Adrian and I are enjoying a new and fun hobby, hiking with the pups!  We are lucky enough to live in an incredible part of the country; with the Ozarks to our sw, and the beautiful cavework created by the Meramec River/watershed, Missouri is home to hiking trails galore.  Yesterday, we took a hike through a local nature preserve with Crash and Six, saw some great views of the Meramec River, rock formations, squirrels (the dogs enjoyed that part), and got some solid exercise over the 1 hour jaunt up and down some steep hills. 

If you’re looking to find some great hiking trails in your area, check out http://www.traildatabase.org/  , an international database of trails, hiking websites, and information.  Be sure to check that dogs are permitted before you take off for your destination.  Also, make sure you leave prepared, with plenty of fresh water for you and your dog, baggies for clean up, a high energy snack for you and the dog, backback/first aid kit/dog boots/gps/camera are optional depending on the difficulty and length of your trail.

Me, Crash, and Six at the Grand Canyon of MO!

I cannot speak highly enough about hiking…………..if you are looking for a fun way for you and your dog to get some exercise, crosstrain for frisbee, and see some exceptional places, then get out there and take a hike!

I guess you could say I’m about ready to pull my hair out, we have 2 of our crazy high drive dogs currently on crate rest for unrelated shoulder injuries.  And the 2 dogs in question just happen to be the youngest, nuttiest dogs in our house.  I had been trying to just limit their activity, giving them a few days of rest, not letting them romp in the yard with their buds – but the darn lameness kept creeping back in.  So finally, on the recommendation of our vet, we went to a full 4 weeks of crate rest for both doggies.  WHOA.  4 weeks.  For poor Bolt, our 7 month old heeler puppy that will literally be 1/8th of his life when this is all said and done.

The hardest thing about crate rest is not letting our human emotions of guilt sink in; afterall, these poor dogs don’t know why the heck their once fun-filled lives have turned so boring and blah.  We promptly went to Petsmart and spent about $150 on interactive toys, food dispensing thingys, and many many chewies.  Finally, I went to some of my favorite dog training friends for some thoughts and advice on low movement games and shaping ideas; afterall, my dogs aren’t supposed to move around much, but they can certainly exercise their brains!

I was completely overwhelmed with the great responses and advice I got………………here’s a list of some of the fun things we hope to play around with:

Crate Games (via Susan Garrett’s dvd), Go to Mat work, Nose targeting objects/body parts by name, Paw targeting objects/body parts by name, Sit/Down stay proofing, The Name Game (teaching names of everyday objects/toys), Get It (picking up and bringing everyday objects like gloves, keys, a soda/beer), Opening cabinet/fridge,  Stimulus Control work (leave its, working around treats/toys on the ground, etc), Basic leash work (Side/heel/fronts/swing to finish/around to finish/slow/fast), Shaking head no

For now, we are tackling leash work (Bolt is becoming quite a master at this!  maybe some competitive obedience will be in his future?), Go to Mat, and picking up soft objects like gloves or a hat.  We do 2-4 short sessions each day, no more than 10 minutes apiece, working alone in various places around Purina Farm.  It’s definitely helping Bolt and Rampage to deal with their inactivity, and in the end we will be creating an even better foundation and hopefully create some fun party tricks, too.

One week down, 3 more to go…………….!

Hi to all my friends, family, and fellow disc doggers!  I have been intending to start a blog for many months, and finally have taken the plunge.  I hope to share stories and experiences regarding our travels, dog training, and maybe even a few brags along the way.   So welcome to the blog,  I encourage you all to say hey, comment and let me know what you think, and feel free to ask any questions along the way.   Let’s enjoy the journey together…………

Tracy