hikers inside today, but it was very comfortable for a pack hike! Variety Pack Tozai, Arlo, and Racer zoomed all around Valmont Dog Park this afternoon. Meanwhile, Dylan followed me around and Carl fetched a tennis ball that Jen threw for him. The park was completely empty when we first arrived,

Adventure Pack Ruffers and Bear were not interested in going up Bluebell Road for today's hike. They were pretty stubborn about it, so we ended up hiking through the meadow instead, with lots of pauses for sniffing. Tozai and Rey enjoyed romping a bit while their packmates poked along. Tozai is still learning to contain himself and not always push forward on the offensive when trying to play with Rey, which is odd because he is so good at being inviting towards other dogs at

Bonus Pack Dylan, Mrs. Miggins, and Roger Roger went on the same stroll to Wonderland Lake as they did yesterday, at about the same pace as they did yesterday. I don't remember well enough to say if they stopped to sniff the same spots as they did yesterday, but it seems about right. One thing that was different from yesterday was that a very sweet, calm, friendly yellow Lab stopped to sniff hello with everyone, which was definitely the highlight of today's outing. Adventure