Mud Baths

      The best part of my mom and dad giving me a bath every month is that I have a full thirty days (in between baths) to make sure I get as dirty as possible.  My mom sprays me with perfume, so it doesn't matter how badly I smell when I come home from the dog park.  So if you are utterly disgusted at this point, or if you are the dog that rolls in another dog's poop...let me tell you that is NOT ME.  I like to roll in DARK STICKY GOOEY MUD that resembles poop, but doesn't contain any fecal matter.  Sometimes the water I choose to drink in ponds contains fecal matter and I end up with giardia, but my mom and dad are experts at treating that.  I prefer the nasty brown puddles to the nice ice water my parents pack for me while hiking.  Life's all about choices, ya know?

My first mud puddle.  Nine weeks

      Sometimes mom calls me sassy.  I don't know if I would classify myself as sassy, but perhaps classy.  When I go to the dog parks all the boy dogs follow me around like I'm the bomb diggity  (I heard  that while watching Animal Planet.) and I only tease the boys who can catch me when I sprint at my top notch gear.  The more mud and muck you have on you, the better for two reasons:  1)dogs are less likely to be able to latch onto you with their teeth because you are slippery and 2) all the dogs want to know exactly what you have been rolling in.  It's like nature's perfume.  I camouflage my dirt quite nicely because I am black.  Mom doesn't know how dirty I am until she wipes off my legs at the door and the red towel turns black.  I just wag my tail and run into the house displaying my paw art on their white carpeting.  I am a very talented artist.  Especially when I start throwing my muddy tennis ball around. 

    Got to go.  Mom is getting out the brush and the perfume.  It's only three days from my next bath so I am in a hopeless situation of perfume every day.  At least she brought some treats.

Hike with you later!

Big Sky Country: A Dog Poem

If heaven is a place

Big Mountain, Montana 2011

It's a place just like this.

If heaven is an idea
It's a freedom just like this.

On the top of this mountain
My paws can touch sparkling crystal sky.

On the top of this mountain
If I could choose the place, this is the place I would go to die.

In the place where mountain and sky meet
I hear the echoes of thunder in my heart. 

In the place where mountain and sky meet
I know I have truly played my part.

So as far as my dog heart may roam
So as far as my dog heart may roam

I always remember the heavenly view to find my way back home. 



Wordless Wednesday

Kissing a Snow Angel

Dog Dayz Hike

      Here is a great hike near Red Lodge, Montana for the dogs out there that want to travel to neat places.  Red Lodge, Montana is right outside of the Beartooth Wilderness about an hour and a half from Billings, Montana.  Rugged mountains surround you when hiking and a dog friendly ski town welcomes you for dinner when your paws are rubbed raw and worn out from your adventures.  The photos from this hike are from Quinnebaugh Meadows on West Fork Road.  It is an off leash trail that has such nice doggies to meet while hiking! 

Quinnebaugh Meadows, Red Lodge, Montana 2010

     My mom and dad brought me up here winter and summer.  In the summer we would hike near the rushing stream and in the winter we would nordic ski in the deep snow.  Sometimes we would go swimming in the beautiful crisp, cool mountain lakes.   I would swim after the ducks for hours as mom and dad skipped rocks on the shore.  (I miss the mountain lakes.)   One time I was nose to nose with a duck.  I didn't know what to do when he didn't fly away.  So I gave him a big kiss on the nose and he chased me like he was the dog and I was the duck.  I guess he was having a bad day or was in denial of his identity.  Stupid duck.  Anyway....  That's a tale for another day.  This is a picture of my dad and I. He wasn't aware I was going to be in it until the last moment.  Haha!

I always know where the camera is!

     My favorite part about this beautiful hike were the beautiful boulders I could climb to become Queen of the Mountains.  I love to be the highest thing around and there were more boulders than my mom could count.

 The hike itself follows a stream, so my mom and dad didn't have to carry a zillion bottles of water for me on their backs.  (When they aren't carrying water they are a little faster when hiking.  I always want to go faster!)  The meadow is about two miles up on the hike, but you can keep going a total of twelve more miles.  Several backpacking places exist for the avid outdoorsmen mom and dads!  My mom and dad love to backpack with me and my Ruffwear backpacking bed.  !    If you do take this hike, don't pass up driving the world famous Beartooth Highway and spending a day with the down home dog lovers of Red Lodge, Montana. 

Hike with you later!  

A Long Day When Mom and Dad are Working

I contemplate exactly how long they will be gone.

