A little video of the tribe of nine hounds...

Today we took our pair of pooches on a walk with a friend and her pack. She has six of her own and is baby-sitting a mutual friend's puppy. We took ourselves off up to a logging trail in the hills. We had gorgeous weather for three humans and nine dogs to be off on an adventure. A proper pack! This is the third time we've walked as a group, and it's just fantastic for our two lads to learn the ways of a functioning pack. If they step out of line they get put in their place by the older dogs (irrespective of size) but overall they mix wonderfully well.

We've already seen subtle changes in our two dogs after being out with this quite large pack. Their behaviour towards other dogs is less excited and more measured. The pack works as a great leveller and the lads fit right in within thirty seconds of saying their hellos (i.e bum sniffing). I heartily recommend walking in packs at least once in a while.

Maybe this is a little selfish of me however I'd love you to take a peek at my new website (not only is taking a peek free, so is using the site!!!), - the link to which I placed on the 'so wotsitabout?' page...however in order to save you the trouble oh regular visitor, the site address is:
 
www.theoldtown.net

Please check it out - it's brand new and so the more people who start a thread (I can't obtain any data from the forum, it's totally free of any need to subscribe etc.) the better - and please spread the word if you can, as the forum will only work if people start to use it.

If that sounds like pathetic pleading, well that's just what I am being reduced to!
Seriously though, the website is a newborn so any support you can provide will be most appreciated...

Leo

Now, for your delectation, a short video of the dogs enjoying the sand in different ways...by the way if you're wondering why just the one video today - these things take soooo  long to upload, it's not funny!

Oh yes it's a new craze, the latest thing, it's hot, it's groovy and I'm down wid dat! First you need some sand or moss...and one or two goofy dogs...

My last post a couple of days ago went missing, so today I have my lucky rabbit's paw tied to the horseshoe, I have avoided black cats, picked a bunch of four - leaf clovers and recently touched the collar of a chimney sweep...here's hoping this works then!

As mentioned a few days ago, we have 'discovered' a walk that the dogs have an absolute ball with. I promised to bring you some pictures, and today is that day! In order to not take up space on the blog page I am posting the pictures in 'featured walks' for your enjoyment.

Leo

Hi first of all please accept  my apologies for the delay between posts - I've been unable to log in to post for a few days due to technical problems.

It's always interesting to step outside of one's usual environment...on Sunday we did just that and set up our little stall of home made goodies at an event in Vancouver. The sun shone down on us which was quite a treat after the second worst spring in fifty years.
We had hardly set up our things when I was greeted by a very low energy Yorkshire Terrier, the kind of small guy who says a very muted hello and loses interest before the second syllable...I saw him repeatedly throughout the 8 hours we were at the event, and he remained chilled all that time...

Next up was a charming little Shiitsu - I think I spelled that correctly -  mix (I'm not usually very enthusiastic about small dogs but he won me over) who promptly rolled over with his feet in the air as soon as I looked at him. His owner informed me that he was tired after a 5km walk that morning! Now that's a lot of exercise for a lap dog!


During the course of the day's festivities, which were held right down in the heart of Vancouver, there were dozens of dogs of all sizes and breeds on display - nice to see and thought provoking. Almost all of the dogs were on leashes, and rightly so given the locality, but it got me wondering about what an average walk involves for a dog in the city. There are some green spaces but concrete is the abiding norm in cities everywhere - how often do these dogs get to walk or run on grass or sand I wonder? Hopefully what I would call a 'proper' walk is available regularly, but I get the impression that for most city dogs, a walk is something that happens on concrete.

Conversely, my lovely wife and I discovered a great new walk yesterday - somewhat by surprise. We hadn't intended to go to this spot, it was a bit of a spur of the moment idea and it paid off in spades! I don't have any photos today but hopefully we will be going back there this week and I'll take my camera. 

The sun was blazing hot yesterday when we found the walk on a river bed about fifteen minutes from home. Mostly pebble beach, the river bed is cut through by some long deep puddles as well as the regular river course itself. What we were walking on was basically the small flood plain, and the dogs thought it was great. So did we! It was silent (except for the eagles chatting to one another) and felt like we were a hundred miles from anyone else. The scenery was magnificent, there were lots of sticks to throw for the pups (a major bonus) and of course they were able to cool off in the river. They ran and swam, and then swam and ran, just having the best of times while we soaked up our surroundings and one another's company. It made me think about those city dogs. I'm sure that the vast majority don't suffer but their plight made me very grateful to live in and around such beauty and wild spaces. What a beautiful part of the world this is.

I promise I'll take pics next time I'm there!

Well despite the weather trying to convince us otherwise, it's spring time here in the Fraser Valley. That means one of our yearly events is upon us again - namely the rising levels of the Mighty Fraser River. Over the last week in particular we have watched the river creep up and up, becoming truly 'Mighty' and quite an intimidating force of nature. We're in no danger, living almost five hundred feet up a hill as we do, however the river could cause chaos for the local farmers and disrupt infrastructure if it crests the recently upgraded dykes...here's a few pictures from our dog walk yesterday...what do you mean you want video? Have I been spoiling you?

keep it here to watch for updates - we have already had a gravel barge crash into the rail bridge this week because of the strength and size of the water - I'll keep you posted!