Tag Archives: ACD

Come Rain or Come Shine

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Last Wednesday, we packed up our Airstream and a 28 foot RV rental and headed down to the Kenai with my parents and Uncle in hopes of finding some sun and some fish.  I had this trip planned out months ago: we would spend two nights at the Russian River, two nights in Kasilof and one night at Williwaw campground.

I have always avoided the Russian River Campground because of the crazy stories you hear about the bears.  They haze people fishing in hopes of a free meal and are often seen roaming the campground.  That’s a little too close for comfort for me but we decided to take the plunge, along with lots of bear spray, and give the campground a try. The last time I was there, 16 years ago, it was gravel roads and pretty primitive camping. We were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the campground was and all the improvements they have made: asphalt campsites, nice restroom facilities, bear-proof food containers at every site, and a beautiful boardwalk down by the river that had numerous access points along the river.  We were also blessed with 2 days of sun and hot, yes I said hot, weather.

Unfortunately, the fishing wasn’t so great on the Russian River by our campground so we dropped Dad and Uncle Art off at the Russian River Ferry to try their luck there.

While they were fishing at the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers, Mom, Steve, Pongo and I went to explore Skilak Lake Road.  It was so hot (trust me, I’m not complaining!) that we decided to stop and let Pongo cool off in a lake by the road.

We still had a couple hours to kill before we needed to pick up the fishermen, so we hiked up Bear Mountain, a 1.6 mile hike roundtrip.  It was a beautiful hike with spectacular views!

Here’s Pongo completely pooped after his swimming and hiking adventures; he isn’t too pleased Mama is taking his picture.

Dad and Uncle Art had absolutely no luck snagging salmon at the Russian River Ferry; they didn’t give up though and tried again the next morning, before we headed down to Kasilof. After 3 hours of fishing the Kenai River off of Skilak Lake Road, they came back with 3 beautiful Red Salmon (unfortunately, I don’t have a picture).

We traveled the hour down to Kasilof, after Dad and Uncle Art’s successful fishing excursion, where we spent two nights at Kasilof RV Park.  It was our home base for Halibut fishing and touring around Homer.  The rain decided to return, after two and a half days of gorgeousness, and it never stopped.  Dad and Uncle Art went on a full-day Halibut charter and shipped back to Nebraska 40 pounds of Halibut they caught.

And while they were out fishing, Mom, Steve, Pongo and I traipsed around Homer.

We ate brunch at one of Steve’s favorite eateries in Homer, the Duncan House Diner. They really know how to do breakfast!

Our last stop of the five day trip was at Williwaw Campground, just outside of Portage.  We walked the trails during the brief break in the rain and played a lot of dominoes when it was really coming down.

Overall, come rain or come shine, we had a fabulous family trip! 

Beauty and The Beast

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After a long night of managing Pongo’s restlessness because of fireworks going off around us, I woke up to grey skies and 50 degrees…again.  I was tired and a little bit weather cranky but knew Audra was going to be waiting for us at the Gold Mint Trailhead.  So, I packed up the car and made the venture to Hatcher Pass.  As we drove further North and further from Anchorage, blue skies started to peek in-between the grey.  I started feeling hopeful that we may actually get to hike in some decent weather.  By the time we arrived at the trailhead, the sun was shining and it was absolutely gorgeous!  I can’t believe I even thought about not going…I wouldn’t have missed this hike for anything.

Beauty

Greta and Phoebe

Audra and the girls

Cooling-Off

Pongo showing me he really doesn’t like having his picture taken.

Columbine

My attempt to get a picture with Pongo–he was having none of that.

Dwarf Dogwood

Alaska Spirea

Success!  I got Pongo to sit still for the 10 seconds it took to shoot this photo.

The BEAST

I’m not too sure what jumped out and got Pongo: a rock, a log, an animal he found in the brush?  I didn’t hear him yelp or cry and he wasn’t acting any different until we got home. He was walking a little funny and I thought he was just tired and sore.  But as I was brushing him out, I came across this nasty beast that took 2 staples and a week’s worth of antibiotics to tame.

Our poor boy is now having to wear the donut-of-shame.
And is having a hard time getting comfortable.

I’m sure though he has absolutely no regrets about running, jumping and zipping around having the time of his life.

