A dog’s perspective on hiking

 

Speaking as a dog with considerable hiking experience I can tell you that living in Summit County, Ohio affords a diverse selection of trails ranging from very easy to much more challenging. My people and I have hiked a lot of them and they all have appeal for different reasons.

The newly recreated Ohio Erie Canal towpath trail winds all through Summit County. It has parking areas within a few miles from one to the other. We frequently walk the sections from Summit Lake south to Canal Fulton. Each one has interesting things to see, including old locks, remnants of old mills, and even a canal boat being pulled by two horses. The paths are in excellent condition and great to hike no matter what the weather, so even in rainy weather I do not end up with wet, muddy paws.

Next, we have a wonderful selection of metropolitan parks, with at least one trail in each park. They range from very easy hikes of a little over a mile to my favorites, the more challenging Mingo Trail in Sand Run and Gorge Park. Both of these trails have steep hills, bridges, huge boulders, roots, and lots of chipmunks.

We also have a section of the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreational Area which is equally beautiful and diverse with rolling hills, streams, lakes and meadows. There you will see deer, beavers, racoons, muskrats, herons and other birds. I love sniffing out their trails and Mary and Tom like identifying the tracks of many other animals.

So grab your leash, get your people, and join me on the trails. Maxie

 

   At The Gorge Metro Park

Today was perfect. The weather was just right, the sun was out, and my people took me on a walk. We went to what they called the "Gorge" All I know is that it had big trees to wee on, steep hills with lots of rocks, and chipmunks.

 You know chipmunks, those little, fast, nasty, chewing rodents. Something like a squirrel but smaller and sneakier.

The "Gorge" was loaded with them and I was on full alert. We had just started our hike and Tom and Mary were busy watching where they stepped because of all of the rocks and tree roots in the path, when right there, next to me, popped up a chipmunk.

I nabbed, Tom grabbed, I dropped, and Mary squeaked.

Mary was upset with me and kept telling me I was a HERDING dog, not a Hunting dog. Tom kept telling her it was already in bad shape before I snapped it up. And I’m not talking – literally.

The rest of the hike was a lot of fun with bridges, big rocks, waterfalls, and steep ravines. All and all a perfect day.

 

It is my experience that there are times that my people, Mary and Tom, do not appreciate my barking. They do not understand the overwhelming need or the sheer joy of running around and barking.

For all the young puppies reading this, here is what I have learned about acceptable and unacceptable barking:  If you live along a waterfront, you will get praised for barking at the ducks, and geese to chase them out of your yard back into the lake. I am encouraged to chase the squirrels off of our deck, but I get yelled at for barking at them on the telephone lines. I still am not sure what the difference is, maybe it is just a crazy human thing.

Next, I can bark at dogs that try to come in my yard, but I am not allowed to bark or growl (this is a real social NO-No) at other dogs when they take me walking in the park.  I can bark at cats wandering in the neighborhood, but never am I to bark at the cats that live with me. Also, if I growl at my housemate cats for trying to play with a toy I like, I will definitely get in trouble.

I sometimes also get in trouble for extended conversations with other dogs on the boats that go by our lakefront home.  From what I can tell Mary won’t start ordering me to stop until I reach the fifth bark, which is usually right in the middle of my “How are you doing to….” greeting.

But, she will usually ignore my barking when people boat by and whistle and call my name or inanely make barking sounds at me. She knows that I am famous on the lake for my duck herding skills and that people want to see me run down our yard and out onto the dock. I usually put on a good show with a ten toe overhanging skid at the end of the dock. Mary thinks they may just want to see if I can stop in time.

It is definitely good barking when I alert them to strangers at the door, or if there are strange noises in the middle of the night. If someone I know comes to the door, it is only acceptable for one or two happy barks to say hello.

Part of why my people are so strict about barking is because they do not want me to disturb the neighbor. One of our neighbors has a yappy little dog that races along the fence barking, but I am not allowed to run and bark back.  It doesn’t seem fair. Mary and Tom also keep me inside when a neighbor  mows his yard because I can’t resist barking at what I think is just another thing to herd.

So, my hint to you is to reserve your joyful barking for when your humans are not home and the rest of the time try to follow their acceptable barking rules.  That way you will get more "good dog" pets and treats.

 

If you are really lucky you have a friend that is as close as a brother or sister. That is what I had with Meiyah, she was my "sister", my sidekick, my cheerleader, and my best friend. I loved Meiyah and she loved me.

Last week, Meiyah wasn’t feeling good, she was breathing hard and Mary took her to the vet's. I waited and hoped, and kept watching for her but she didn’t come home, not that day or the next, or the next. On the fourth day, Mary finally brought her home.

