Hi from Mammoth Lakes, California
-
Hello and welcome! It never crossed my mine to put my B to work, although he gets me up some pretty steep hills by pulling me :D Where can I get those saddle bags? We love hiking to. My B climbed 6 miles up Blue Ridge Mountain and 6 miles down in one afternoon and it didn't phase him.
-
Thanks Everybody!
Natalplum: you can buy saddle bags at a lot of pet stores and specialty dog stores, but some of them can be rather expensive (some of them also have lots of unnecessary "bells & whistles"). The one Loki is wearing in the picture is very basic (and reasonably priced) and is made by Outdoor Products. You can find it online as their "Dog Pack Small Red". This one fits both Loki (25 lbs) and Freya (23 lbs) perfectly. They each happily carry up to 4 water bottles (16 oz) at the start of the hike, gradually dwindling down as we drink the water. Most other packs that I have seen for this size dog are either too small (capacity-wise), or the straps need a lot of jury-rigging. I hope it is OK to list brands/products on this forum - I do not own stock in this company…
Loki & Freya enjoy carrying their packs: they actually seem more relaxed and less wound-up having "found a purpose in life" - and they get a lot of attention from other hikers!
:-) Cecilia
-
Your furbabies are just beautiful, I myself have a red & white, 3yrs. old in December girl named Sahara. I am thinking about getting her a playmate, what do you think? Do you think it is easier having 2 B's so they can play together, or is it more work. Welcome to the forum!
-
Oh, they're just lovely! We just rescued a little boy - he's on the way now to come home and meet us and our girl Fiji. Always wonderful to hear about 2 who become fast friends!
-
youngandtired:
I know that a lot of people will tell you that the amount of mischief quadruples when you get another one. But my experience has been that it has stayed more or less constant. Loki is the troublemaker, while Freya is a little lady who "rolls her eyes" at Loki's antics (even though they are the same age). They will teach each other both good and bad things though! Freya was at first timid with other dogs, but Loki showed her that most dogs are friendly and unable to resist the charms of a B puppy. Loki on the other hand was timid with new people - especially the small ones, but Freya taught him that humans are very similar to dogs and also cannot resist a charming B. However, it can be difficult to get Loki's attention now that Freya is the center of his universe (boys will be boys…). So the "selective hearing" has definitely gotten worse...
Also, Loki suffered from separation anxiety when he was little and would howl and cry when he was left alone. Fortunately, it would only last about 15 min, or else the neighbors would probably have strangled me.... Now that he has Freya, the howling and crying has stopped completely.
:-)
Cecilia