Meet & Greet

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Living with a reactive dog is a learning process, especially when that dog is Pongo.  You never know what he’s going to be OK with and what is going to send him over the edge. Sometimes it’s a big guessing game and unfortunately, there are times when my guesses aren’t spot on.

Pongo and I drove out to the Valley today to meet my girlfriend Audra and her two Golden Retrievers, Phoebe and Greta to go for a walk.  We wanted the dogs to meet before we do a bigger hike together where Pongo might have to be on-leash.  The whole way up I contemplated how to best introduce the dogs.  I decided that I would let Pongo out of the car, off-leash and then Audra could let her girls out.  Well, that didn’t work so well.  Pongo got snarky with both of the girls and ended up sitting in the car for a time-out and some cool down time.  I was prepared to leave Pongo in the car, while the four of us enjoyed a walk, if he couldn’t behave himself.

When it was time to try the meet and greet again, I asked Audra to walk down the road a little with her dogs and Pongo and I would follow.  That seemed to work.  When we caught up with Audra and her girls, Pongo appropriately greeted Phoebe and Greta and the rest was history…they had a blast exploring, running, and playing together.

Phoebe and Pongo deciding who was going to bring the stick back to shore.

They came up with a good compromise.

The dogs were always on the move so it was hard to get a shot that wasn’t one of their backsides.

Pongo’s new BFF, Greta.

While there was a small bump in the road upon initial meeting, I think it was a very successful meet and greet.  Plus, it was a great time had by all!

Savage River

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What Steve and I are slowly realizing is that there aren’t many more weekends available to get out and camp.  Summer is quickly flying by and before we know it, our trailer will need to be Winterized and put back into storage (sigh).  Alaska’s camping season is so darn short, and we are trying our best to make the most out of the time we have to enjoy our trailer and explore the great outdoors.

This past weekend Steve and I went camping in Denali National Park at the Savage River Campground, with some friends of ours and their two girls.  We left Friday evening, after Steve got off of work, for the four and a half hour drive up North.  We hit rush hour.  We hit construction.  We drove through a torrential downpour that had the possibilities of hail but thankfully the storm did not release it’s full fury on us.  We were really pushing it as check-in at Riley Creek Mercantile is no later than 11:00 PM.  We pulled in at 10:30 PM to this beautiful scene.

After we checked-in, we had another 13 miles to drive to reach Savage River Campground.  We found the last two spots available, set-up, got the girls to bed, and poured a much needed drink after the stress of driving.  I am always amazed by the differences in light as you travel through Alaska; the farther North you go, the lighter it stays.  This picture was taken around 1:00 AM (with no flash).

It ended up being a late night for all of us, especially Pongo who had spent all day at daycare while Mama prepared the trailer and food for our trip.  He was overly tired and beyond CRAZY!

The next day we explored down by the Savage River.

Here’s Steve photo-bombing Jenn and Matt’s family photo (don’t worry-I got the perfect Christmas card photo for them, minus my goofy husband).

We knew that it might be a little difficult for Pongo when we made reservations, as there are some pretty strict rules pet owners must follow when bringing their pets into the park: dogs are not allowed on any of the trails.  You can walk your pets around the campground loops and along the road.  He adapted though and enjoyed the places he could go.

Walking along the main park road, which was heaven…no other dogs for miles.

Pongo enjoyed using the well more than his bowl.

What we found was most of the A campsites (for RVs and tents between 30-40′) at Savage River were uneven and you had to do some leveling.  Our campsite 32A had some pretty incredible views and had some great sun exposure, when it was shining.

We were excited to see our campground host living in an Airstream.

A sight-seeing plane taking off near the park entrance.

As always, the weekend went by way too fast but it was great to get out with friends who we hadn’t seen for awhile.   We will definitely be visiting Savage River Campground again next year to do some more exploring.

Happy Birthday, Pongo!

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Our sweet boy Pongo turns 3 today.  From the day we brought him home to this moment, we have seen immense amounts of change in him.  He’s gone from a nippy, pushy little tyrant to a kiss-giving, goofy little man who will only sometimes now push the limits just to see how far he can get…but that’s also a Cattle Dog for you!