But it wasn’t my Meiyah any more, my friend was gone. Mary told me the vet said that Meiyah had lung cancer and would never have gotten better. She said that Meiyah had gone to run free with the dogs that came before us, Khan, SuZee, Reni and Amber.

I stood watch as Mary buried her on that cold, snowy day.

No more pain for her. Now we are the ones that hurt, we miss her so.

Love you always Meiyah,

Maxie

February 2010 has brought more snow than I have ever seen. At first it was a blast. I charged through the fluffy stuff, helped Mary knock it off the shrubs and the deck and played in the yard with Tom.

But now we have had so much snow that we have broken records and there is still more snow coming. At this point the last thing I need is more snow.

If you measure to the top of my head it is only 17 inches and as you can see in the photo, the snow is higher than that.  This limits my yard patrolling to paths that Mary made for me and other paths that I have created for myself by bunny hoping through the drifts.

If you can visualize it, my problem is that male dogs need a certain amount of potty space, and that is just not provided by a belly wide path with sides that  tower over my head. I know better than to potty on the shoveled off deck and I am not allowed out on the ice on the lake. My options are shrinking with every snowfall.

Enough already! I hope the spring thaw gets here soon.

 

 

Tis the Season for Human Insanity

It is the Holiday Season for Humans, not for dogs or cats. My people, Mary & Tom have disrupted the house and decorated it with fake trees on which I am not allowed to wee. Plus, they have inconsiderately placed them in my favorite spots for sleeping.

Over the next few weeks it will only get worse. Mary will wrap presents down on the floor in my space and will not allow me to sit on the paper, the presents, or her lap. It wouldn’t be so bad, but none of the presents will be for me since she declared last year that I do not need any new chew bones because I choked on mine in my hurry to try and nap my sister Meiyah’s bone. And will we get any of the great holiday food? NO! Mary says it isn’t healthy and Meiyah is on a diet.

This year however, may be the year that tops them all. This morning Mary went off the deep end, entirely lost it, and insulted the DOG – Me!

She sat me in front of the offensive fake tree, plopped a set of reindeer antlers on my head and had Tom snap my picture. As you can see this was so-o-o not a good idea. However, Mary thought it was too precious. Grr! She intends to send it to family and friends. Grrrrr!

So my fuzzy friends beware – your people may loose it just like mine did. Be prepared to run and hide at the first sign of fake antlers, cute bows, fake halos, and Santa Hats. If you don’t you will look just like me and my cousin Missie.

 
    

We are on vacation in the Smoky Mtns of Tennessee. So far we are having a great time, running up and down stairs at the cabin, taking walks, checking exotic p-mail, relaxing with our people. Today was a special day, we got to go for a hike along the river in Gatlinburg at the Smoky Mtns National Park. Mary and Tom enjoyed the scenery, I was on the lookout for bear. I didn't see him, but I could smell that he had been there and I was ready, all 27 pounds of me.

The only flea in my happy time is that we also went sightseeing which from a dog's point of view is only good for a long nap in the back of the station wagon. We bounced along winding roads until we got to a spot where we could park to look at even more mountains. As you can see from the photo I looked quite impressive posing on "top of the world."  A hint for all of my dog friends, this will get you a lot of "ahs" and pets from other tourists. Of course it was short lived and then Meiyah and I got stuffed back into the back of the car for more sightseeing.

The sightseeing was pretty boring until I stepped on a button on the side of the door which lowered the window while we were going down a steep mountain. For a few fleet seconds I could smell fresh air and I let my tongue flap in the breeze. Of course Mary and Tom were having panic attacks and it all ended as Mary quickly put up the rear window and engaged the window locks. Now I just need to fiqure out how to unlock them.

I set a quick pace balanced with time for getting "pets" from the neighbors, as well as for reading the local pMail. << MORE >>

Chaos! Great word that can be applied to many things. It can be good, or bad, or both. In my case, it is mostly good.  Note I said mostly.

My chaos involves being on vacation at a cabin up on Ski Mtn. in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It is a big cabin with three floors, four bedrooms, decks, and a nice really big table to sleep under. The table is very important because the cabin's main level floorplan allows you to go from room to room in a big circle around the center stairs that lead up or down a level. It is really big, until you add three extra adults and 4 kids (six and five year old boys and five and 3 year old girls.)

The good chaos is the dropped cookie crumbs and the extra petting. The bad chaos is that I am used to chasing ducks and geese, I am not used to being chased, especially not in a big circle through the house by four kids.  I love my kids, but they really tire me out. Which is why I really like the big table, it is the perfect haven from all the Chaos.

I hate to admit something is cuter than moi, but, my new cousin is! No name yet, but check out one adorable puppy!