BOXER ADVENTURES

 I have mentioned it before, but here is a video in practice.  I cannot stress how important it is to teach your dog the STOP command.   It works for a variety of situations and can be followed by other commands as you will see, but the word STOP is a "hard" word meaning that it will, catch your dog's attention.   View this post on Instagram A post shared by Booker and Sisko (@boxeradventuresny) In this case you can see that the dogs are running down the beach and have gotten quite far from us.  In this case, there was nothing to worry about, but it is always good to practice commands when there are no distractions.  I followed STOP by telling them to come.  The STOP command catches their attention and brings their focus to me.  Then I tell them to come, which they know means to stop whatever they are doing and return to me. Many people teach their dogs funny "tricks" like roll over or play dead - and there is nothing wrong with that.  Howev

 We were getting ready to go for a walk today and I went to put on Booker's collar and it looked so small.  It would have fit him but I pulled out the regular adult collar that was just waiting for him to grow into it and.... I'm not sure whether I'm happy or sad!!  He is growing up so fast! We headed out to the lake today and since we had the massive snowstorm followed by a warm up this week and it rained all day yesterday so I wasn't sure what the beach would look like.  I was so happy when we got there!  The beach was completely clear to walk on! It was weird though, because there was a huge ice shelf right next to the lake so we couldn't see or access the water itself. It was in the low 30's and usually there is a strong breeze coming off the lake, but there was no wind to speak of today so we did a solid 10K (6.2 miles) walk. The dogs probably did a couple of miles more with all the running and chasing each each other that they did! Booker is really startin

 I registered Booker with the AKC.  There probably isn't any really need for him to register him.  I have no plans to breed or show him.  But any of my dogs that have been eligible to register I have done so.   Booker, like all of our pets, is named after a character on Star Trek.  So here is his full name: If you are not a Star Trek fan, this means absolutely nothing.  If you are?  Pretty funny right? I crack myself up!

Several years ago, a friend of mine asked me to watch her Lab while she went on vacation.  She was sweet and big and, well, not so smart, like I think of most Labs.    The first morning we were watching her, I was in my walk in shower rinsing off my hair and suddenly felt something big push my legs so hard I had to put my hand against the wall to keep from toppling over.  I splashed the soap out of my eyes to see that Lab standing directly under the spray of the shower, looking up at it, with pure JOY on her face as the water streamed over her.  My dogs at the time stood outside of the shower just staring at her in what I interpreted as complete disbelief.  Needless to say, Bella was my shower partner for the entire time she stayed with us! All of my dogs have enjoyed swimming at lakes, rivers and streams that we go to in the summer, but NONE have enjoyed the times that they need to get in the shower to get a bath. In comes Booker.  About a month ago Booker decided to explore the showe

 Booker woke us up this morning at around 7:40 AM.   On work days we get up at 7 AM, but on weekends we typically sleep until 8.  Booker is usually really good about letting us sleep in.  So maybe he just really had to pee.  But I tend to think that for a 5 month old puppy he just hasn't been able to get out all the energy that he needs to to be as tired out as he should. So we got up and he played but after a bit both dogs were just staring me down.  I looked at the weather station and saw that it was 3 degree out.  Yes 3 degrees and the F stands for more than just Fahrenheit in my book! I debated and then thought I would take them out for a very short walk.  In this weather though, I can't just grab their leashes and head out the door.  First I have to get myself ready, including Cuddl Duds , a heavy sweatshirt and sweatpants, some thick socks , a scarf, beanie, mittens and ski jacket.   Then for the dogs I put on a sweater that I crocheted and their jackets.  At this point

 Dogs don't just like to chew things - they HAVE to chew things.  Much like cats, who need to scratch or they will scratch something they shouldn't, dogs will chew up your things if you don't give them something to chew on.  Not only does that tick you off if they chew up your favorite shoes, but chewing on things they shouldn't can result in injury or death to your dog,  If they chew on something that can shatter they can cut their mouth or even worse their stomachs if they swallow it.  Or if they chew and swallow something that can't be digested, it can result in a blockage and they could die if not given expensive emergency surgery. So why do dogs need to chew?  Well, for one it helps provide mental stimulation.  It helps keep them occupied and provides stress release.  A good chew item helps increase their jaw strength.  Chewing helps clean a dogs teeth which can prevent dental issues.  As I posted previously, Sisko just had surgery for overgrown gums.  Because

 Winter waited a while to get here - but damn - when she arrived she did so in spades!! We are not getting the bone chilling temps that other places are getting, but that's probably because there is a pattern of snow sitting right over us.  Combined with 20 MPH winds we've been cooped up for days  in blizzard conditions and a no unnecessary travel warning. When you have dogs that are used to being active, they get stir crazy when they can't get out the energy.  So I wanted to get them outside today just to run around.  With our road looking like this, a regular walk was out of the questions!  We are very lucky to have quite a bit of land and a trail that we can walk.  With the high winds, some of the trail was near bare while other parts were above my knees.  So walking around for 45 minutes gave the dogs plenty of exercise! After that much needed energy release we came back into the warm house and it was clear the mission was accomplished! You do what you can in this type

 We received our first 4real snowfall of the winter last night.  So, of course, I had to bundle the dogs up and take them outside so they could romp around and play.  Booker apparently thought that it was his job to eat up all the snow and made a valiant effort to eat a path for him and Sisko.     And after they ran and played and blazed trails in the fresh snow, it was time to nap! This time of year is difficult for me to keep the dogs entertained, active, well-exercised and mentally stimulated.  It's dark when we wake up.  It's dark when I get home from work.  It's cold and miserable outside.  So any time that it's at least decent enough to get them out to play and burn off some energy it's a win!

 2024 has arrived!  I'm not much for making resolutions.  If they work for you, wonderful!  But data shows the vast majority of people completely abandon their resolutions by 30 days in.   Concrete "resolutions" are easy to make.  Losing 25 pounds, quitting smoking, working out for 30 minutes per day 5 days a week are measurable.   What most of us should be committing to is living like a dog.  That's the commitment I'm making.  It's much harder to measure, but if we lived that way, a lot of those other goals would fall into place! I thought a lot about this today.  We had no plans and at this morning made a spontaneous decision to head to Onondaga Lake Park to walk some trails.  As the dogs saw us getting ready they were so excited!  They were living in the moment - not worrying about things that kept creeping into my head, like how much work awaits me when I return tomorrow, or what else I "should" be doing.  It's called mindfulness  and I strug