Rugger and Axel

Rugger stinks. I put his bedding in the washing machine and I put him in the bathtub. I picked up a bottle of medicated shampoo from the vet when we were there and I went about soaking him down and soaping him up with it. He was surprisingly good about it all. He even stepped into the tub on his own. I led him in there but I didn't have to even lift him up to get him in the tub. I think baths were a frequent occurrence since he's been at the shelter and he obviously didn't fear it. The worst part is sitting and waiting the 5-10 minutes that they recommend to allow the medicated shampoo to work on his skin. I figured we had been soaping for at least five minutes and then we sat and waited another five before rinsing him off.

I let him outside because it was 80 degrees this afternoon, with plenty of sunshine and a good drying wind. I put his collar back on and then harnessed up Maya to head out for a hike to finish the drying process. As I was getting the two dogs into the van, Axel appeared out of nowhere and jumped into the van to go with us. He can climb out of the dog yard fence when he wants to. It's just surprising that he doesn't want to more often, I guess. I never leave him in the dog yard when we go away, but I have been leaving him there with Max and Theo and Trooper during the day and he's quite content.

Dental exam by photo. His teeth really do look
pretty good. I'd say the 6 year old age seems
about right. 

Since Axel was determined to go along, and because he was already in the van, I took Maya back to the house and promised to take her another day. I took the trash out before leaving and looked around the kitchen to see if there was anything she was likely to get into.

Although I felt guilty not taking Maya, I'm glad I left her at home because the two boys, Rugger and Axel, were enough to handle today. Both dogs are pretty new to leash walking and hiking and both are pretty strong. Two dogs was enough for today. I was glad it was these two because I wanted Rugger to spend time with another dog while doing something he enjoyed. They got along fine on the hike. Rugger's social skills are definitely improving, faster than I expected.

We had a good walk and Maya only pulled one empty food container out of the sink and chewed it up while we were gone. Rugger came back dry and smelling much better. I know he'll probably need another bath in a few days, but at least the meds should be working on his stink from the inside now too.

When Axel saw me taking dogs to the van, he knew
it meant that a hike was happening and he was
determined to go along.

Rugger is still fairly wet here, but the sun sparkles
on his fur. The circles of bare skin around his eyes
make him look older and sadder than he is.

When we came to Sparky's Watering Hole, Rugger waded
right on in. He likes the water.

Axel didn't mind walking through the water, but he saw no
need to go in any deeper than his white socks.

The two boys walked well together, but they wanted to stop
and sniff and mark things, a lot, so I had to do quite a bit of
pulling to keep them moving forward.

This is Axel's normal tail carriage, up high and
curled over his back.

Axel's tan legs and white socks are very pretty and
a great contrast to his shiny black coat.

He also has a tiny white tip on his tail.

Today's walk was 3.4 miles and that was long enough for
Rugger. He needs to build up some leg muscle and stamina
for longer walks. Axel could run a marathon.