Our Wild (life) Walk!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Today, I had big plans and was going to get a ton of stuff done, or so I thought. Vern and Fudge were supposed to go to the dog sitter for the day, but she called this morning and was sick. Ok, change of plans. I decided to do something with each dog individually.

First up was Vern and we went to the dog park. It is a pretty long drive over there and guess what...no dogs at the dog park. We waited a bit and Vern was having a good time running all over the place and he even located a toy in a tree and actually stood under it for a little while. What a hound dog :) Finally, a couple of dogs came, he played and we went home.

Fudge was next and we went for a walk on our PA Rail Trail. I decided to let her enjoy the scenery and the trail and not worry about any training. She did great. We saw lots of wild life and some not so wild life. Of course, the first thing we ran into was a ground hog. Next, we saw a beautiful Heron just standing in the field. We passed 16 cows, one black cat, a squirrel, lots of birds, ducks, a furry dog, a man with long grey hair, and on the way home, a hawk.

Yesterday, on our walk two deer stopped right in front of us and then when the dogs started barking, quickly ran off. Also, on the way to the store with the dogs in the car, a large bunch of birds flew out of the nearby cornfield and I assumed they were vultures. But, as I turned the corner, a truly magnificent bird (looked like a pheasant, wild turkey, not sure) was standing right there. Of course, I never have my camera when I see these creatures.

What have you encountered on your walks with your dogs?

 

[Carol and Banjo]

We run into plenty of squirrels and chipmunks and Banjo shows mild interest.  He doesn't dart after them but will move towards them.  The other morning he spotted a chipmunk and I was sure the chipmunk would run off but he held his ground and allowed Banjo to get within a few feet of him before he ran down his hole.   I guess the most "interesting" encounter was coming upon a flock (?) of turkeys who were crossing the road.   Banjo stopped dead in his tracks and kept looking at them, then me and back to them.   He really didn't know what to make of them!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

The first year we moved to our house, I came home one day to find 22 wild turkeys in our yard. My friend never believed me and said I was drinking Wild Turkey, but my DH saw them too.

[Donna K & Quincy]

We once came across a moose which Quincy barked at from a nice safe distance while I was busy trying to convince him to change directions, luckily the moose changed directions, problem solved.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Wow, I think you win....a moose. What an exciting walk. I love where you live.

[Donna K & Quincy]

Laurie, that kind of excitement I can do without, I seriously doubt I could outrun a moose and they are known to be agressive. We were picking berries once and I heard a rather loud rustling in the brush nearby, I was a mile down the trail before I stopped to breath, my DH though it was hysterical, I was not amused.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I admire you for being able to run one mile....LOL. I thought you were trying to top my walk with your moose....I know how competitive you can be...haha.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

CHAOS!!!!!!!!!

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

we live on a mountain in the WA Cascades and encounter lots of wildlife every day on the trails... deer, possums, squirrels, chipmunks, bobcats, black bears:

 

 

...coyotes, birds, fox, raccoons, moles (usually dead), rats, rabbits... no cougar sightings yet, thank goodness, although we can see their scratch marks on trees:



[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Wow! You have a lot of wildlife I would NOT want to encounter on any walk.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

as long as we don't bug them, they don't bug us! Although I will say meeting a 500lbs male bear with two barking offleash dogs was slightly scary... but luckily the bear ran away and I was able to keep the dogs from chasing him. Phew.

[Donna K & Quincy]

The first time I encounter a bear is the day I start walking on a treadmill. We do have black bears but I have only seen one twice, both times from the safety of a nice closed in car. In the last few years coyotes have arrived here but I have yet to see one although they are becoming more populated. 

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

just this morning we encountered a small pack of coyotes... 4 or 5 of them. I am not afraid of the bears, they generally stay away from us. I'm much more afraid of my dogs not listening and taking off after some animal scent. That has happened more than once, and one day Lilo went missing for over 20 minutes. I was completely freaked out. She eventually just came trotting back as if nothing had happened. She started wearing a shock collar after that little "outing" and now she thinks twice before bolting.