To start off the birthday celebration, Mama made sweet potato/pumpkin cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and topped with meaty treats for Pongo to share with his doggie friends at daycare yesterday.

Note to self: do not use peanut butter frosting on cupcakes and then try to stuff them into the tiniest treat bag known to humankind.

Pongo’s favorite part of baking…licking the spoon.

Our plan for this morning was to try breakfast at the Glacier Brewhouse (so not worth it but glad we tried it so that we can cross it off of our breakfast dining possibilities) and then go for a walk downtown.  Unbeknownst to us, or maybe we are just really out of it, a HUGE festival was going on downtown: Downtown Summer Solstice Festival.  It was starting to become a madhouse by the time we were done with breakfast and ready for our walk. Pongo can handle lots of people but was pretty stressed out as we were dodging dogs left and right.  We got as far as Town Square where we quickly stopped to enjoy the gardens, and then hightailed it back to the car because it was too much for Pongo; he just wasn’t enjoying himself.  We were able to snap a couple pictures before our retreat.

Anchorage has been experiencing some phenomenal, well-deserved weather these past couple of days.  Weather nice enough to pull out the pool for Pongo’s birthday enjoyment. We did add water, incase your wondering.

Pongo also got to play a little frisbee.

And then watch for squirrels while resting.

Pongo’s last mission on his special day was to help Mama and Papa nab all the mosquitoes that latch onto Pongo’s underside for a free ride into the house.  He’s actually a very good bug catcher, if he doesn’t spaz too much when he hears the “Get the bug” command.

And now, we have one pooped birthday boy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET PONGO BOY!

Clueless

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It’s always a crapshoot going into our small-spaced vet’s office.  It could be completely empty or it could be like running the dog gauntlet.  Today, it was the latter. Pongo and I walked up to the door and saw a woman with her dog standing at the front counter, which is right smack as you walk in the door.  Pongo saw the dog and seemed to just shrug it off–no reaction whatsoever.

We didn’t want to take any chances of an incident, so we decided to take a few minutes outside to give them some time and give Pongo some space.  After a drawn out potty break, we walked into an empty waiting room.  I grabbed some scrumptious looking treats out of the jar on the counter and chose a seat the farthest away from the front door and exam room doors as possible, which is only like 5 feet.

Pongo knew there were dogs in both of the exam rooms; he could hear their little tags a tinkling.  The sound of dog tags usually riles him up but he was too focused on those soft, meaty treats I was holding in my hand…basically torturing him with so he would pay more attention to me.  He was actually being a REALLY good boy.

Then it happened…I heard the doctors finishing up with their respective patients and knew the perfect storm was brewing.  Both dogs came out of their exam room at the same time.  I was trying to keep Pongo focused on me and not on the two, big dogs that had just exited and were basically invading his very large space bubble.

Pongo looked at the dogs then looked back at me.  “Good boy!” and treats galore poured from the sky.

Look at the dogs…look back at me.  TREATS!!!

Look at the dogs…look back at me.  MORE TREATS!!!

As I am praising and stuffing treats into my dog’s face, one of the owners asked the other if their dogs could meet.  “Oh yes!  He’s SO friendly.”  The dogs greet each other politely as Pongo and I look on.  All of sudden, I see this woman and her dog turn around and walk the 3 feet we had between us.  I immediately knew her intentions and gave her a firm, “No.”  It didn’t register, so I said it again with a little more oomph, “NO!” Then, the lightbulb turned on: she gave me this eat-you-know-what look and said something to the effect of-Oh, I guess your dog isn’t friendly as she walked off.  Really?!? I’m the bad guy?!?  You just assumed my dog wanted to meet your dog without even getting my permission!  She was the classic case of a My Dog Is Friendly owner, and there were a few choice words I would have loved to have said to her but I kept my mouth shut.

This whole time, while a dog slowly invaded his personal space, Pongo sat quietly watching for more treats to come his way.  No snarling.  No growling.  No barking.  No lunging.  Not a single peep out of him.  I was dumbfounded that this was my dog attached to the end of the leash I was holding!

I am SO proud of our boy for keeping his cool under some pretty severe pressure for a dog in need of space (DINOS)!

Here and Now?

