Hiking with Laurie

As usual, I'm running behind on my posting.  On April 7th, I invited my friend Laurie and her dogs to join Chandler and me on our weekend reservoir hike.  She has two English Shepherds, Helo and Elvira.  This was their second visit to Buckingham Reservoir, as they had participated in Chandler's birthday celebration hike in October.  Elvira was a young puppy at that time, and she has done a lot of maturing since the last time we'd seen her.  She's bigger, but the most obvious difference is the appearance of her adult rough coat.  Of course she won't really be an adult until she is two, so at this point she's probably the equivalent of a teenager.

...not to mention playing with her is more fun now.

 

Helo was his usual amiable self.  It was good to see him doing well, because he has been having some issues with chronic Lyme disease and was undergoing more treatments at the time we took the hike.  Despite this, he seemed happy to see Chandler and me and even did a little bit of running during our hike.

Sable dogs...so much easier to get a photo of even when the light is wrong.

I'd be a black blob from this angle.

The final member of our canine hiking party was Ellie, a little black mix that Laurie was dogsitting.  I'm told she was rescued off the streets of Shanghai China while her owner was working there for a few years, and presently lives in New York City.  She certainly seemed happy enough to have a holiday in Connecticut, and got so fascinated by the sights and sounds of the reservoir that Laurie had to leash her for part of the hike because she kept falling behind to investigate interesting things.

Who wouldn't be happy running through pine woods and on grassy trails?

This was the first time I'd ever circled the entire reservoir, and the dogs all had a great time playing chase and wading into the shallows.  Chandler was the only swimming fanatic in the group, so we spent more time hiking.

They don't know what they're missing.

However, I think Elvira decided that starting a chase game soon after Chandler emerged from the water was a good idea.  As usual, Chan got to be the chasee much of the time.  During one of their games I managed to get a great photo of an English Shepherd "pileup" as Elvira chased Chandler into an ambush from Helo who cut him off.  Ellie was playing too, but I think she's hidden behind Chan in the photo:

Hey, you all are supposed to be BEHIND ME!  Watch where you are going!

The only fubar occurred when Chandler mistook Elvira's alert barks directed at another hiker as evidence of a real threat.  I had to grab him and give him a stern lecture.  Hopefully Laurie will be able to visit again soon so I can do some active training to address the problem.  I'm sure the alert barking is the issue as he hasn't had any issues while we were hiking with other people.  Otherwise it was a great day, both for us and the dogs.

Last weekend.

In July I discovered a wonderful new place to hike with Chandler. It is a local reservoir that is very popular with the local dog walkers. It has wide shaded trails, a meandering stream, both deciduous and coniferous trees, a mowed meadow (cuts down on the ticks), and the reservoir itself. It is practically the perfect spot to take Chandler during the hot summer months, as both the shade and available water help keep him cool. Frankly it was too good not to share, so last weekend I invited my friend Laurie to come hiking with us. I will admit to some ulterior motives; if Laurie liked the reservoir as much as I did, I could probably convince her to make the drive up to central Connecticut more often! Laurie brought along her male English Shepherd, Helo and her new puppy, Elvira. The purpose of the hike was to let me meet Elvira, and give her a good socialization experience.

Here is a photo of all three of us on the trail, this is a great hiking area!

The shade and available water were also good for Helo, who doesn't like the heat. Helo is somewhat my (and Chandler's) fault. Laurie probably would never have known about English Shepherds if she hadn't run into Chandler and I at the Connecticut Pet Expo two years ago. She expressed surprise that Chandler was not a Border Collie, survived my "the good, the bad, and the downright ugly facts about English Shepherds" lecture, and adopted Helo from a breeder within a few months. Helo is a retired stud dog, but I think he likes his new life.

...and he's sporting such a trendy summer haircut!

Helo actually has a LOT of grandpuppies and great grandpuppies out there in the English Shepherd gene pool. Sometimes I feel like I accidentally gave Laurie an entire second family that day she met Chandler and I. Elvira is one of Helo's grandpuppies, and is from a farm in New York state. She's also related to Chandler through his grandfather, who is one of Elvira's great-grandfathers. Chandler and I both approve. :)

I think it is entirely unfair that puppies are adorable without even working at it.

