BOXER ADVENTURES

For anyone who is reading this who is not from the northern states, let me tell you what it is like on Halloween.  As a kid, all my costumes had to be big enough that I could fit a large coat underneath.  Many times it has snowed on Halloween.  Not usually enough to stick, but making it for COLD trick or treating.  We live just a few miles outside of a village.  Usually we try to take the dogs out when everyone is Trick or Treating.  It's a lot of fun and a great training opportunity!   So imagine my happiness when the forecast called for what is normally unheard of here - a warm and windy Halloween!  After I got home from work, we packed up the dogs and headed over to the village - with their costumes on of course. We walked all around the streets as the the kids ran back and forth.  Since it was so warm, many people were outside handing out the candy rather than being inside waiting for the kids to come to the door as they normally do....

 I know I've talked about this before, but I feel the need to comment again.  This wasn't said specifically to me, but it very well could have been.  Someone on social media posted a picture of their dog - a Doberman.  It was a side-ish pic and said something about he and his dog having completed a 10 mile run.   The Doberman's coat was a shiny black and you could see his muscles on his legs and chest.  You could also see his back 2-3 ribs a little bit.  And someone commented about "torturing" his dog (by running) when he should be feeding him. We have such a skewed perspective in this country of health - both in ourselves and our pets.  When I see a picture of a chunky dog, I feel sorry for him or her.  At least with people, we have choices.  Really, our dogs do not.  Too little exercise combined with too much food and/or unhealthy foods literally shortens their lives. Most vets consider obesity as the number one life threaten...

 Today was the 9th annual Paws 4 Potter event. The dogs were decked out in this year's costumes. They entered the costume contest but unfortunately due to stiff competition, including a French Bulldog in a hair in curlers wig, they did not win. They did enjoy seeing all the other dogs and their owners and visiting the vendors.  We didn't see any other Boxers, but there were many people who told us that they love Boxers and described Sisko and Booker as beautiful.  They happily accepted compliments and pets. They also enjoyed the large 2 mile pack walk through the park. Booker's leash manners are still not where I would like them to be, and he was completely over- stimulated.  I was a bit frustrated, I will admit.   But he was friendly to everyone and pretty much ignored the barking or aggressive dogs.  So I will choose to see the good in today, not the bad and I know what we need to work on. A fun day for a great cause!

 Returning to work after vacation sucks, right?  I was swamped and stressed at work and my mood made worse as the weather has been cold, dark and rainy.   I did manage to get the dogs out for a chilly run last night after work.  I am a fair weather (AKA wimpy) runner and would have preferred the treadmill and a baking show, but the boys made it clear they needed some exercise. Tonight it was sunny and a little warmer and I suggested to Marc that a quick drive to a nearby village for a walk to check out Halloween decorations would be a great way to decompress on a Friday night. So that's what we did.  Of course, not as many people decorate for Halloween as they do for Christmas, but there were still some spooky sights to see.  One family who lived close the the road had some decorations out and we paused to check them out. These big bad Boxers were SO SCARED. It was actually pretty funny.   They were much happier to see real people out and wer...

 After the week of vacation and all the hiking we did, I was sure that we would all be exhausted and just want to lay around and relax.  So I wasn't sure how the dogs would feel about joining me on a longer run today. The minute we got up, they were full of it - jumping on one another and wrestling so I figured if they had that much energy they could join me.  So off we headed to our favorite paved trail. The main trail is 3.3 miles one way and there are 2 parts that were extensions of the original trail.  We ran the main trail, crossed the road and went along the parking lot and kept going.  When we reached 4 miles I stopped and turned around.   I wasn't sure if we would run the whole way back - I thought for sure Sisko would be tired but Nope!  We made it back to the start.  This was Booker's longest run! I am one proud mama.  We got home for some well earned lunch. After their rest we had a mini spa day.  They both got showers i...

