Finally, Freedom!

The last month has been brutally boring! Taricha's been under the vet's orders to take it easy while her mouth heals up. As long as this Monday's recheck goes well, we have full intentions of getting the fuck out of dodge and camping the next day. We both need a vacation!

I know something is up, cuz its my backpack!

Taricha hasn't been sitting around the house all the time, she wouldn't stand for it. She still needs exercise and stimulation despite a sore mouth, we just take it down a notch. A lot of  neighborhood walks. Grandma's house (and the kids) and most importantly, weightless local trail runs.

These limestone glades make me feel small

Lets goooo what we standing here for?

You probably noticed that neat patch that says "WORKING: PLEASE DO NOT PET" on Taricha's backpack. They're sew on patches and the best five bucks I've spent in a while, infact I need to get more to make Taricha a vest. 

Why is she wearing this? Well Taricha has a few issues with people walking up to us. She is a very people loving dog but it simply must be under the right circumstances and with the right greeting. (Proper greeting... If you ask her to sit (not tell), give her a treat and pet the shoulders/neck (not head), she is your best friend for life.) 

When she and I are walking, in our zone together, she doesn't appreciate a stranger reaching out to pat her head or rushing up to us very fast googling over her, it makes her uncomfortable, breaks her focus and changes her mood. People trying to pat her head first is the worst and it happens ALL THE TIME. 

Taricha is an interesting looking dog, I get it, everyone wants to come talk about her and pet her. Good people ask before approaching but my answer is usually "Sorry, she's not real friendly..."  Often, too often, we've had a few 'sneak attacks'.... where Im distracted for a moment or in a crowd and someone comes up behind me, without saying a word, to pet Taricha. She's a good girl and is not trying to bite when someone reaches for her. Taricha is VERY good at communicating being uncomfortable but people ignore these early signals so she will growl and sometimes barks, once, very loud to get the point across. Scares the bajeezues out of people and they usually freak out, Im left feeling like everyone thinks I have a vicious dog. She's just communicating. 

These little patches suddenly put my mind at ease when we were walking in a crowd. I swear Taricha was 100% at ease as well; no one tried to approach her, stop her or pet her. Instead they looked at me or talked to me first. The strangest part, I noticed people kept a slightly bigger bubble of space around us. It was beautiful. Taricha and I have been more instep together in public, she is infact working when she has her pack on, it is her job and she loves it. Taricha just doesn't want to be bothered! Amazing how this little sign has made being around people more enjoyable.

Now.... we are going to go shopping today for final camping supplies! Out in nature during the weekdays... Hopefully where there are NO people and we can be freeee!

A Backpacking We Will Go!

The other day I mentioned we received a package. It was Taricha's new backpack and hiking leash. 

I would like to mention right away that the Ruffwear Roamer Leash is my absolute favorite new thing ever.

Taricha and I are walkers. Be it our neighborhood, our fine city or out in the middle of the woods. She sure seems to enjoy the woods more than anywhere else because this is where she starts to pull me around a bit. For the first 15min or so, Taricha pays great attention and is loose-leash but..... then finds a groove and tries to set a fast pace all the while trying to sniff things as she walks briefly. A normal flat 6' leash, this becomes a pain, constantly readjusting, holding, turning around, folding the leash. Hands free was not an option because of her brief sniffs, she'd step over the leash and then it starts to get tangled in legs and more readjustment is needed. If I wanted to take the time to treat every 10 steps she would walk in a heel but that is seriously no fun on a trail for either of us and often there isnt room. 

The roamer has changed it all! I think both of us felt some form of relief while on the trail. Less tension. I  attached the leash to my backpack and didn't really have to think about it the rest of the hike. Actually I thought about it a lot, I thought about how AWESOME it was to not adjust every two steps! Every move either of us made was slowly guided in or out by the bungee-ness of the leash. It never got tangled in legs, it just swang along in the air doing its thing. 

This is not a leash I would probably use on streets or parks, because I really dont have that much control. Taricha has nearly 12ft of free roam with when stretched out. Near the dog end of the leash is an extra loop to grab hold of incase of emergencies or if I need to help Taricha up an obstacle. Brilliant  The perfect hiking leash, I will never look back.

 

Then we have our new Ruffwear Approach Pack, size XL. Taricha has gone through a lot of backpacks over the years. All have their pros and cons but this backpack blows them all out of the water. Im turning into an advocate for Ruffwear because the quality has always been superb and they think of great little things that other packs don't. It is expensive, that's why it took me so long to 'invest' but I will say this now, so. worth. it.

