Thursday, May 4th
Adventure Pack
Griff enjoyed his second outing with the pack as we hiked up the Flatirons Loop again. He sniffed along the side of the trail with his packmates Sputnik, Coco, and Ruffers, and there was a lot of sniffing to be done today. Griff wasn't eager to drink water from the CamelBak spout like Sputnik and Coco were; but, like Ruffers, he was willing to drink a bit when I tucked the spout under the side of his lip and gently held his head. We encountered a pleasant older couple from Scotland on the trail and stopped to let them say hello to the dogs. Griff and Sputnik were the most forward in approaching for a pet, while Coco and Ruffers were more interested in nibbling on some grass.
Variety Pack
A woman at the park with a Border Collie/Cattle Dog mix saw a reflection of her dog's ball obsession in Isaac. She noted how they even make the same nose-tip hit to send the ball up into the air. She also noted how Coco stared intently at me as she followed me around. I explained to her that Coco loves chasing the tennis ball, too, but doesn't bother trying to outrace Isaac; she only goes for it when I throw it right to her, and then she only occassionally brings it back for another go. Ruffers found some friends to play with today. She wasn't quite as energetic as yesterday but she still had a good time dodging around and pawing at a few dogs who were game. Mamacita found one dog who caused her to perk up and make some playful stand-off moves. When we reached the south end of the park, however, Mamacita and Ruffers both lay right down in the shade. Well, Mamacita first took a moment to dig down to some cooler dirt. Meanwhile, Thompson made his way over to his favorite tree stumps and crawled into his secret fort. A little while later, when Thompson had abandoned his position, Isaac slipped in for a peek, as well.