The Duo's Saturday

K is doing her best to settle into her new sedentary role. She can take only very short walks so she's been upset when I leave her behind to exercise or train R. Yesterday afternoon, I took her for a short walkabout on our property before doing some training with R. Unfortunately, she was noisily unhappy with being in the house while R was out with me. She cried piteously, so loudly that I could hear her through our closed windows. I felt horrendous for her, wanting to bury my head in a pillow and cry.

For those of you who are interested, K tore a branch of her deep digital flexor tendon that pulls one of her middle toes downward. That's why it was jutting up at an odd angle prior to surgery. The surgeon reconstructed it using some remaining tendon plus some other connective tissue in the area. The particular type of rupture and location was unique so the surgeon had to improvise. That's why we cannot be certain of long-term outcome.

While she was indoors, R and I did our very first agility training together. This is part of his obsessive-compulsive disorder behavioral training. I've been told that he needs more "hobbies", things for him to obsess about that aren't related to water-drinking. R suggested that he'd like trombone lessons :) 

I decided that more basic obedience training, agility training, plus a series of games that he can play in the house (instead of drinking water) would be more appropriate. I'll be writing more about this program but the bottom line is that an obsessive-compulsive dog cannot be cured of his obsessions but can diversify his obsessions so that he doesn't drink water so much that he gets sick. That's why R and I were doing teeter-totter and weave pole training yesterday afternoon. I'm pleased to report that he didn't drink maniacally yesterday evening - so Day 2 of his training was a success. However, K was extremely displeased with the attention that he was getting and let me know all about it.

This morning, I took the Duo for a very short jaunt in warm sunshine and golden leaves.

They both seemed to think that a fascinating animal had come close to our house last night but my cameras near the house only photographed a rabbit.

After the Duo's short jaunt, we arrived at the moment of truth. I had to take R for some serious exercise so that he could burn off some of his usual supersonic energy. The timing was terrible from the point of view of K's psyche - it was exactly the point in the day when I would usually take K for a mountain bike ride. Fortunately, she accepted our departure with much more serenity than last night, perhaps because I timed her pain medication so that she'd be very sleepy just as R and I departed.

I used my ride with R to work on some of the same basic obedience that I've been focusing on in our official training sessions. Here, he was running ahead of me, and I asked him to "wait". He did!

I'll forever love his lithe body shape, a classic field Lab's conformation. However, it's his champion field Lab brain that has led to his obsessive-compulsive behaviors. He needs a job, or better yet, lots of jobs to keep him happy.

We climbed up high, and I took off R's muzzle for some photos. Yes, the mushrooms are still here - now they're dried out but R still loves them too much to run around off-leash without a muzzle. Fortunately, we saw no one on our ride - R with a muzzle seems to make some people become emotionally unhinged.

He stood atop K's little arch in the bright sunshine. This took tremendous self-control because chipmunks mocked him loudly from down below. Our ground squirrels have entered their tunnels for hibernation but the chipmunks are still gorging themselves.

We visited the vast aspen grove near us to inhale the scent of dry leaves in autumn and revel in the yellow glory.

Then, we headed for home. We traveled on one of my favorite trails on Earth. It's so narrow and ledgy, and I almost never see another soul on it, except bears and deer. We also saw petite and agile red fox today, bounding through the brush with his luxuriously long white-tipped tail prominently bouncing up and down. What a gorgeous creature!

 

K met us at the door but didn't seem as piteously sad as yesterday. She spent the day at my feet, out on our deck. Her best human friend outside our family came to visit her. K snuggled with her friend and let out a contented sigh as she was showered with pats and belly rubs. K's friend stayed for almost an hour, an eternity of bliss in K's world. K knows when it's time to lie back and enjoy the moment.