Elvira is a happy little girl who is probably going to grow up into a little spitfire. Even at only 10 weeks of age very little about the hike frightened her. She's curious and has good self confidence.

She's got some ZOOM in her too.

Chandler is one of those dogs that is safe around puppies, which makes him perfect for socialization outings. However, he is less interested in younger pups so Elvira spent some time trailing after him. I think she was a bit confused by some of Chandler's usual antics.

Really, I was just going easy on her for the Hide and Seek game...

We finally got to the reservoir, and Chandler was overjoyed to see all the water. I swear the dog must think he is part Labrador Retriever. He also looks so much smaller when he is wet. I never realize how much fur he really has until it is all flattened down with water.

Oh come on Auntie Laurie, please throw another biscuit out into the water.
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeee?

Helo isn't quite the water fanatic that Chandler is. He prefers to wade genteelly through the shallows.

Helo doesn't know what he's missing.

Elvira isn't so sure about water yet either, but she's still a tiny pup. Laurie says she's fallen in a few times and had to swim to shore.

Really kid...water is soooooooooo much fun!

Both Helo and Elvira spent some time watching Chandler fetch his training dummy from the water, but didn't decide to join in. Chan is a very strong and focused swimmer when it comes to water fetch. He manages to kick up a minor wake as he beelines toward his goal.

I even accelerate well in water!

However, he's a bit more leisurely about bringing it back. Hopefully Elivira will give him some competition someday, as Helo seems to be happy in the shallows.

I love to play water fetch!

It was a really fun outing. I loved being able to meet Laurie's new pup, and the dogs had a great time. Hopefully they'll be able to come back soon.

This is the highly artistic granddaughter/ grandfather photo.

Visiting Jenn & Mary

Two weekends ago, I took Chandler down to Hamden to visit my friend Jenn, and her new roommate Mary. They're both agility enthusiasts, with separate canine families of multiple dogs. Jenn was a great help to me when I first got Chandler, because she has had multiple English Shepherds. The purpose of this visit was to see Jenn and Mary's littermate English Shepherd pups, Jure and Pace.* I'd met them a month or so ago, but at that time Chandler was still recovering from his iliopsoas injury, so I didn't get to see as much of them as I would have liked.

That's Jure on the left and Pace on the right.

I will admit I was a bit concerned that Chandler would not be thrilled by tweenage puppy hijinks. It wasn't that I was worried that Chan would get impatient and hurt the pups. As far as I can tell he's more on the marshmallow end of the English Shepherd temperament spectrum. It was just that he has gotten a "WHY do we have to hang out with toddlers?!?" attitude on several past occasions.

Apparently I didn't need to worry.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Chandler had a great time running around Jenn's backyard with the pups, leaping into and out of their stock tank dog pool, begging for dog treats, and being a good role model for the pups. (Not that they have a lack of good role models, as Jenn and Mary collectively have a total of 10 dogs.) The pups had a great time too. Chandler is a distant relative of theirs; I believe they share an ancestor about five or six generations back, but with Pace and Jure he got to play the role of the "cousin" who is a lot of fun.

Pace: I'm gonna get him!!!!

My friend Laurie was also visiting the pups with her English Shepherd, Helo. He is actually the pup's grandsire. Helo is more reserved than Chandler, and the pups both respected his wishes to be left alone. They have some very good canine communication skills. Besides, why bother Helo when they could always mob Laurie and fling themselves at Chandler instead?

Hi Laurie! We all LOVE you!!!!!!

Helo ended up resting in the shade and watching the show.

Helo: Good, they're chasing you, not me.

Truthfully, the pups were also testing to see just what behavior they could get away with around Chandler. Pace spent some time trying to sidle toward Chan's rear and hump him, an action which Chan disapproved of. In contrast, Jure kept trying to fling herself into Chandler's face and lick at his muzzle.

Geeze kid, you're in my face again?

Chandler endured these hijinks with a lot of patience, although he probably could have stopped them by flattening the puppies just once. There are many possible reasons for this. At four and a half months of age, the pups should still have their "puppy licenses" to behave badly around adult dogs. There is also Chandler's temperament to be taken into account. He's an easygoing clown in many ways. I've had an English Shepherd breeder describe him as "kind" after observing his patience with her own pup.

