Wednesdays outing was along the inter-urban trail that starts in Fairhaven. We ended up hiking about 12 miles round trip. Usually Bernie and I spend our outings just the two of us. But my moms dog, Angel just looked so bored and pathetic, I decided she could use a bit of a walk.
Angel is the type of dog that has endless energy, she would truely be a canidate for a daily run of about 10 miles. But alas, she does not get that kind of exercise. I try to go out and throw the ball for her in the back pasture each day when I am around, but that just burns off a fraction of the energy.
The inter-urban trail runs along an old rail road grade. It travels through some nice stands of trees, along a steep hillside that looks out across the bay, and ends at Larabee State Park which lies along the bay. Its a nice, mostly level, beautiful trail.
The focus of the day ended up being Angel. She is an entertaining dog, but has some neurosis she needs to work through. Too many to list, but a couple of the big ones being too aggresive to other dogs, and being overly hyper in certain situations. So as the day went on, we worked on being a civil dog when other dogs came along. This is a big challenge for her for some reason. And we have two other dogs that she lives with….. Dogs are always supposed to be on leashes along this trail, but people let them off. I wish I could have done this with her, but I just don’t trust her with the other dogs, and the possibility of her running off, never to be found again.
Perhaps it was an exercise more for me than her. I do not always have the most patience in the world, and it is a good challenge for me to deal with slightly chaotic energy in a level headed way. In some ways I am not sure if I did well in this exercise, I wanted her to come to a more centered place. But I think it gave me a little bit of perspective on things, and I was able to do some of my own mental work. And in the long run, Angel seems to have a great time. She doesn’t mind her chaotic energy, she enjoys having energy. And she makes me laugh.
Even with all of that, we had an enjoyable outing. It really is a beautiful walk along most parts of the trail. And at the end of the trail we went down to the beach at Larabee State Park, and played in the sand. It was a nice midway point, and then we got to turn around and walk back to the car. The sunshine lately has been so wonderful, its been really nice to get outside and enjoy it.
This is a lovely dog Stacey. They do have a lot of pent up energy at times don’t they.
Beautiful dog! I love her muddy paws in the last picture
She’s a pretty girl. Carson never walked well on a leash, my fault. Feeling any more patient?
Gaelyn: I do feel like I am getting somewhat better at patience than I have been in the past. But I am well aware that I still need work on it. For some reason I am bad about having to have things done a particular way, well in some instances at least. And this leads to lack of patience. I feel that I have been getting better about going with the flow in general. Oh well, there is always work to do.
Well, Angel exudes spunk and gorgeousness. What is it with bitch dogs who are extremely energetic and desperately need opportunities to work off that excess and who also are aggressive with other dogs? We had a female Shepherd cross who was a basketcase, unless i walked her for three miles, at a good trot, twice a day. She was a hellion toward dogs we’d meet and would drag me in her wake, as she stalked an oncoming dog. I had to learn tremendous patience with her, and had to be mindful all of her long life. But she was a dear, anyway. G
G: That is a challenge when a dog is like that. We all watch the dog whisperer, and if I had a dog I would train it with his methods, my parents like his method in theory, but don’t follow through with it.
Stacey, thanks for visiting my crazy blog. We lived in B’Ham for a few years and absolutley loved it. I know exactly which trail you are referring to…ohhh I miss living up there!
We live about 30 minutes north of Vancouver, WA. Yes spring has definately sprung here. Lawn mowing, popcicles, slugs…you know the whole thing!
Love that dog!!! Kim
Kim: Thanks for the visit. Yeah, Bellingham is an interesting place. I grew up here, and it has grown soooo much in the last 10 years or so. Its actually a little too big for me, but I tend to end up here in between adventures. Thats good to know that its spring down here, that means we arent too far away!
I adore that photo of you and Angel. Being a dog lover and having a dog myself, particularly one that is also aggressive to other dogs I can relate to this problem. I love the energy in that photo though
Beautiful dog.
Karen: Thank You. Angel is one of those dogs, that you love most of the time, but sometimes its really a love hate relationship. But she makes everyone laugh….. I will have to take a picture of her with her “baby” (a stuffed animal dog as big as she is) and post it on here.