BOXER ADVENTURES

There is a place just over an hour from us called Great Bear Recreational Park .  We don't go there as often as I would like because of the drive time, but it's an awesome place to hike.  The multiple acres are surrounded by fencing and dogs are welcome and are even allowed off leash. This was Booker's first time there.  He is now 7 months old and does great off leash - listening well and staying near us. BUT.... today we were reminded that he is still a puppy and is not fully trained yet.  We haven't had a puppy in 7 years AND that puppy was Sisko - who is by far the easiest dog we have ever had to train.  As a puppy (and now) he HATED getting in any sort of trouble and by his very nature always wanted to be right next to us.  It's easy for us to get frustrated with Booker as he still does puppy type things. Great Bear is full of amazing smells and new things to experience.  So Booker was mostly interested in running as fast as he could down the trail...

 Of everything that we do with our dogs, I think they love hiking the most.  It was still pretty chilly and when we first got to the trail we planned to hike today I wasn't sure we would be able to hike it because the path was covered with uneven and frozen snow.  But they were SO excited and happy we thought we would give it a shot and at least let them have some fun even if we had to turn around.   Happily we were able to walk on the sides of the trail with the fresh snow that wasn't icy and there were even spots of bare ground.  No obstacle could stop these 2!!   View this post on Instagram A post shared by Booker and Sisko (@boxeradventuresny) Just over 5 miles later we had some tired and happy doggos!

 Booker is 6 months old today!!  He stands almost as high as Sisko. He weighs about 53 pounds. We celebrated his 6 months by going on a slow 5K run in extremely cold weather.  There is a lot of discussion and controversy about when you can start running with your dog.  There are a ton of factors that go into that calculation.  I'll do a post on that soon.   As one vet told me, just like doctors for people "I am far more concerned about my patients who don't run than those who do!" He did pretty well for it being his first time but he has a way to go.  His main challenge is to run next to me.  He thinks nothing of crossing in front of me and I almost went flying a couple of times.  But he will get better and more focused. It was so cold - about 9 degrees when we started and the wind was about 10 mph which made it feel even colder.  But the sun felt great and both dogs were perfectly comfortable in their hoodies. Then it was time for ...

 I can't believe that there is a park less than 90 minutes from us with miles of hiking trails that we didn't know about! So today's trip didn't just expose Booker to a first, it was a first for all of us hitting the hiking trails of this park carved from glaciers and offering challenging terrain and fabulous views! Booker is pretty confident but did have some hesitation navigating the rocks and jumping over the crevices.  But he quickly figured it out. We had a great time exploring the area!   Even though it was chilly, we were surprised and thrilled to find the trails free of snow and even mostly dry!

 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 wro...

 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!