BOXER ADVENTURES

 This morning was extremely overcast.  It was humid and in the mid 70's.  Without the sun beating down, I thought that Booker would be okay for a run.  Sisko ran a short 5K with Marc and then walked a couple of miles. Shortly after we got home the sun fought to come out and won. It was super hot as I decided to wash my car.  I got out the pressure washer.  Booker has decided that the pressure washer is his person toy.  But as you know, those things put out a ton of pressure and can be dangerous. Sisko prefers to keep his distance and be spritzed like a princess where Booker, well, he is all up and in it! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Booker and Sisko (@boxeradventuresny)

 Today is a very emotional day for me.  It would have been my sweet Archer's 15th birthday. Every year, Marc and I do a bike race that benefits a couple of local not for profits. 2 years ago we got home after doing that race - it was just a couple of days after Archer's birthday, and remember, we had been told in February that he had 6 weeks to live so we were 5 months past that.  I came in and Sisko happily ran out the door to see Marc who was taking the bikes off the car.  Archer went out and wandered near the door and then came back in.  I sat down at my computer and he was pacing and just acting weird.  I let him outside again, but he didn't pee - he wandered around.  So I brought him inside again and sat down in my computer chair watching him.  Suddenly he fell to the ground and started seizing badly.  I handled this BADLY.  I started screaming and dropped to my knees as he seized for what felt like forever.  At some point Marc...

Today marks the last day of vacation and I am so sad.  I was hoping to give the dogs some more fun this week after last week's successful camping trip.  However, it has been blazing hot all week.  I loved it, but it was too much for both dogs. This week I was out doing yard work and they would just hide under trees to keep cool.  They would be so excited when I went inside and would follow me in, but when I went back out, if I left them inside they would just stand at the door totally offended that they weren't out with me.   They did appreciate when I washed my car because they got sprayed down by the hose and had a ball with that. Today was much cooler and rainy, with the forecast saying that it would remain overcast but the rain would stop. We took the kayaks and parked where we could take a short trip across a marsh to a boat dock and then travel across the boardwalk out to the beach,   They were both so happy with the cooler temps! They chased eac...

 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...

 Today started the first day of summer vacation.  I talked last year about the 4th of July and fireworks. Tonight we could hear and see fireworks in the distance.  We brought the dogs onto our deck.  They couldn't care less. I feel so bad for dogs who are terrified of the fireworks. But I'm thrilled that we could start our vacation without worry.

 Over the last week we have 4 friends who have lost their pets pretty suddenly.  A dog, a cat, a guinea pig and a horse.  All these beloved pets were older but their deaths came quickly and unexpectedly.   None were attributed specifically to the heat, but Marc and I talked about whether the hot temps could have contributed to their passing. We keep a close eye on our dogs and cats.  The cats are all indoor cats so we don't worry too much.  We keep a very close eye on Sisko since the heat effects him so strongly.  But Booker is young, thin, and seems relatively uneffected by the heat. I got home from work today. It was hot, as it has been, but also VERY humid.  Sisko came running to greet me.  Booker also greeted me at the door, but his greeting was markedly muted. Marc shared that he took them out shortly before I got home to walk with them briefly around the trail.  Suddenly he noticed that Booker was just gone.  He said he l...