Cole's first walk

Maya

Theo

I wasn't really feeling the urge to walk today. By the time I got around to it the morning coolness was long gone and it felt like the humidity had set in again. Still, I knew I needed to do it, so I set out for a two miler with Maya and Theo.

Next I took Maya again, of course, and Trooper, who had been wanting to go again. I figured that a cooler day would be good for Trooper and he hung in there for another two miles.

Trooper and Maya

Max and Cole

I really needed to take Max, and I wanted to try Cole out on the trails too, so I left Maya at home for the third leg. She expressed her displeasure, as I knew she would, by getting up on the kitchen counter, rearranging a few things, and taking my paper coffee filters over to the big dog bed. She didn't destroy them, but she wanted to let me know that she could, which would have left me without coffee for tomorrow morning.

While she was busy plotting revenge, Max and Cole and I had a nice three mile walk. It was Cole's first time out, but he fell right into it. Max is not the sharpest pencil in the box, but he really has become a good trail dog. He's focused on the trail like he never is anyplace else. He has even learned my verbal "right" and "left" commands when we hit an intersecting trail. Max may not be a great role model for a lot of canine behavior, but he actually is when it comes to hiking, so Cole got off to a good start.

He really enjoyed it too, his tail was wagging throughout the entire walk. He was just happy to be doing something, getting some attention, and being a part of things. He's been great in his crate indoors at night. I'm not sure I'd trust him loose in the house unattended, but I brought him indoors after today's walk and he was fine.

Cole mimicked Max's behavior on the trail,
for the most part, but he would turn around to
look at me whenever he had the chance.