Too long....

So,

I find something I am "allowed" to do....  :(

But after awhile, bacon is utterly boring. 

So,

I sometimes play hide and seek by myself.

BUT...I can only scare myself so much.

So,

I try to grab some much needed rest after my mind has been hard at work.

But I don't sleep very well when I am not on my Mom's feet.

So,

I decide I will make a last attempt of making my cutest face in order to make them leave work to come home and love up on me. 

So,

My mom and Dad come home to give me hugs and kisses.  It's time to go to the dog park!  I hope tomorrow is Saturday?! 

Wordless Wednesday: My Very Best Pose

Training to Hike

     One of my favorite things to do is hike!  I always know when my mom and dad are going because they take out the backpacks and my collapsable waterbowl.  I've been hiking with my mom since I was nine weeks old.  When my mom adopted me, my dad was in Salt Lake City working and hiking every weekend.  My mom was hiking in Montana every weekend with me.
     When I was nine weeks old, I couldn't go very far.  My mom wanted to make sure my hips were protected and my paws wouldn't get too sore.  By the time I was eleven weeks old, I had tough paws and muscular back legs.  Since my mom lived by National Forest land, we were able to go hike on logging roads every day in the middle of nowhere!  After hiking, my mom would take me to work with her.  I would stay in my crate at the sporting goods store until my mom had a lunch break, then I would go walk during her lunch hour.  She would always make sure I was so tired before I went back into my crate.  After work she would take me on another walk.  By the end of the day I was so tired that I could hardly keep my eyes open.
   My first real hike with elevation gain was a four mile hike past a blue waterfall and into a marshy lake.  We saw deer, kids, and fisherman.  I made it all the way to the top by myself.  I didn't want to get left behind.  My mom gave me treats and fed me halfway so that I had more energy.  Two miles in, we reached the top of the mountain.  My mom helped me to go swimming in the lake.  She always went in first and called me to her.  She knew I didn't like water all that much.  (Not yet!) 

Lupine Lake, Montana

11 weeks old

   I am now a great hiker and can go farther than my mom and dad can.  I think I have become the cheerleader my mom used to be.  I always go down the trail first and wait about ten feet ahead until my mom and dad catch up.  When they finally get there, I sprint ahead to wait again.  They really need to get in better shape! 

Here are some of my mom's best tips for teaching a young pup great hiking traits.  They worked great for me!  They'll work great for your pup too!

1)  Do not be the overly paranoid owner who is constantly worried about how far your puppy is from you.  As an owner, you are a leader.  You need to lead in the direction you want to go.  You do not want to follow your puppy to go pick them up and bring them closer. 

2)  Only call your dog when it is absolutely necessary!   What does this mean?  It means DO NOT call your dog unless your dog is in a dangerous position where its life is at risk.  There is a time and an age to work on recall.  A small pup can learn a basic command, but it needs to be in an enclosed area with postive praise and precise rewards. 

3)  Watch your puppy carefully and know the pup's limits.   You want a hike to be a fun and loving experience.  If your puppy is sitting down a lot and laying in the shade after going over a mile, it's probably tired.  Overworking your pup is not the answer to getting an in-shape mountain dog.

Too tired to walk

4)  Every pup has a check in signal.  Kootenai's signal involves her turning her head and waiting for me to acknowledge her.  I usually say, "Okay."  Her head turn is a check in to see if she is doing what I expect her to do.  My "okay" tells her that I see her and that she is behaving acceptably.  Not all pups use the same check in.  Some dogs will come all the way back to touch an owners hand.  Some dogs will sit on the trail.  Other dogs will walk behind you a few steps.  Watch your pup carefully.  They are trying to do it right...you just need to acknowledge the check in.  This check signal will continue throughout life if acknowledged. 

5)  Take your pup out off leash as often as possible.  I know many trainers believe that you should leave a dog on leash until the dog is fully trained.  I tend to disagree with this statement.  If you are in a location where the pup could be in danger (near cars, raging rivers, road bikes) then your pup should be on a leash.  If you are in an area like a fenced in park or National Forest area, let your dog off leash!  The dog's stress level significantly decreases and the dog is able to please you!  This is what every dog wants to do.  The biggest mistake is leaving your young pup on leash until they are six months old.  Don't make it exciting to be off leash.  Make it normal!

Big Mountain, Montana

    Those are some of my mom's best tips for those of you wanting to raise and active and agile hiking pup! Hike with you later!