In The Zone!

So today was a tight crew of some of my best dog friends...there was unspoken communication between us all with one of the best feel good vibes I have ever had working with dogs...ya know in Avatar where they bond in the literal sense with the flying horse/bird/things? Well that was how it was today, except we were not entwining tails! For those of you that think I am mad or just a hippie, think of a fresh pow day on the mountain, no one else around except you and your close buddies ripping it up in the Crystal zone with everyone hooting and hollering with glee as you bounce through the trees...that was today. Stoked. Today we were Kayla, Skipper, Ever, Wicket and Jackets. Good times my friends...goooooood times!

Weee! Bouncing out the truck Skip and Ever dance while Jackets trots by looking for a poop spot!

We took a different trail network to the lake, it's fun to mix it up and the mood we were all in I could have walked through the village on Canada Day and we would have stuck together..yes folks, we felt that good.

Kayla takes a breather after her refreshing dip...we dipped in all along the Cheakamus, and into Loggers - a wet hike all round today, my water shoes were squeaking throughout as I never really dried off!

Big smiles, tongues lolling, we take a mini breather before galloping on again

 

So on our next break I skittered up a log to get a group shot, I love the first one...they were all like 'uh...what are you doing?!' Look at Wicky's tongue!! The second shot shows Ever doing her best 'I'm a big girl  and I'm sitting' smile as I had treats at the ready... haha - I love Kayla's head popping up over the bigger log too - peekaboo!

Skip unearthed a tennis ball...look at that little face!!

I had to post both these shots...I just love them - we took another breather, and darling Jackets at the forefront makes sure the sky isn't going to fall while the others grin at my stupid antics..I was dancing from foot to foot singing something like 'Whoooo's goood doggie-doos? Youuuu are!!' Can you spot Kayla on the let? The top picture shows her tongue emerging from the bushes! 

We swam at various points in the lake but I couldn't be bothered to snap each location today, it was too fun playing and swimming...I did grab the camera for our final swim though...I had grand ideas of capturing them swimming towards me, but by this point Wicky & Jackets had popped out and were ready to move on, and the others just stood there gawking...oh well, was fun to try! So we climbed up to the Rim and carried on our merry way!

Dogs of the forest..they were dotted about in the trees, it was lovely to just trot along and see a head or tail pop up as they investigated smells and squirrels....so peaceful after all the excitement of our swims and riverside runs....ahhhh...this was time to relax.

We popped out onto the road...time to dry off..the games commenced once more, we were still carrying the manky tennis ball about, by now it was chewed and dirty and squelched everytime I threw it...yuck! I always forget how dirty my hands get then eat my lunch after the hike...keeps the immune system trucking along I guess! 

Jackets came back for a cuddle...in the shot above she was leading the pack, and came trotting back to put a wet nose in my hand - I love her, she is so gentle.

Back in the Zen

I LOVE this shot! My co-pilot Ever and the crew from L-R Kayla (mid-bark), Jackets, Skip and Wicky...big smiles all round. What an epic hike!!! See ya next time - Nina :) AROOOOOOOOOOO!

Kona, Skip, and Me

We welcomed Kona to the Canine Energy family today - he is a lovely boy, Husky cross and a real gentleman. We think approx 11 years old as he is from a rescue centre and he came up to visit while his mom and dad had their own Whistler adventure! Skip was his chaperone and did a great job in welcoming him to our forests and lakes. I love watching new dogs - they always start off bright eyed and interested but alert and not quite ready to relax....that all lasts about 2 minutes, and you can literally see them relax, trot next to their new buddies and in Kona's case swing the tail and flap the ears in time with his gliding gait. He really came alive at lake and stick play time, and was stoked to run around the twisting trails with us around Lost Lake. Here are the shots!

Pleased to meet you Kona!!

It started with a sniff and a pee!

New buddies at the dog beach, and with Skipper supervising we let loose for a drink then a play!

Kona says 'this is fun....lets keep going!!!' Look at those ears! I LOVE him already...yes I am a suck, but that's why I also LOVE my job, arOOOOoooOO!

Swinging tails and flapping ears the new buddies trot into the sunshine. 

Ha! A squirrel was yelling at us, then stopped as I held up the camera, and must have resumed just as I clicked the shutter as Skip had been giving me a classic Skip style dog calendar face, then it made him jump! He's like 'Huh?!'

..guess I was running at this point with them, it wasn't too much coffee honest!!!

Aw look at that little face!!! We had a another dip in the creek before heading to the truck - it was lovely and luckily only shin-deep for me as it was freezing glacial run-off...brrrrr!

Back on leash by Lot 5 we had another intensive sniff at a probably much peed on rock! They were literally forensic sniffing for a good few minutes...I got bored so took a photo! Another awesome day in dog land...it was nice to mosey round the local trails for a change - we ran into Briggy and Spy and their person, a couple of my human pals, and LOADS of dogs...we did take off to the further afield trails to get some peace and share some zen forest moments...I also wanted to get to know Kona better, but it was nice to mix it up a bit. Gold star to Skip for welcoming Kona to our doggy family, atta boy!

