Dogs

How to Avoid Blood-Sucking Vermin (Ticks, Not Lawyers)

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If you hike then sooner or later you will have to deal with ticks. These cunning relatives of the spider wait on the ends of leaves and grasses for an unsuspecting mammal to brush past and then climb aboard for a free lunch. Alicia MacKleay provides a comprehensive guide to dealing with ticks on and

Project Trail Dog: Kentucky Fried Hands

I guess I didn’t think this through all the way. When a 75 lb. dog hits the end of a 50 foot yellow plastic rope at a full flat-out run, guess what happens? The force of the jerk knocks him off his feet and he tumbles in the grass. This isn’t as bad as it

Project Trail Dog: Training the Perfect Hiking Buddy

A good trail dog needs to be calm, confident, alert to danger but not easily threatened, and most of all…focused on his owner. This does not describe Mr. Moose, the German Shepherd (Greyhound?) mix that I am training to be my trail buddy. He does very well with people he knows, and he’s more plenty

Project Trail Dog: the Going Gets Ruff

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When I decided to take on the project of a new dog, I thought I knew what I was getting into. I had previously taken Mr. Moose on a “test drive” and satisfied myself that he was an intelligent dog, willing to learn, eager to please and able to settle down. He met my sketchy

Hot Around the Collar: Tools for Walking Dogs

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I’m hoping Moose will be a good trail dog someday. But first I have to figure out how to take him for a walk, without him walking me. Here’s what happens: Moose is pretty dialed in with having me as his pack leader. But on walks he becomes very focused on what’s ahead. He starts

2010 Goes to the Dogs

Suddenly all my plans for 2010 have changed. I’ve been gifted a monstrous dog, that I’m calling Moose, a one year old puppy. the dog is a mix of German Shepherd and we’re not sure what…something that was brindle in color and rather big. Possibly greyhound, possibly Great Dane. We’ll see. Moose has a good

Gone to the Dogs

Daughter Em and her husband Matt and their four dogs – more like a single four-headed whirling entity from Hell – landed on our doorstep two weeks ago. And it’s killing my routine. My attempts at running, attempts at writing, attempts at riding…everything has gone to the dogs. As it were. I’d like to post