BOXER ADVENTURES

 We had a heat warning today.  Our first order of business was to get some ice cream at the annual Paws 4 Potter fund raiser.   Peanut butter and bacon - yummmmm!/ The boys also got lots of hugs and petting.  They were very happy. Then it was time to return to the beach Sisko has always been a good swimmer for a Boxer. But Boxers aren't really designed for swimming.  We've really noticed this year, probably since he's gotten older, that he's been a little more nervous and timid about getting in deeper water. So we got him a new, more supportive life jacket . Today he was playing in the water and would go up to just chest deep but didn't want to go any further.   So we hooked him up. It definitely helped him feel more supportive and confident and kept his head out of the water.

 Booker will be 2 next month.  For large breed dogs 2 is kind of the benchmark for when they start to outgrow puppy behaviors and become more mature. We've noticed that in the last 6 months, Booker has really grown up.  He listens more.  He looks to us for guidance instead of just doing whatever he wants.  It's been a relief.  It's been a while for us because Sisko exhibited those behaviors at a very young age. But one place he still lags WAY behind is the dreaded crate.  He still cries, barks, drools and generally does not do well in the crate more days than not.  And leaving him out he finds something naughty to do, again more days than not. Today Marc and I wanted to take a long bike ride.  It was HOT.  Marc didn't want to lock Booker up.  He hoped that being super tired from camping would help him just behave.  We stopped about 90 minutes into our ride to take a drink.  I resisted the urge to check the camera.  If...

 We packed up to head back today.  But first we got in one last stroll through the pine needle covered woods. As we packing, Booker got so nervous.  He acted like we were going to leave him behind. Sisko was completely relaxed and just chilled out. I had a moment of complete panic as I looked all over for Booker and couldn't find him.  Until... He had gotten in the SUV - no way were we going to leave him behind.  What a clown! We had an uneventful trip back with a stop by the water for some lunch and for the dogs to cool off and play for a bit. As we unpacked they happily went to sleep in their beds.  I think they will sleep well for a while!

 After yesterday's challenging mountain adventure we were game to have a relaxing day. We headed to Saranac Lake - about 30 minutes away - to take an easy walk on the relatively new Adirondack Rail Trail.   The trail was busy with bikers of all sorts and people walking the trail.  Although the trail itself is easy, there were lots of sites and smells for the dogs to take in. After several miles we were back at the vehicle to head back from lunch. Then we jumped in the kayaks.  The dogs relaxed as we paddled the entire shore of the pond that our campsite was on. We saw Little Haystack, the mountain we climbed on Monday. Then we got back and the dogs were hungry. Have you ever done anything really dumb?  Well I certainly did.  I left the dog's travel food bag in the screened in room last night.  I didn't notice it was missing until Booker finished up the food already in the bowl.  We looked all over and then I started exploring the woods. ...

 Today's adventure was scaling Debar Mountain. I expected this to be a tough climb and it was - for me anyway! We headed out from our campground to the mountain - about 30 minutes from us.  We had to travel a dirt road to get to the trail head. The first course of business upon getting out was to spray ourselves and the dogs with bug spray as we were SWARMED the second we stepped out of the car.  I use this dog-safe bug spray  on the dogs and on me as I hate the Deet smell and the less harsh chemicals that work, the better! Then we got their backpacks on which I had pre-loaded with food and drink and other essentials. . The first part of the trail was deceptively easy.  We had signed in at the trail head and saw that we were the first ones to climb today and so we let the dogs run free.  Most areas of the Adirondacks dogs are allowed off leash but it's sometimes hard to know where those areas are.  But since we didn't expect to see anyone, we let the r...

 At the campground where we are staying, there is an easy trail that winds through pine trees.  But off that trail is a climb up to Little Haystack mountain.  So we took this morning to tackle this short and relatively easy trail. And arrived at the top. We then took the afternoon to relax with some kayaking. There was no fire tonight, since right after we got back from kayaking a massive set of thunderstorms rolled through. Again, I'm so glad our dogs aren't afraid because we were in the camper and some of those storms in the Adirondacks can be incredibly scary and the thunder was so loud. But they napped while we watched a movie on the laptop.  The storms should move out tonight.  They better because we have more fun ahead!

 We left to go camping today.  I got up early to run before leaving. The plan was to take both dogs.  It was early and I figured I would wear them out a little since it's a long car ride.  But it was 76 degrees, sunny, and 70% humidity at 7:15 AM.  We spent yesterday packing and the dogs knew something was up so when I left to run without them they we not happy. We finished packing the cooler and the car. They were like "Stop taking pictures and lets go!" They did great on the trip and then we arrived and set up. We then had to leave again to go a couple miles down the road to get wood for a fire. We got back just as people were pulling in their camper into the campsite next to us.   As is typical, Sisko showed very little interest, but Booker was dying to meet the new neighbors.   So we left and took a nice long walk around the campgrounds.  We let the dogs sniff around a lot and by the time we got back they were ready to settle down in...