Canines: wild and domesticated

Frenzied barking excitedly punctuated last night. The dogs acted like fierce protectors against unseen intruders. This morning, my first clue about who'd caused such chaos appeared on the trail that we use to access the forest. It was a packed path of coyote tracks. It looked like a dozen of the tawny canines had walked this snowy path, leaving a swath of pawprints.
When I checked our wildlife camera, I discovered that the visitors starting passing through early yesterday evening. I think that this red fox has decided to make this area his territory. He's appeared on our camera numerous times over the past couple of months. He visited twice last night.A few hours later, a trio of coyotes arrived. The three stayed for a couple of hours, passing in and out of the camera's range.
It's interesting to see three traveling together, clear evidence of pack behavior. I've read that biologists believe that coyotes started working in packs after humans extirpated wolves from this area. The coyotes were filling a niche that had opened with the absence of the wolves. I wonder what's happened to coyote behavior in areas where wolves have returned?
Finally, from about 2 AM until 6:30 AM, a lone coyote appeared repeatedly. In the many photos, he seemed obsessed with something up in the trees, staring upward in almost every photo except this one. I chose this one because it gives a clear view of his face. Needless to say, our resident canines nearly burst with explosive energy when they smelled the fox and coyotes. They seemed to barely register my existence.
So, I tried very hard not to lose patience with them, and we went back to training basics. Although I really wanted to peacefully pedal through the forest, we practiced a bunch of recalls before departing the coyote territory. I know that I'm preaching to the converted - but dogs do not generalize rules easily - so I take advantage of specific distractions, like coyote scent, to teach them to follow my cues even when that particular distraction is present. Below, they've almost completed a recall, sprinting and then, shortly later, skidding to a halt in front of me.Even after we left the coyote travel zone, the dogs remained hyped with adrenaline so I spent a lot of time on training games with them. Below, K is doing her 'paws' cue, where she rests her front paws on whatever object I point to. I taught her this trick after a back fusion surgery that rendered me incapable of reaching down to touch her collar or pat her head unless she met me halfway by putting her paws on something. In the photo below, I was trying to get R to do the same trick, and you can see that K looks worried about his uncooperative antics.
Next, the dogs practiced making eye contact for a treat. R almost had it right except that he kept his eyes closed at first. I wonder if this game bored him so much that he momentarily dozed off.
Then, once he opened them, I rewarded him. He looked less crazed today!
Finally, after spending what felt like an eternity on training, the dogs seemed under control, and we started peacefully chugging through our beautiful forest.Some aspens hung onto their golden leaves through yesterday's storm. Seeing bright yellow leaves with a snowy background is like a warm breeze through my soul. Alas, more snow is forecasted for the weekend so those leaves may swish to the ground soon.

In the thin layer of snow, we spotted wild turkey tracks. It looked like a turkey had strutted back and forth on my neighbor's land, almost like a sentry on patrol. This vision made me chuckle because my neighbor treks far and wide searching for wild birds to hunt, and it looked like this big bird had wandered his land for quite a while. I decided not to tell my neighbor about his feathered visitor.
After I dropped the dogs off at home, I headed out solo, going east and downhill to find some warmer air. In one lower elevation meadow, the aspen leaves still had a green tinge. Amazing!
The clouds meandered among the forested eastern hills and a few willows added a splash of yellow in the nearby meadow.
I passed a favorite spot, still adorned with bright leaves on the aspen trees. These trees must barely eke out an existence on the boulder-strewn cliff's edge. The clouds on the horizon obscure a glimpse of the mountains.
As I rolled along the ledge trail, beyond the cliff, I spotted a huge ribcage, picked clean of all muscle, down a ravine. I decided not to navigate the snowy rocks to look closely at it but, based on its size, I guessed that it was a bull elk.
I finally rolled home, truly exhausted after a not-too-long ride. I think that my autumn lull is hitting hard. Although I no longer formally train for competition, my body still follows the same yearly pattern as when I was a competitor. Part of that annual pattern was a loss of fitness in October - so it's happening right on schedule!

Enjoy your weekend!

Red fox and K's tuffet

A red fox visited our territory last night. At first, he sniffed the ground, likely searching for mice under our bear-proof birdfeeding station.
Then, something behind him caught his attention. Isn't he a handsome canine? When our wildlife camera captured his photo for the first time weeks ago, I wondered if he was passing through, on an adolescent's journey to find his own territory. His continuing presence makes me wonder if he's settled on our forest as his territory.
This morning, as K and I rolled out for a short and slow bike ride, she sniffed the ground intently where the red fox had stood hours before. It's so fun that our motion activated wildlife camera tells me what visitor she smells!

We rode up to Hug Hill, where misty and murky air surrounded us. K posed for me. She looked so serious - like she was deeply concerned about something.The ghostly light highlighted the brilliant aspens.And, although it hid our high mountains, the smaller hills looked surreal in the gloom.K zoomed around like her normal high energy self as we whooshed through yellow tunnels of aspen. I kept her outing short but she seemed even more like her normal vivacious self today.R's energy levels were off the charts today. As usual when he's frustrated by feeling too wired, he gathered almost all of the dog beds, dragging them one-by-one from the far reaches of the house, and placed them in a pile. Normally, his next step is to move all the beds, one-by-one, to another location in the house. However, K stymied him by lying on the lumpy and uneven tuffet! R barked at her and tried to pull a bed out from under her but she wouldn't budge. I wish I'd had time to video the whole hysterical interaction.

Wildlife visits, a ride with the duo, & vacation adventure

Nary an animal ventured past our wildlife camera while we were on vacation. Since returning, we've had a parade of visitors.

A Black Bear lumbered under our bearproof birdfeeding station. I think that he might be a newcomer to the area because he doesn't fit the descriptions of any of the other ursines we've seen or photographed. Perhaps he's a yearling and is on the journey of his life, searching for his own territory. While he visited, he tested our year-old bearproof garbage can, rolling it 10 yards and grappling with it, but it passed the test. It's the first one that's worked for us so we're ready to recommend it if you live in bear (or raccoon) territory. Their website seems to be down today but I hope it's up soon.
A lithe red fox has danced across our wildlife camera's view three times in the past week. I wonder if this fox is a youngster who is now dispersing from his parents and siblings. Unlike coyotes and wolves who usually live in packs, foxes live solitary lives except during breeding and pup-raising times. Like the bear shown above, he may be traveling to find his own territory.
Today, the glory of the Colorado mountains is shining with sunshine and blue skies. I took both canines with me on my mountain bike ride. R's energy astounded me as he streaked from one side of the trail to another. Moreover, he proved himself to be a tailgater of the worst sort. On narrow sections of trail, he'd hover just behind my back wheel, panting loudly, while trying to find an iota of space to squeeze past me. The good news was that he's showing signs of learning to be patient. Although he neglected to use a turn signal before passing, he waited for reasonably safe places before zooming around me.

