4 miles x 3 dogs = Tired Brent

I wish I had a "head-on" picture of us. I
think it would be an impressive shot.

It was only four miles and the pace wasn't record-setting by any means, but this evening I feel like I ran a marathon carrying a backpack. Diesel and Maya decide when I've wasted enough of the day with work and they start agitating for their walk. I didn't think I'd have time for more than one today, so I decided to take along a third dog. The new lab, Scooby, enjoyed it so much yesterday that I decided to bring him along again.

This is Maya's "why are we stopping?" look.

They all walk together pretty well when we are on a defined trail. It's a bit chaotic when we first start out, but once we are on the trail with the noses all pointed in the same direction, we look like a well-disciplined pack. That discipline all falls apart if we come to an open field, however. Everyone then has their own idea about which way we should go and no one seems interested in my opinion. That's where my back comes into play. They pull me just as I pull them, so we are all pretty tired tonight.

Maya has developed into a very good trail walker and although she's not pushy with the other dogs, she's the one who knows what's going on out there and they all get with her program for the most part. I mentioned before that I'm teaching her voice commands ("right" and "left") when we come to intersections in the trail and she's beginning to pick up on it. If she spots the intersecting trail she will slow her pace and sometimes even look back at me, knowing that I'm going to indicate a preference of which route to take. Occasionally the intersection is less obvious, however, and she will blow right past it and then seems surprised if I announce and effect a change in direction.

The only time Diesel pulls really hard is when
leaving the house and getting to the van when
we are heading out for a walk.

Maya will sometimes cross underneath
Diesel if she wants to get to the other side,
but I can usually pull her leash back and
guide her over if I need to change the line up.

The only way I can get any face shots is to stop
to take pictures, but if I take too long, they get bored.

 

Scooby is a great looking dog and very well mannered.
Maya is turning them all into deer hunters.