But... anyways. This backpack still leans slightly to one side sometimes but every pack has done this on Taricha, maybe one leg is shorter than the other! This pack has room to spare, a great harness for her beefy shoulders to move in and good fit on the belly with padded straps. I looove the little tiny bungee-ness of every strap where it attaches to the pack, it allows for some freedomwhile still hanging tight.

The first day she had it on, Taricha managed to find a pile of animal poo in a thorn bush and proceeded to roll in it as I squeeled at her. I didnt care about her getting dirty, I didnt want the pack to rip! I could hear the thorns grabbing into fabric, I cringed! Thankfully.... not a single thread was out of place on her backpack! Some thorns were stuck in Taricha's hair, though....

I feel backpacking is important for Taricha. It does.... give her a job. I notice an extra glint in her eye when she's got one on and she's extra tired when we get home. I don't always make her carry a lot of weight, per say, just having something on her back does the mental trick. Another of our favorites is this backpack.

Oh jeeze another ruffwear product? Yeah! The Singletrak Pack. We used this alllll winter, when it was muddy or in the city. Its nice a nice pack because she can carry her own water but its small, light and easy to slip on and off.  We had to cut off the belly strap padding to adjust the straps to fit her correctly... even though this is the largest size pack. It didnt seem to effect her comfort at all. But. again, great quality. After almost a year of use it still has every thread in place. 

Taricha is a funny shaped dog, well, compared to most sporty dogs you'll see out on the trail. She has such a huge head, neck and shoulders (doesnt really come across in photos as well as you'd think) that most sizes of most packs dont fit in one place or another. Some failed packs are the following....

Homemade! Oh so long ago I made this for Taricha out of some old cargo pants. It was cute and fun while she was a puppy but she quickly grew out of it. If you'd like to see how your doggie thinks of a backpack, try something like this first even if it doesn't quite fit right... :)

..

The EzyDog Summit backpack! This is probably the worst pack we've tried. For it's average internet price of  $60 for a Large, I fully expected it to be better. The strange canvas fabric is stiff, noisy, like really noisy with every step noisy. The pockets are all Velcro and snaps (as opposed to most packs being zippers). While the chest harness is thick and padded... it doesn't make up for the saddlebags being huge, square and bulky. I do not recommend this item. 

This inexpensive pack was one of our favorites for two years. The Outward Hound Excursion Backpack is only $30 ish bucks for an XL but unfortunately, seems to have been discontinued? The only place online that seem to have this style anymore is Ebay. 

This pack only recently died on a hike from a seam rip and broken zipper. It served well while it lived! This pack never really attached very well around Taricha's chest but this gave her more freedom to move (this would be a better offleash area pack than ruffwear's bulkier harnesses). No matter how I adjusted the straps, the pack always kept the weight on her back (as opposed to shoulders where it should be...) so I never put more than a few water bottles in it. Still gave her a job and for the price, it's frigging awesome.

Spring is here and summer is coming... I cannot express how happy we are to start getting some real outdoors time again. Taricha is starting to carry real weight now as we train and prep for overnight hikes coming up soon.

When out backpacking it's important to remember common courtesy doggie rules. Most areas require a leash so stick to it! Wildlife doesn't appreciate being chased. Pick up all poo to keep things beautiful and water unpolluted!

Have you gotten outdoors with your dog lately? I mean more than just a walk around your block! Go sniff some poo and talk to some birds! Wear a backpack while you do it!

Wordless Wednesday

As Tradition States

As tradition goes around here... all dogs must love the skate rink!

Taricha still refuses to share her squeeky kongs but Martok is getting much better at pursuit.

All the snow makes us cranky though. Short trips are fun but just aren't enough to satisfy Taricha's needs.

Thankfully everything just melted.

This morning we went to a different skate rink...

To play with a different, more share-able, squeeky kong.

Martok sure tries and tries and tries. 

While Taricha kinda just stands there, not budging no matter how Martok flails. 

Oh poor Martok is still so skinny! I've not been holding back from feeding him, lots of training treats, meats, cheeses, peanut butters. He is growing bigger n taller like woah, but where is the puppy fat!!!?

When we arrived home, Taricha discovered a package just for her! Our new stuff from Ruffwear!  A new backpack and a neat bungee hiking leash. We will post more on this later... we have some qualms with other backpacks to discuss but need to test this one out before saying anything! 