See you all tomorrow - AROOOOOOOOO!

Beautiful Summer Swims!

Today was the BEST! 6 cool dogs and me raging, playing, sniffing, rolling, swimming, peeing, yipping and loving life. Today's dream team were: Kayla, Cassius, Skipper, Spanks and Harmony and Ever bear. This pack was a tight posse of goooood times, and perfect behaviour! Here are the shots:

Ever, Spanks and Harmony fresh out the truck and time for a sniff!

Off we go! Playtime at last!

Ha! Check out Skip's grin! They were still buzzing with stoked energy as we bounced into the forests....such a good feeling to be part of a pack :) aroooo!

Noses down, tails up..Skips tail is like a plume of Pampas Grass...love it!

Yes it's blurry and Ever has no head but I love this shot...we were heading up to the lake and everyone was moseying along, it was so peaceful...ahhhhh!

Dip number 1...check out Kayla's pink tongue lolling!

Off to swim spot number two...

Kayla and her glowing orbs....

ahhh another blurry one, but Ever and I were swimming at this point! I dove in at first with them all which was awesome, then decided to try take some shots..so went in with the camera sticking up at the end of my arm and had to tread water to get a shot...didn't work so good, but was fun to try!

This one came out well though..Cassius is such a sweetheart, he seemed a little bemused to see me swim and didn't know wether to join me or dance on the bank! He did a little bit of both in the end! I had to put the camera back before I dropped it and we partied on for a good while before heading up for a mini climb around part of Crater Rim!

Shall we go? Huh? Shall we move on?! I got a very definite YES!

climb on doggies....!

Love the view of the lake here!

Aw look at the girls and Skip blinking in the sunlight!

Then a game of chase ensued...galloping dogs and laughing me, was soooo funny! Kayla,Ever and the Girls were very vocal and Cassius and Skip just tore round and round them tails up grinning. Ha! Love it!

Peakaboo Ever! I love this shot, it's like she has Elton John style tree sunnies!

Final dip on the opposite side of the lake before heading down the trails to home...

Back at the truck it's drinkies time! Ever as usual leaps in to join her friends, she has to ride up with me as like me her knees have their moments!

Group shot!

Another great day - see you all tomorrow! AroooOOOooooOOooooOOOo!

Parting shot...can ya guess who it is?

Cooler day, cool dogs!

Today was cooler which was actually a pleasant respite...except a small amount of rain meant the bugs were insane! So hoody up and off we went! Today we had Ever bear, Skipper, Kayla, Sadie and our new best friend Cassius! Cassius is a Husky x Shep and 100% gorgeous and SUCH a good boy!!! It's unreal, he comes the minute you think about calling him and sits nicely, plays nicely and loads nicely in the truck. 10/10 Cassius! We did not climb so high today, Ever and Kayla respectively need a break now and then, so we wound round lower elevation trails, with Skip being the party planner and everyone else providing the relaxed but high energy vibe! It was so funny, I laughed my head off many times today...I could totally use a helmet cam set-up to record the hikes, it would make Hollywood I swear! Dogs are so naturally fun-loving, and super cool to hang out with. Smiling like a goof as I type! Lets see the shots:

Pleased to meet you Cassius! He is beautiful!!!

It started with a sniff, pee, and a mosey about

Then into the forests we go - noses to the ground and tails up!

then Skip started playing about and everyone joined in, they were hilarious! It even got to the point where Skip hid under a fallen tree root system and popped out every now and then to the delight of all of us - he was litereally playing peek-a-boo! Laughing as I type.. ha haha ha!

Boo! He scares Ever! He kept popping in and out like a Cuckoo clock...(I now have tears streaming down my face at the memory...!) So funny! They LOVED it and so did I. 

...still goofing about, this time in mock squirrel chase - I got them all riled up with 'Where IS it? Where IS the squirrel!!?' Ha - was awesome!

Love this shot, very dramatic looking, Cassius, Skip and Kayla wait for me, Sadie-Sue and Ever to catch up.

Into the green again - the Devil's Club is lovely to look at - just don't touch it! I love this section of the trail, I keep wanting to make 'rainforest  Planet Earth style bird noises' "OoooooAAAAAooo!" The dogs and I were a tight posse again today - and it was fun to race round the trails as one. So stoked this is my job, thanks to all of you for making this happen!!!

The sun came out, and this time it was a real squirrel yelling at us from it's tree!

Moseying back to the road...all pretty tired by now, Ever was panting at my heel and the others were tail down, in a line trotting...the sign of a good hike!

Today's crew Ever, Skipper, Kayla, Sadie and Cassius...dear doggies!

And chilling in the truck before home - Ever leapt in first of course and sat there grinning! We had treats and a cuddle then set off for home. See ya next hike, ArooooOOOOOOooOOOOO!