 We packed up this morning and said out goodbyes to cabin life. I hope the dogs enjoyed the trip as much as we did! I know they slept well on the way home! I am thrilled at how great both do0gs were on this trip!  They met wildlife, other dogs and many strangers and handled it all perfectly. I am also SOOOOOO happy that Sisko's knee issue never acted up (knock on wood) despite all the hiking, walking and running miles!!

 I didn't make any plans for our last full day because I was sure that we would all be exhausted.  We slept in a little late and when we let them out at 8:30 AM to go to the bathroom this started: So much for being exhausted! It was very cold with a thick cloud cover and we weren't sure we wanted to be out in the cold, so we took it easy.  Late morning the sun peeked out we decided to hit a couple of short easy trails. I am a streak runner and had just been doing minimal miles after our long hikes. Marc and I both wanted to get a run in and so we went to the beginning point of the Pine Creek Trail in Wellsboro, PA. I told Marc to go ahead and run and I would start with the dogs and see how they felt and if they seemed tired we would just walk. Needless to say, they were both completely ready to run and we crushed 5 miles.   We got back to the cabin early and relaxed since it was our last night there.

 I debated if I wanted to spend more time in the car today, but I had read about World's End State Park which was about 1.25 hours from our park and looked fabulous.  We decided to head out.   I was not prepared for the conditions on the way to that park which consisted of windy roads and hills.  Both Booker and I got very car sick.  I began to regret my decision to travel to what I became convinced was actually the end of the world! We got into the visitor's center and the helpful staff gave us some suggestions and we chose a challenging trail and headed out.  Any potential regrets I had were instantly gone as we hiked this AMAZING trail. While Sisko does great off leash, Booker is not 100% reliable yet AND this was a hike along the edge of the canyon almost the entire way.  So we gave them a lot of slack but kept them firmly on leash! They had a great time moving back forth sniffing the smells.  This trail offered some challenging spots nav...

 This morning we decided to hike some of the trails within the park.  There is a loop that goes around the lake and we thought that would make a nice hike. The dogs were both raring to go despite the long hike yesterday.  It was pretty chilly out, but the sun was bright, and Sisko definitely prefers cooler temps! It was a relaxing way to spend the morning, and the dogs loved the unfamiliar smells and paths that they had never experienced.  They were forced to endure many photo shoots! On the way back we encounter some deer.  One was especially friendly - I suspect that people feed them and they show very little fear of humans or even the dogs!  Booker didn't know what to do with himself! Sisko showed a lot of restraint and neither one barked which was great! We ended today with just over 9 miles!

 We made it through night one.  As anticipated, Sisko settled right down and went to sleep.  Booker was definitely nervous and several time came in to check on us - especially with some strange and different noises waking him up. We decided that today we would walk on the Pine Creek Rail Trail that goes through what is called the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.  We packed our lunches and got out the door early, backpacks in hand. The weather was cook and partly cloudy.  We saw mainly people on bicycles, but also saw some other hikers.  The dogs took in all the different smells and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery.   We stopped at 5 miles to eat lunch and gave the dogs one of their favorite treats - SARDINES.   I was a little worried about Sisko getting tired, but he showed no signs of that even when we ended at mile 10! Then it was back to the cabin and we enjoyed a fire. At bedtime, Booker had already adjusted and made himself comfortable!

 We plan our fall vacation around Columbus Day.  We typically rent a cabin in one of the Pennsylvania State Parks and, in some of the cabins, they allow dogs.   It just so happens that this year, as we headed down, I had very mixed feelings.  Because I was very excited about Booker having this new adventure.  However, at the same time, this is the date we were headed back last year - the day that  Archer passed away.  Things are so different this year.  We never expected Archer to be still with us last year and there was a lot of nervousness and debate about taking him - whether it would be too much for him.  What if something happened?  And, of course, we decided to bring him.  So there was packing our cart so that he could ride while we took walks.  When to leave him alone in the cabin. And this year, instead we went with a very young dog who is still completely full of it.  So while I felt sad on one hand, I tried ...