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I’ve always heard that dogs live in the here and now. Don’t worry about the future. Don’t worry about the past.  Pongo has proven that it’s all a big myth.  This dog worries about things that are about to happen and lets these events turn his whole world upside down.

Last night, I was packing my bag for a quick trip down to Seattle to visit Steve’s family. I am usually not the one to pack bags and leave for trips–that’s Steve. Pongo saw what I was doing and immediately put his long face, mopey ears, and worried eyes on.  Bags being packed equals someone is leaving, and that just does not sit well with Pongo.

Pongo curled right up next to Papa when Steve got in bed, as I was still packing.  It’s a rarity for Pongo to snuggle with Papa in bed.  He is usually sleeping right on top of me every night and trying to snag some of my pillow.  But last night, he wanted nothing to do with me.  He is breaking my heart with his worried looks and little sensitive, hurt soul.

I wish he would buck up and realize that Mama will come back!

A Wet & Wild Day

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The weather here in Anchorage has been less than desirable for the start of our brief summer: grey and cold.  So last night when I looked at the forecast for today and saw that it called for 59 degrees and sunny, I knew we needed to get out and take advantage.  I cancelled Pongo’s daycare reservation for today, packed up our backpacks and Pongo’s other outdoor essentials and made a plan to head out to Eklutna Lake for a walk by the lake.  When we arrived at the lake today, there was one car in the parking lot and one car unloading their kayak–we basically had the lake to ourselves.

I always thought it was hard to keep Reid out of the water but I have to say, Pongo is right up there with her; he loves the water!  Eklutna Lake is glacially fed, which means it’s darn cold.  It was near impossible to get Pongo to stay on dry land long enough for him to warm up and stop shivering.

Pongo entertaining himself while Mama eats lunch.

And as they say, “A tired Cattle Dog is a good Cattle Dog.”

May 12th Nose Work Trial Photos

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One of the rules at a Nose Work trial is that no one besides the Official Photographers are allowed to take pictures.  While disappointed, not a single photo was snapped until we exited Camp Carlquist. We didn’t want to take any chances of tarnishing Pongo’s Nose Work Trial–a few photos were just not worth it.

After much anticipation, trial photos were finally posted.  With permission from the National Association of Canine Scent Work and our two fabulous photographers Mike Lewis and Donna Quante (©2012HuskyProductions/Donna Quante), I am able to post pictures of Pongo’s Nose Work trial experience.

Vehicle Search (0:47.30)

Coming into the vehicle search area.

Pongo got “lost” for a moment and forgot where he was suppose to be searching.

Now we’re on track.

Almost there…it’s in the wheel well about 6 inches up from his nose.

Exterior Search (0:46.63)

I was a little worried here that he was going to alert on possible left-over picnic goodies.

The exterior search area was dauntingly huge with lots of nooks, crannies, and distractions.

Now we’re on the birch scent trail.

Getting closer…

Found it Mom!  This was one of Pongo’s best alerts: looking up at me and sitting. Here he is mid-sit.

It was a tricky hide: birch scent stuffed into a birch log but what a smart boy!

Container Search (0:14.12)

This is one of my favorite photos.

And Pongo’s favorite part of the search: getting the treat!

We unfortunately don’t have any photos from the Interior Search but we do have some random photos.

Waiting to move into the search areas.

The awards ceremony.

Anise and Clove and Records-OH MY!

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The day that Anchorage finally broke the 1954-1955 snowfall record, with 133.6 inches recorded as of 4:00 PM today is the day Pongo rocked his Anise and Clove Odor Recognition Tests (ORT).  We drove up to Cook Inlet Kennel Club this morning, in some pretty nasty weather, so that Pongo could participate in the Nose Work ORT.  He passed the Birch ORT back in September and all he needed were the final two scents, Anise and Clove in order to compete in Nose Work II and Nose Work III Trials.  We aren’t even to that point of competition yet, but it was worth getting it done since they brought up a National Association of Canine Scent Work Official to oversee Alaska’s second Odor Recognition Test.

Pongo ready for his ORT

While Pongo had some difficulty with reactivity to other dogs, once we got into the testing facility, he shifted into work mode and knew exactly what he needed to do: “Go find it!”  We are both so proud of him!

Now, our next focus is the Nose Work I Trial on May 12th, in Chugiak, Alaska.