As I mulled over R's lack of fear of my bike, I realized that he's never seen one of my dramatic crashes. K has seen me launched over the handlebars and landing in a tangle of bushes or a pile of rocks. I think that's why she gives me space but R still tends to crowd me. Perhaps I should stage a crash for him!

During our ride, my heart lifted when I saw K zipping through the forest with R a few times - perhaps she's starting to feel better.

At one point in the ride, I thought that R's intensity and excitement were approaching a full boil so I took a break to do some calm-inducing training. R showed his burgeoning maturity as he found the fortitude to hold a sit despite his sky-high excitement.
Then, because R was exceeding expectations, I asked for a down-stay while I wandered aimlessly around to test his mettle. The boy must be growing up because he didn't even fidget!
After our ride, I headed out for some solo riding, and when I returned home, I saw the heart-warming sight that's been greeting me over the past month or so. Although K had her choice of any dog bed in the house, she chose to lie on a thin piece of carpet next to her brother's crate. This is a major habit change for her. When S was alive, she and S would snooze on the Deluxe dog beds in the living room while R stayed by himself in his crate in the bedroom. I think that K and R are forming a stronger bond.


Vacation tale: Final Bolam Pass ride

On our last night at Bolam Pass, my husband suggested that I do a point-to-point mountain bike ride and meet him down at the highway. My jaw dropped. The thought literally hadn't crossed my mind after the debacle earlier in the vacation. But, I love point-to-point rides (no retracing my steps) so I started reading the guidebooks and perusing the maps. As far as I could tell, the riding and navigation looked easy. I'd take the Colorado Trail toward Durango and then descend to the highway on a 4WD road that followed Scotch Creek.

I hemmed and hawed. I honestly feared a repeat of our last attempt. Finally, I decided to seize the day and take the risk. In that spirit, I departed camp solo the next morning. The dogs barely noticed me glide away as they obsessed over a scent in the wind.As I started climbing up the trail, a jagged ridge towered over me, making me feel like an inconsequential speck in the universe.
I skirted jumbles of boulders on the flanks of a mountain.Across a mountain meadow, barren peaks loomed, including a rock pinnacle known as the "Lizard Head". After looking at it many times from different angles, it still doesn't resemble a lizard head, as far as I can tell.Although the meadows looked more golden than green with every passing day, a few bedraggled wildflowers believed that summer lived on.
As I rode through a forested section, a rock began to waddle in front of me. I looked again - oops, not a rock but a White-tailed Ptarmigan! In fact, a whole brood of young ptarmigans walked awkwardly to move out of my way.The plumage of Ptarmigans lets them blend in with the mountain terrain. They're not agile fliers so camouflage helps keep them safe. I might not have noticed this bird if he hadn't been on the trail before scrambling up the slope.From the front, they're speckled and freckled!
These birds spend the entire year in the alpine tundra. Their feathers turn snow white for the winter. The photo is from Janet Gellhorn's book, "Song of the Alpine".Ptarmigans survive alpine winters by digging down into the snow and roosting within its insulating depths - much like a human in a snow cave (I've spent the night in one, and it was surprisingly warm). Mortality skyrockets in years with little snow because the ptarmigans are forced to remain exposed to the frigid and often windy mountain air. In the winter, they eat the buds from exposed willow branches or they dig down into the powder to find the branches. Unbelievably, ptarmigans gain weight over the winter, reaching their fattest point in April, just before breeding. I felt lucky to have a prolonged time to watch these astonishing birds.

After enjoying the ptarmigans, I climbed up to a pass, still adorned with wildflowers.
I gazed at the rest of my route, all downhill toward the lower elevation hills. It made me sad to descend from the alpine world, knowing that our vacation was winding down.
As I enjoyed swooshing down this smooth and curvy trail, I passed through a meadow still humming with the brilliance of summer.I looked over my shoulder, again and again, to catch glimpses of the high alpine pass that I'd just crossed.As the air thickened and became warmer at lower elevations, bright fireweed flowers smashed into my consciousness. They towered beside the trails.Finally, one last glance at 'my alpine pass' which was slipping out of my grasp and view. Descending gave me a sinking feeling that summer was ending.As I rode next to the creek toward the highway, I realized that I hadn't seen another human over my whole ride. It wasn't until I reached this dramatic canyon less than a mile from the paved road that I met my first human of the day. I love solitude on the trails!I met the rest of my pack at the van, exactly where and when we'd planned - a small triumph for this often-lost mountain biker!