17 and 18 weeks - Hiking

There is nothing I love more than hiking with my dogs. I love the feeling of being away from civilization, away from the craziness. The best is of course being out in a truly pristine wilderness, but a little patch of green space within the city is fine too. And the epitome of a great hike is having well mannered dogs off leash. It is imperative that Kili learns this skill for our enjoyment and my sanity. Here is a little taste of what we do.

I work on recalls on hikes. I also will reward dogs for checking in with me. Summit has a habit of getting very far behind or very far in front. He has a good recall so it's not a big problem, but I do wish he would check in with me more. Kili is very good for this so far. Of course at this age I am pretty much her whole world and as the world gets bigger and more interesting she may not do so as often. As long as her recall remains excellent I'm not too concerned.

Follow the leader!

Pretty girl

Demon dog incoming!

Into the mystic....

 During her 18th week we traveled up north to visit the in-laws for Christmas. This involved an 8 hour drive. Kili travels very well, as does Summit. However, locking an 18 week old puppy in a truck for 8 hours with no exercise is like strapping a 5 year old child into a car. Except you'd be very lucky for a 5 year old to sleep quietly the entire 8 hours. What IS the same is that you arrive at your destination with a very excitable, under-exercised creature that won't let you sleep. And for Kili it meant being crated in a totally new place, new routine, new everything. Add to that the fact that my in-laws are not exactly dog people. To combat all of this I took the dogs for long, deep snow hikes to tire her out and help her be a well behaved little puppy.

The next two photos give you an idea of how big Kili is getting. Keep in mind that Summit is a 75lb, relatively tall, male.

Then on the drive home I look behind me to see this:

Looks comfy right? From the same hound that brought you this last summer....