PS! No... I didnt get anything for puppy Martok. He is too young to ask him to carry weight and he's growing so fast that any collar or harness I buy him, wont fit in a month! 

Doing What We Do Best

What great weather for January. Early this morning we jumped in the car and headed for a trail we haven't been on before, another limestone glade, really good ups and downs and the rocky terrain makes Taricha slow down and watch her step. She was working hard, panting and we loved it.

While Taricha and I walk 2-4 miles on pavement every single day (but not always in one go), we aren't  in any shape for real hiking. And we need to be so since I have multiple camping/hiking trips planned this year.  This limestone glade is right around the corner from our house so we might start doing this run more often. The 3.75 miles today killed! (Our goal is 10 miles of rough terrain by spring.)

This random sign left me puzzled. I think the giant rock behind it is named Headache, as it was a truly giant chunk of earth kind of hanging off the edge of the hill. But then it could be the trail named Headache because it was so muddy.... it quickly became one.

Taricha really enjoyed herself, this is our zone and she seems to focus on the trail as if it were a job.  As we get home, I could tell in her face that she missed hiking and being exhausted feels good.

Winter Day in Pictures

Fields

Hoping everyone had a wonderful holiday.

Wordless Wednesday

Packing

The internet is such a wondrous thing. We "discovered" a new park a mere 15min away, with lots of trails, trees, chickens?, caves and chimneys! This little plot of land sits on a bit of the Sante Fe trail and even though thh front entrance was crowded with a boyscout troop lunch... the rest of the place was completely people free. A perfect place to try out our new EzyDog Trail pack.

 

Our previous backpack was the Outward Hound Excursion pack. It was okay. For the relatively cheap price, it got the job done and we were happy. A tear formed after our first forest outing but I sewed it up and has held since. The only thing I dislike about this pack is the way it sits on her neck (seems to rest on the throat) and the way it carried weight (on the back).

This new pack. the EzyDog was picked out because of the way it attaches around the chest instead of the neck. I figured it would be far more comfortable and better for things like hiking, in which I can pull her around (or vice versa) if needed. The weight of the pack also sits far higher, on the shoulders, but at the same time it seems to impede her ability to walk slightly.

I mention hiking because we have some trips planned this year and are gearing up. Colorado being our main destination choice.

ohhh anyways! Overall, Im not really happy with this new pack. Its durability  is impressing me, good quality stuff and the top is a breathable canvas. Lots of pockets and hooks, lots! Love that stuff......  But its still chunky, its still awkward looking....the hunt for a perfect fitting bully back pack is still on. (someone recommended going a size smaller than the charts say to? Might be our next try.)

Please look at the camera? Oh. ok. fine!

An Afternoon in Pictures

 

The only downside being the amount of ticks I pulled off the two of us!

A New Toy, the Backpack

When Taricha was younger I had made her a backpack out of old cargo-pants. Not only did she outgrow it in a couple month, but it was really only for fun and wasnt made well enough to carry anything. At the time she seemed to enjoy toting it around. 

This winter we've been bored senseless and I wanted to try out some serious back packing in an attempt to wear Taricha out. (so I can play video games in peace!).

No idea where to begin or what to expect when picking out a backpack. The choices out there are TOO MANY! I didnt know how it would fit, how we would like it, or durable it was, etc etc.  Why not start at the bottom and figure out what we do and dont like..... sooo. We bought a 20$ pack in size L off ebay, "Outward Hound". I figured it was a good place to start since it was mainly, cheap. 

For twenty bucks,  we are both impressed. Been using it almost two months now and its just now starting to show wear. It only just had a hole rip from a bottom seam but I dont blame the pack, we were running through bushy winter backwoods including a few lake dunks.

There are many things I instantly liked and didnt like about this backpack.

Cons: Doesnt seem to fit right around her large bully chest and neck and I dont think its a size issues, its a design issue. Straps dangle and dont tuck away or too many. Canvas in the middle sucks up hair but the rest repells it...

Pros: Durable. lots of pockets. Inside one pocket is a keychain/hook or something. Handle on the back for easy grabbing.

 Time to start shopping around for a better one now that we know a thing or two. Suggestions welcome :)

Taricha isnt carrying anything heavy, yet. Two months of this one and we've only just worked up to a water bottle in each side, her leash/harness, poo bag and extra treats/food being held in the pack. She certainly knows when she's wearing it, that I'm messing with all the time, is more tired after a neighborhood walk and I swear she likes it. I hope she feels like it's a 'job'.