Always new

A reader of this blog could understandably grow tired of pictures of my dogs while hiking. I could easily understand someone thinking that the pictures are boring and repetitive, but I assure you that for me and the dogs, it's new every time we hit the trails.

TJ is loving our walks, and as I've said before,
there is no better way to bond with a dog.

From the dogs' perspective, every scent is something new and exciting and they must change constantly. I know that for Maya at least, the prospect of spotting wildlife never grows old. I know the trails like the back of my hand, but we take a new route every time and I plan the route as I'm walking, thinking about which trails will get me the distance I want and get me back to the starting point where my van is parked. Today we came across a new trail that has just been opened, so we took that. I was hoping that one or more new routes would be added this spring and was pleased to find this one. I hope there will be others because it means more route options.

A walk in the woods exercises the mind as well
as the body. The dogs' brains receive and process
and lot of stimuli. They are both mentally and
physically satisfied when we are done.

I suspect that Maya views our hikes as
"patrolling our territory."