BOXER ADVENTURES

 That storm they were predicting had mostly missed us, and we thought we had dodged a bullet.  But last night the band of lake effect snow traveled north and when we woke up this morning we had gotten NAILED. It continued to snow most of the morning.  Marc went out to snowblow our driveway and the path to our house and the dogs went out and played for a while. After lunch the band began to shift south, so I took them out to run and play and got in a short walk.

 We are predicted to get a major winter storm starting today.  We needed to get in and stock up on some groceries, so before the storm hit, we took advantage of a nearly empty trail.  Between it being Black Friday and the light snow that has already fallen, the trail was deserted! We got in a few miles, got our supplies and headed home to start decorating for Xmas! I wasn't sure what Booker would remember from last year, and needless to say he couldn't have cared less about us putting up a tree in the middle of the living room. However, neither of them were impressed with me forcing them to pose for pictures!

 Marc and I have run in our local Turkey Trot a few times.  However, they don't allow dogs to run in it, so the last few years, I've opted our of running this race and instead taken the dogs.  Obviously last year Booker was too young to run. We awoke to a cold, steady rain, so trust me - I was tempted to just do a few miles on the treadmill.  But I hated to leave them all day without getting some exercise in, so I pushed myself out the door.  They took no convincing! It wasn't too bad out temperature wise and we got in a quick run.  Back home, I dried them off and then gave them each a frozen raw chicken drumstick to munch on. Then it was time for them to get warm in their new pajamas from Chewy !   

 We got in another 10 miles yesterday.  Both of the dogs are pretty comfortable running that distance now.  I was hoping to get them up to a half - 13.1 miles - but between the major storm they are predicting and holiday craziness I'm not sure it will happen this fall.  Not that there is any reason they have to run that far other than being a huge motivator and inspiration for me! Today we decided to try out a new short trail that we heard about.  As I mentioned, I do think they enjoy running with me, but traveling trails and getting to explore and smell the smells - that's their favorite! This trail borders the top of a huge gorge.  Fortunately Booker has been doing much better listening to us and staying close, but we did put a leash on both of them when we were right on the edge.  We were especially concerned about deer or other wildlife appearing.  We have trained the dogs not to chase but better safe than sorry!

 It's that time of year.  It is barely light out when I leave for work and pitch dark when I get home.  And it's miserably cold. I use a treadmill and a bike trainer to get in my miles.  It's not great but it gets it done. Several years ago I started having my dogs also run on the treadmill.  I think I first started after seeing Cesar Millan use one with dogs.  As he noted, walking on the treadmill is not only physically good for them, it's mentally challenging, which is also good for them. My sweet Archer was the king of the treadmill.  He loved it!  Once he learned to use it, we would head down to the basement and he would run over and jump right on, anxiously waiting for us to start it.   We would set it at a fairly brisk pace and he would happily run while we lifted weights or rode our bikes. Sisko was introduced to the treadmill and used it, but in the last couple of years we haven't had him on it since he's so mellow he doesn't rea...

  Today is National Take a Hike Day. While I have been running a lot with the dogs, including another 10 miles yesterday, I decided to give us all a break today and just go for a relaxing hike. We headed to a nearby state park on this cold but sunny morning to get in a few miles. I’m not sure that they really needed them, but I threw on their sweatshirts to make sure they didn’t get cold as we were by he water and it was windy. We had a great day. Booker, as I know I have mentioned, is probably the toughest dog I have ever had to train. I have had a very hard time with him listening to me and staying with us instead of taking off and doing his own thing whenever he is off leash. He has very little self control in general, which is normal in a very young puppy, but now that he is over a year old I have been expecting a more from him. I have wondered if we don’t have the bond that I have had with my other dogs and have blamed and questioned myself and wondered if we would ever ...

 I'm proud of all 3 of us today!  We hit double digits together!