Wildlife walks with Bailey

Bailey and I have been hitting the four mile hikes pretty hard lately. I'm trying to lose 10 pounds before we leave for vacation. She just wants to go. For her, it's all about spotting wildlife, deer especially, but she's also keen on squirrels, rabbits, and birds – anything that moves. She saw a pileated woodpecker working its way around and up a tree one day and we stopped to watch that.

When we walk the trails I use a rope harness on her and basically let her pull me as hard as she wants. My arms and back are sore but it adds to my exercise and it must tire her out more too, although that's never become obvious. Sometimes, rarely, I'll spot the deer first just because my height advantage over her let's me see some things before they enter her field of vision. Mostly, however, she's so alert to any movement that she'll spot the deer before I do, and often before they even spot us. Bailey doesn't try to drag me off the trail to go after them, usually she does what they do, stop, freeze, and stare. That gives me the opportunity to get my camera zoomed in to get a picture of them. 

We've encountered horseback riders and she's cool with them. We get well off the trail and let them pass but she doesn't freak out or bark or try to go after them. She's the same way with bikes, and with people, although if they have dogs I do keep an extra tight hold on her. We've had a couple encounters with off-leash dogs and she's handled them pretty well also. She can handle herself well enough, it's the off-leash dogs who should be worried.

One of our deer friends.

The staring contest can go on for quite a while.

This guy was a couple feet off the trail and I was surprised that she alerted on him, but he must have made a movement as we were passing.

Della update:  We've increased her pain meds and she doesn't complain about the pain, but she's completely non-weight bearing on that leg so it obviously hurts. She's more inclined to pick a nice spot outdoors to lay and watch the activity, but she still wants to be in on everything. She sometimes changes beds several times throughout the night, even after everyone has gone to sleep. Maybe it's comfort seeking, or she may just be asserting her authority over the other dogs in the bedroom. If Della wants a bed, she gets it.