Much like most of the country, summer on the East coast has been marked with intense heat, humidity, and rain. So, it’s been difficult to get the dogs out to let out some energy and take in some exercise. With Eddy’s thick undercoat and Alphonse’s seemingly lack of any self control, I am really cautious about over exercise and heatstroke.
This weekend though, we were able to get our acts together early Saturday morning and get our tails to a local park for some hiking and frolicking. The key word here being early. This helped us to 1.) beat the peak of summer heat 2.) limit our encounters with other dogs. And, as an added bonus, it also helped us get good parking!
Eddy is a natural wilderness boy and loves to lead the pack. I fully trust him off leash as he’ll tend to trail up ahead a few yards and then circle back to herd us along. I remember the first time observing him do this and was just amazed by his instinct. It’s almost like he’s running ahead to see if there’s danger and checking back to make sure we’re all okay. Eddy’s recall is outstanding. I otherwise would not recommend letting your dog off the leash in any outdoor environment outside of a fenced in yard.
As Alphonse’s first hike and it being a relatively busy at my local park, Eddy was kept on leash. Together we embarked on a two mile loop. I mapped it out ahead of time so that the first half of the hike was moderately more challenging. There were a few hills and opportunities to climb over rocks and fallen trees. It definitely gave the boys a nice challenge before the morning sun brought the heat.
We took frequent water breaks – giving the boys what their dangling tongues needed. Our pauses also allowed space between us and a woman walking her dog ahead of us.
We carefully descended on a hill, bringing us to a fork in the trail. Making a left, we reached the second half of our hike – the portion that guided us along a creek. With the sun becoming stronger it was the perfect trail to be on as it allowed us to break in little streams the boys could dip their paws in.
Fun fact: dogs actually regulate their body temperatures through their paw pads. So, one way to cool them off on a hot day is to put ice or cold water on their paws.
Eventually we made it to the “Devil’s Pool” – the near finale of our hike. We took a nice, long break here. The boys went for a shallow swim and we (humans) snacked on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They boys got baby carrots and treats.
Despite encountering a couple other dogs on the trail towards the end which meant nearly dragging Alphonse away and distracting him with tons of treats (he’s reactive to other dogs on the leash and it’s an ongoing challenge) – it was a great experience.
We came away with two thoroughly tired good boys and a longing to hit the trails again soon! Mission accomplished.
The Dog Fur Life 