What Dogs Do

What two tired puppies do...

FLD Scout squeezes into the dog bed with Gus.

...when I'm baking cookies.

Christmas cookies cool on a rack with the lighted Christmas tree behind. See those two silly puppies still sleep in the bed?

A Winter Precursor

"The computer weather says it will clear up after 1:00," Andy announced. The morning was a dreary drizzle. "Let's take the dogs to Ogemaw Hills Pathway for a hike later."

The dogs were all for it, never mind that the sky refused to turn blue.

Gypsy is remarkably generous, allowing FLD Scout and Gus to sit with her on the way to Ogemaw Hills Pathway.

We parked off Sage Lake Road to explore the "most difficult" section of the Pathway's more than 13 rolling miles of hiking and cross-country ski trails.

We are familiar with the "easiest" and "more difficult" trails accessible off Fairview Road, most recently last February when we lost Elaina and Andy and I skied as much of the route as we could in attempts to find her. 

Natalie leads the group last winter on the "easier" trails (minus Elaina).

Anne gives a whistle.

She showed up later, oblivious to our send-Anne-and-the-girls-to-town-for-help concern (cell phones don't work well up here). Her first-time skiing and she took off ahead of us, following the trail markers and having a great time.

Elaina back at marker #1, where I eventually found her.

Lesson learned--announce "stay in contact with the group" BEFORE strapping skis on athletic teens!

Back to our Sunday afternoon hike.

The "most difficult" section proved once again that trail designations always overstate the difficulty. The "backslide" was appropriately named--a long, gradually winding downhill through 100' pines and hardwoods. Beautiful. And contrary to "what goes down must come up," the subsequent uphills were not as difficult as we imagined they might be. But. We weren't on skis!

After almost three miles of hiking down and up in the saturated forest, three dogs (and two people) were ready for a rest.

Three tired dogs on the drive home. Gypsy looks like she's thinking, "Jeez Scout, you're the littlest one and you're taking up all the room!" Gus did the smart thing and opted for the floor.

I, for one, am looking forward to snow and revisiting the "most difficult" trails at Ogemaw Hills Pathway!

Saturday Morning Sport--Two-on-One

FLD Scout and Gus wake up exuberant. Gypsy, not so much. But they all want to play with me. After breakfast, I indulge them.

Now that Gus is career-changed, I can toss him things to fetch. Or catch. He has to learn to do both.

I pick up a small red Kong and have three dogs at instant attention. Catch it, I say to Gus with a toss. He leaps into the air like a Michael Jordan about to dunk, but whiffs it--the Kong slips through his paws and rebounds crazily away, quite unlike a basketball. Somehow, he touches down and beats the other two, snatches it up, and brings it back to me.

He's got retrieval down. 

This time I toss the Kong toward the far end of our living-room court. This time Gus flies up with four paws tucked to his body and amazingly twists himself around in mid-air. He whiffs it again, but this time he forgets about the landing.

WHAMM! He shakes the court as he slams the floor. He recovers, but not fast enough this time to get to the Kong before Gypsy. 

It's a standoff. Gus, at the far end of the court, feigns a steal. Gypsy faces off with him, her growls muffled with a mouthful of Kong. Scout lingers near me, weighing her options.

Gypsy drops the Kong to heighten her threat and Gus bounces backwards into a play-bow. She snarls and barks. Gus echoes with a deeper WOOOOF. Scout has her eye on the Kong, which has taken a defensive rebound away from Gypsy. 

Scout lowers her head, crouches like a stealth-cat, and creeps forward, one sneaky paw at a time. Gypsy yowls to the ceiling and has no clue that Scout is about to steal the Kong.

Kong-in-mouth, Scout nonchalantly turns away and wanders back to the living room proper, as if nothing untoward has occurred. 

But Gus sees all. He bullets past a still-howling Gypsy and carries on the action with Scout, who is more than happy to share a grapple.

FLD Scout and Gus--best buds.

On Assignment. West Branch Puppy Outing

The pre-winter storm that hammered the Bay City area didn't hit our northeastern corner of the state last night. The wind howled and moaned in the trees, but only the stars filled the night sky. At mid-morning, when Phyllis and Dick pulled up in their monster van to pick up FLD Scout and me for a puppy-outing, they sky burned blue and clear.

FLD Scout peered up into the van when I opened the side door. It was too high a jump for her, so I scooped her in. Camera bag, Leader Dog puppy-clean-up bag, and hand bag bopped her from my shoulder; she didn't care. She spotted FLD Autumn hunkered down between the two front seats.

FLD Autumn is a full-of-herself 8-week-old yellow lab. Phyllis and Dick picked her up from Leader Dogs for the Blind not long after they returned LD mom Amber's eight bouncing black lab puppies. Dick said, "One is a lot easier than eight!"

During the 20-mile drive to West Branch to meet Tammy (and FLD Ruckus) and Judy (and FLD JD) for some group socialization at the Tanger Outlet mall (and lunch at the LumberJack), Scout and Autumn went from crazy-wild-puppy-play to puppies-asleep-in-a-pile.

FLD Autumn flies to play with FLD Scout.

"What?"

Tired puppies--and we haven't even reached West Branch yet!

I think they are going to be good friends.

 

FLD Autumn begs FLD JD to play, but...working bandanas are on means it is time to go to work.

FLD Scout shows FLD Autumn how to hold a SIT/STAY.

I always like the commotion BEFORE a group photo is taken! Phyllis has FLD Autumn under control, but the others have their hands full. Sam with FLD JD, Dick with FLD Scout, Judy and Tammy with FLD Ruckus.

It was a beautiful sunny day and FLD Autumn decides to make the most of it.

Thanks, Tammy, for getting this together!

(Story to follow in the next issue of the Ogemaw County Voice.)