Friday, April 10, 2009

this week in photos












On Wednesday Parker, Murphy, Maisie, Blue, Turnpike and I hiked up in Strawberry Canyon. The kids played in the creek and chased each other up and down the hillsides. After his hike and a bath to wash off the black stuff he had rolled in, Murphy crashed out on his living room rug and barely lifted his ears when I said "goodbye".

On Thursday Maisie, Mochi, Turnpike, Scout, Parker, Blue and I hiked the Phillips loop. For the Phillips portion, where bikes aren't allowed, Mochi got to be off leash for a while provided she always came to me the first time I called her. Mochi went back on leash as we hiked back to the car on the East Ridge trail.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

lost cell phone












Oy Vey. I lost my cell phone today, and with it lots of pics of happy dogs milling around meeting, greeting and playing fetch with one another. Here are the first few that I emailed to myself while I was on the trail.

First is Scout, looking back to see her friends chasing each other up the trail.

Next are Maisie and Parker, engaged in a game of fetch with the rare and coveted tennis ball. Tennis balls get lost quite frequently in the bushes and brambles on the sides of the trail.

The right-most pic is of Mochi. This was her second walk. Mochi is a love-bot and a treat beggar, and a hater of bicycles in motion. She is on leash because she's new and doesn't know this trail, and because of her extreme emotions in regards to bicyclists whith whom we share these trails.

Blue and Turnpike also walked with us on thursday. Pike loves to play chase and wrestle with Maisie and Scout. Blue like to get involved with games of fetch and she loves to meet every dog we pass along our walk.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Mud Puppies!












Little Paws Big Adventures went back to Claremont Canyon today for another round of hiking steep hills and playing in the mud.

Mochi, Maisie's sister joined us today on a group walk for the first time. Her broken leg has healed up and she's ready and raring to go. She got to ride up front on the way to the park to help her bond to me and to keep anyone from "protecting" the back of the truck. Her first walk was on leash as she's new to the group and has probably never been to this park before. I walk each of my new clients on leash for the first several walks, then they graduate to long leads, then to trailing long leads and finally to off leash should all the other steps go well. I do my best to ensure each dog's safety and enjoyment of their hike. I brought freshly cut treats to help keep all of the dogs stay nearby and I check on each of them, counting to make sure they're still all present and accounted for every couple of minutes.

Relay is on leash because he's fearful of large dogs and prone to bolting when he sees them.

Maisie, Turnpike, Murphy, Blue, and Parker are all old hands at hiking off leash and staying with the pack.