Some Hiking Photos

Here are some photos I took of the hikes Delilah and I have been on over the past week.

Unfortunately this weekend looks like it's going to be too cold to hike (it's in the 40s right now!) but we were able to get a couple in at the beginning of the week.  We've seen plenty of signs of spring by now- lots of wild flowers are blooming.

I carry compressed air with me now to deter aggressive dogs, after Delilah almost got attacked a few weeks ago.  So far I have not had any more issues with off leash dogs.

Delilah's recall is going very well, a few times now I've called her off in the middle of chasing a bird or a leaf, which is pretty impressive considering how high her prey drive is.  I still don't trust her enough to be completely off leash, but she now has leash dragging privileges.

First Hike of the Season and Off Leash Dogs Rant

First: Pictures!

Disclaimer:  This is a rant, sorry for being negative.

We went out looking for signs of spring but all we found was mud and ice!  It was beautiful though- in the 70's today!  First we went to the middle school's athletic fields and I jogged a mile on their track and let Delilah run around off leash (she must have sprinted 2 or 3 miles at least).  And then we went hiking at Indian Brook, a park across from my neighborhood.  I was hoping it wouldn't be busy on a Monday morning, but it was very busy!

They have a rule posted all around the park- only dogs under voice control are allowed off leash.  We must have run into 8 or 9 dogs, and all but 3 of them blew off their recall and charged up and scared Delilah.  She's very friendly and gets excited to greet other dogs but as soon as they start jumping on her that makes her scared (imagine being tackled by a stranger 10x your size!)  I try to body block or grab their collars.  The owners are usually idiots: "Don't worry, he's just playing!"

There was one dog that ran towards us, stopped with his hackles up, and hard stared and growled at Delilah.  The owner was calling but of course he didn't listen.  I stepped between him and Delilah.  I yelled at him to go away.  The owner called "Don't worry, he doesn't bite!  He's a good boy!"  He charged at us and I picked up Delilah and blocked him, kneeing at him to keep him away.  The owner grabbed him and said "Sorry, he's not used to little dogs" as if the situation were MY fault for hiking with a small dog!  How about you don't let your aggressive dog off leash?

So even though Indian Brook's only half a mile away from us, unfortunately I think we're going to have to drive to other towns to go hiking in less populated areas.  There are just too many irresponsible owners out there and I don't feel like I can keep my dog safe around them.

Winter Storm Stella

Delilah and I hope everyone on the east coast is staying safe and warm!

Yesterday morning I walked some shelter dogs before the roads got bad.  Just as I was wrapping up my boyfriend texted me.  He needed a ride home because they were getting out from work early.

I walked Trudy again- she is such a good girl, I wonder why no one's adopted her yet!

I also met a handsome lab named Marley.  

Delilah was NOT a fan of the snow.  She screamed at it from inside the house, but would not go outside.  Right now she's refusing to poop.  To be fair, it's higher than she is when she stands on two legs though, I can't really blame her.

Hay There! (And a Training Update)

Sam's sister and her boyfriend ended up coming over last night.  Delilah has met them before but has still been uncomfortable with them.  We followed the steps in the report the trainer gave us for introducing her to guests outside.  I started off far away and was giving her raw meat nuggets and we got gradually closer.  She didn't bark at all outside and seemed more interested in the food than the visitors.

They went inside first and Delilah barked several times while we were still outside the house, because she could see them moving and talking inside.  I switched to Natural Balance semi moist food when we moved into the house because I didn't want raw food on the floor.

Once we were inside she quieted down and focused on the food again.  I tossed pieces onto the rug for her to find.  Overall she did really well- we were all in the living room together and they were on the couch and Delilah and I were by the rug.  

She did freak out a little when the boyfriend stood up- she made these high pitched shrieks and tried to run at him- but I had her on a leash and stepped on it.  The rest of the visit was uneventful.  I moved her into the kitchen when he came out of the bathroom until he was sitting back down.

We went on a hike after that and she was fine with both of them during the hike and they completely ignored her- didn't try to look at her or talk to her or anything.  She was on a long lead for the hike.  I was still giving her treats on the hike.

She was actually super good for the entire visit!  I'm so proud of my little girl and excited that this new training procedure worked so well!

Our First Apple Picking Adventure this Season

My sister was home from Scotland last week so we went apple picking with the family (sans my youngest sister who just went off to college).  Delilah came along and had a great time.  It was super early in the season, so there weren't too many varieties available to pick, but there also weren't a lot of people.  We'll probably go again in a month or two.

Throwback Thursday: A Fall Hike

These pictures were from a hike I went on with Mia a few years ago at Mills Riverside Park.  We always had such a great time hiking at this park.  Soon I will be able to go on some beautiful fall hikes with Delilah!  Unfortunately the camera I had back then broke, and my phone's camera doesn't do Vermont's gorgeous scenery justice.  

Happy National Dog Day!

Happy National Dog Day from me and Delilah!  I hope you all are enjoying the day with your furry friends!

To celebrate, we went on a 2 hour hike today.  We tried a new park, Colchester Pond.  It was great!  Dogs had to be on leash, which is good, because Delilah still needs to be on a long lead and I hate when uncontrolled off leash dogs run up to her when we're training on hikes.  We didn't have that problem at all today!

Posing

We ran through a field!

The scenery was beautiful.

I really liked the contrast of the birch bark.

Swimming

Climbing

Found this cute little guy (or girl!)

Adventuring

Adventures in Jericho

We went to Mills Riverside Park yesterday!

It was a beautiful day.

Delilah listened so well!

My beautiful girl <3

Delilah found a river and lost her shit.

Attacking the river.

Practicing recall.

 Playing with her West Paw Design Jive ball.