The walking trio

I haven't walked more than two dogs at once for quite a while, but my back is better and it was a rainy morning so no one got much outdoor time. Consequently there were lots of volunteers wanting to go with me so I decided I could take Della plus two, if the two were fairly reasonable. Elvis and Paisley met that standard.

I usually crop my pictures to focus more on the dogs, but with three dogs I used the wide angle setting for quite a few shots to get them all in and I kind of liked the effect so I'm showing them all "as is." We went 2.6 miles starting before 4:00 p.m. The day was breezy with more clouds than sunshine so there were not a lot of people out. That suits me well. We don't have any true wilderness around here, but wilderness is at least partly a state of mind. As long we don't encounter a lot of people my imagination takes us to many wild places far beyond Fluvanna county, Virginia.

I love all the leg shadows in this one.

My van is well outfitted for three dogs.

Two pair

Kinley & Kash

Late morning I took Kinley and Kash up to Pleasant Grove and did the regular two mile walk on the road based on the assumption that the trails are muddy from recent rain. The sun was out more than predicted today and it was chilly but actually pretty nice walking weather.

There were a number of people and dogs out today. As soon as we started out Kinley spotted a dog and started acting the fool. I had neither the strength or the patience for that bulllshit. We hadn't gone far so I turned around and went back to the van and put her Gentle Leader on. What a difference! Not only did it stop her pulling, but it also stopped her from even reacting to seeing other dogs. She walked perfectly next to me for the entire route. An added bonus was the fact that because she didn't react to every dog or person we saw, the puppy Kash didn't do so either. 

Kinley & Kash sounds like the name of a law firm or something, doesn't it? They are great together. Kinley is very tolerant of him and actually engages in puppy play with him whereas the other dogs around here are just annoyed by him.

Here they are playing together up in the office. Della doesn't approve of indoor play

so I had to put these two out in Daneland this afternoon. 

Maya & Della

Late in the afternoon I went out again, walking the same route, but this time with Maya and Della. I hadn't taken Maya out for a walk in quite a while. She's pretty content to spend most of her time on the bed underneath my desk, but she gets annoyed when I'm not sitting there with her. I need to make a vet appointment for Maya this week. She's due for some stuff but mostly I'd like a general assessment of her health.

Maya is showing her age these days, but as long as her tail looks like this when we are out walking I know what she's interested, engaged, and glad to be along.

This is as close as I can come to getting a picture of the three of us walking together.

Max at golden hour

I haven't walked Max in quite a while but I've been wanting to and today he was in the right spot at the right time. He had gone outside about an hour before and he's notoriously difficult to get back in because he doesn't come when called. But he had been out long enough and he knew it wasn't dinner time yet, so he allowed me to herd him towards the door of the house where I slipped the harness and leash on him rather than letting him back inside.

He was happy to go along and he attempted the jump into the back of the van, but I had to help. His rear end no longer has quite enough oomph to make that leap. He had no trouble with the two mile route on the road through the park, however. I did hear a little bit of knuckle dragging from the rear legs on the last half of the walk, but for a German Shepherd of his age (12?) he's remarkably fit and ambulatory.

There was an off-leash dog running around while the owner was hitting golf balls.

Della is focused on the dog here, so we steered clear.

It was late afternoon when we started out and it was cloudy and fairly cool. The sun dropped below the clouds about midway through our walk giving us some fifteen magical minutes of the golden hour before the sun set. That time of day makes beautiful pictures of any dog, but particularly a reddish brown GSD like Max. This may seem like a lot of pictures, but I actually narrowed down the selection quite a bit. These are for the shepherd lovers.

The setting sun lights Max's fur on fire, but Della's eyes reflect the nuclear fusion in the sun.

Max may be the last pure bred German Shepherd Dog that I own.

If so, I have no regrets that it was him.