Trail Barks

by Rosie, assisted by her human mom Jeanne Dross

At last! I’m rid of the lousy weather, time to get out and see what’s up on my favorite trails, now that the snow and ice have melted and the rain has stopped. All those new smells and old favorites, check out the action, let my human know when something gets my attention that might be just as intriguing to her.

My human gets the picture, I’m curious, it gets boring in the winter, same old smells, same old window scenes, same old walls, icy trails. Mom knows I need new sites, sounds, and smells to keep me happy, plus, both of us need the exercise to keep in shape; humans think I’m a lot younger because I’m in such great shape, even vets compliment my youthful physique and fitness despite my 13 years, though Mom could stand to lose a few pounds.

Downer, she always keeps me on a leash, lots of people let their dogs run loose, we’ve both been chewed on by strangers, so I guess she’s right, I’ve even seen people knocked off their bikes by loose dogs. The people on wheels and the hikers know me, they like it that I don’t jump or bark at them, plus those really big dogs with people on top (mom calls them horses and riders) don’t get nervous or spook when they see me. I have a harness, mom says it’s better for my back than hanging on to my neck: bummer, it also gives her more control over me, she doesn’t like it when I try to charge into the woods. She just doesn’t get it that there are such great things to investigate.

I’ve learned to poop off trail. Humans really like that! Poop is to sniff, but even I don’t want to sniff it for hours if it gets stuck on Mom’s shoes. And bicyclists don’t like it on their tire treads, gets yucky when it smells all day and your bike is stored in a car that sits in the sun. Every once in a while, I forget my manners so Mom grabs a downed branch to flick it in the woods; just in case, she always carries plastic bags. She also thinks it’s a good idea to carry a bag with her to pick up garbage on the trails, something about tightening the abs and legs when she doubles over to grab it, our nature preserve likes that too.

We plan our daily excursions based on the weather, it’s a lot hotter at ground level so we figure out the trails we’ll hike based on temperature, time of day, available shade, and trail conditions. My favorite warm weather trail is shaded almost the whole length: about half way through, when I want to cool down, we go to a shallow stream, not only do I have a refreshing drink, but I get to stand in the water, it feels soooo good! Sometimes we’re on trails that don’t have water so I have my own special water bottle, with its own attached dish, even has a hook to attach to Mom’s backpack, it’s a souvenir she bought for me at the Times Square M&M store (bet she found special treats for herself that she didn’t share, but I guess I shouldn’t complain, at least she remembered me.)

Mom doesn’t like some insects , especially ticks, says they carry a lot of diseases besides Lyme, babesiosis, encephalitis, and some other foreign words I don’t remember. She has me vaccinated for Lyme, but just in case the bugs find me anyway, she drips a tick repellant on me once a month and carries a tick puller, which she uses on me and her.

I don’t want you to think Mom ignores me in the winter, she even shovels out her patio to make it easier for my potty needs. We have a rule, based on some obscure calculation called wind chill factors: basically, if the wind chill is below 10, we don’t do any long walks. Mom does not wear a hat, says if it’s too cold for her ears, it’s too cold for me, although I have been known to disagree. We walk in sunny areas protected from the wind. She tries to stay away from road chemicals, says they are bad for my feet, and wipes them when we come indoors. Also, if I start limping, she cleans my feet of snow and ice.

I’m Mom’s nose outdoors, we dogs have much better noses than humans, I smell a lot of things before she sees them; she can tell it’s good if I stand and wiggle my nose in a certain way: I’ve shown her fishers, eastern coyotes, hog nose snakes, bear tracks, and other critters, even pointed out coyote dens to her. But to be honest, her interest in wildflowers and Karner Blue butterflies is boring, I don’t like to hang around, walking is better, unless there is a nice meadow where I can wiggle on my back.

Time for me to take a nap, need to rest before our next excursion. Hope to see you on the trails.

Rosie