We are now two months into the Woof Walk Challenge, and we have now completed almost 230km towards our 1000km goal!! And this week definitely brought us some summer type challenges so we had to get more creative to hit our target. So read on to see how we dealt with these challenges!!
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High Heat, Humidity and Thunderstorms
The past week we had some of the hottest temperatures of the year so far. And since my dogs are double coated and heat up really fast, it really limited our walking times! Of course the last thing I want for my pups is to get heat stroke. And my dogs, being creatures of habit, had their entire schedule thrown!
Some days we were out really early, but on the hottest days it was already well into the 30s by the time we were waking up!
Lots of water was on the menu, and we found times when it clouded over or later in the day when we could avoid the sun to go out.
With heat and high humidity brings thunderstorms! They were CRAZY storms too! Hail, high winds. My patio umbrella, which is heavily weighted, ended up in the neighbour’s yard at one point! We would wait for a break in the rain, and off we’d go sticking close to home in case we needed to make a run for it!
The Burrs are Out…
Benson has this funny habit at the park by the ravine to take off through the bush on the hills on either side. Then he will BURST full force through them back into the main part of the park!
THREE days this week, yes three, he came out COVERED in burrs! His fur was almost as green as it was black! The first time thinking “oh noooooo”, I got him home and spent a good amount of time brushing them out of his thick fur with a pin comb.
The second…and third…time I was in disbelief when BOTH dogs took off and came out covered! Benson even came out with a WHOLE PLANT attached to his bottom! See, near the bush is where Benson found the squirrel I talked about in last week’s update. So he always has to go check it out to see if he can find any other goodies…
After that, I have been taking them to a part of the park with NO bush to run through and leashing them at any sign of disobedience! It has worked…so far…
Eating Garbage
More people are coming to the beach area these days for something to do until more things start opening up. Human nature, being what it is, means there is much more garbage on the street, in the parks and at the beach. Benson is a garbage hound, he must think his second name is “DROP IT”!
The first incident happened at the beach. It is no secret that people go down to the dog park to light bonfires and party…and there are no public bathrooms open at that time. Benson went to have a pee under his favorite tree and I could see he found something.
I won’t specifically say what, but all I saw was the STRING hanging out of his mouth!! He refused to drop it…I watched his bowel movements closely for a few days and was thoroughly grossed out with both people and my dog.
The second incident was at the park in the bush…the first time he came out covered in burrs…When it looked like he found about half a pizza in the bush. I’m definitely keeping a much closer eye on him now…
New Friends
Last year I rented an RV and drove the three day drive back home to Saskatchewan with the kid and dogs in tow. This year I am driving again but in my car and leaving the dogs behind. I found a house sitter to come and stay with the entire crew.
She brought her little dog out to meet my animal family and see what it was like to take the dogs out by herself. The beginning of our walk was downright unruly, with Benson jumping and a mess of leashes! I was thinking she’s going to say no…for sure…And I’m going to get stuck with my dogs and daughter in my Jetta for three days…each way!
But the dogs soon fell into a good routine and walked well which was a HUGE relief to me! I’m feeling more than a bit anxious leaving my fur babies alone for two and a half weeks as it is. So we have some new friends and I’m feeling more comfortable leaving them.
Walk Alternatives
Since the dogs get excited around walk times, with the challenges the weather has created we have been finding other ways to burn off some energy until we can go.
Tug and playing with balls are a great way to have some fun indoors! We have these Duraflex balls that they LOVE! And they are about indestructible! The dogs will actually tug on them with each other and they have stood the test of over 200lbs of tugging!
Running through the house and playing hide and seek is also a fun way for us to expend some energy! The dogs love trying to find me and Grace even started hiding under the curtains!
They have a little less energy when walk time comes, but that makes it a bit easier on me!
Hopefully the weather will be a bit better for the next week for us. However, it is storming outside as I write this update…But the temperatures are a lot cooler which will make it a lot easier on all of us. Stay tuned for more updates and be sure to read our other updates for all our adventures so far!
Previous Updates
- Woof Walk – Challenge Accepted! Read here
2. Woof Walk Challenge – Week 1 Update Read here
3. Woof Walk Challenge – Week 2 Update Read here
4. Woof Walk Challenge – Week 3 Update Read here
5. Woof Walk Challenge – Week 4 Update Read here
6. Woof Walk Challenge – Week 5 Update Read here
7. Woof Walk Challenge – Week 6 Update Read here
8. Woof Walk Challenge – Week 7 Update Read here