Yet as I looked over the photos of the day, I noticed more and more instances of Chandler using subtle signals to control the pups. There are a lot of direct gazes where I think he is telling the pups to back down...just a little. I suspect he was sending a message that playing with him was allowed, but the pups had to follow some rules.

This is one of those photos that seems to show a "look".

I think this may be a good working theory, because Chandler also spent some time demonstrating that he was not a total marshmallow during the visit. He might put up with Jure in his face and Pace's fledgeling attempts to boss him a bit, but he was quite ready to get bossy if the situation needed it. The second that he thought the pups' wrestling matches were getting a bit out of control, he ran straight in and broke it up. Watching Chandler's behavior with the pups was very illuminating, in many ways.

Incoming playground police!

The day finished off with a socialization trip to Petsmart and a stop for ice cream. For me, the biggest challenge of the day was fastening my seat belt while juggling a sundae and fending off two highly interested puppies. Jure and Pace did not get any of my ice cream because they were being pushy. Chandler got some whipped cream because he was lying quietly next to my seat. Overall, it was a very good day.

*Please note that getting two littermate puppies is generally NOT recommended by dog trainers. Jenn and Mary are experienced dogsport people, and they essentially have separate households within the house. While the pups do see each other daily, they are not always together, and they both get a lot of individual attention and training time. For a more detailed explanation of why getting two pups at the same time is a very tricky proposition, please see Raised By Wolves excellent blog post Take Two, They're Small.

Hiking in December

Long ago, in a land far away...

Ok, it just feels like that after an entire month of two foot snowpack. We're not used to that around here. I swear, people are still shoveling off their roofs.

Anyway...over a month ago, Chandler and I went hiking with friends in southern Connecticut. The snow was less than a foot deep, the air was pleasantly brisk, and the two English Shepherds and one Border Collie got along well.

That's Helo on the left, me in the middle,
and Kinnon the Border Collie on the right.
I like being on point.

The snow was probably about 10 inches deep, just enough to make it easier to stick to the trail that had been blazed through the preserve by an ATV. The dogs had a lot of fun running along the trails and through the deeper snow.

That's Helo running.

Another photo of Helo.
Mom is extremely envious of how much easier
it is to photograph shaded sables in the snow.

The dogs were having a great time just trotting ahead and sniffing, but the real excitement started when Kinnon decided to grab his owner's scarf and take off with it. Unfortunately for Kinnon, Chandler is a party boy, and thought that playing keep away with the scarf was a great game...if he had the scarf. As a result, Chander quickly confiscated it and took off.

I've got the scarf! I've got the scarf!!!

Kinnon took off in pursuit...

I've got the scarf! You can't get it!

...but he quickly backed off as Helo decided to get into the game. The two English Shepherds have more assertive temperaments than Kinnon, so the Border Collie seemed to decide that scarf chasing was a spectator sport as long as the other two were around.

Hey, when did you start chasing me?

Trying to grab it, eh?

Ok, I've still got the scarf...at least this end of it.

Eventually the scarf was rescued from the dogs, slightly worse for wear. I'm now pondering whether a cheap brightly colored scarf would be a good investment as a dog toy for future hikes...or an invitation to bad behavior. Maybe a long braided tug would be a better option.

The upshot of the entire scarf chase was that Helo decided that Chandler was Mr. Fun.

Helo really, really wants me to play.

From what I understand, he doesn't play with other dogs very often after having some bad experiences, so it was a treat to see him plowing through the snow after Chandler.

Uh oh, he's almost got me.

Whee! Escaped!!!!!!!!!

Dodge! Dodge!

Oh yeah? You want to play chicken?

It was also a real treat for Chandler. He loves to play with other dogs, but I have to be very careful which dogs he plays with because of his loose hips. Chandler has a long fuse before he stands up for himself, and prefers to avoid problems rather than start an argument in most cases. If we encounter a bully that won't let Chandler stop running, we have problems. The big risk is Chandler overstressing his hips trying to get away. But if we find the right dogs that allow pauses in play, things are great and everyone has fun. This hike had a very good mix of dogs, and I think all had a good time.

It is nice to have friends. :)