The Dog Walks Me

Category: Hikes

  • Daycare options

    Over the last couple weeks we’ve been trying different options for when we’re both working during the day.  We both work from 9-6 and bike to work so it’s actually 8:45-6:20 we are out of the house.  At first I thought it was really expensive for dog services but over time I’m seeing how much it makes sense and how much happier Whiskey is if she gets the exercise.  For all the options we still walk her in the morning for 30-45mins (with most of it off leash) and also another walk as soon as we come home.  This is our experience so far:

    Dog hiking (1.5 hours hiking, 3 hours out) $22

    • It’s actually difficult to find a very good company with openings because they’re usually scheduled with regulars so we’ve had to use two different companies so far.  We give them the key and they come at around 12-12:30 and bring her back around 3-3:30.  I found some “hikes” were actually to a beach and park so we prefer the one company that actually hikes.  All hikes are off-leash and regulated to max 6 dogs.  Both companies have reported that Whiskey has been great and has really good recall.  She’s been “one of the easiest puppies” which is great to hear!  The downside is she’s locked in her crate the rest of the day.

    sample picture of usual hikes with company #1
    of course she’s on a log!
      At the park (not always a hike with company#2)

      Daycare $22 +($25 in car rental)

      • We’ve only tried this twice and it was the most difficult because we need to grab a Car2go each time (we are working on buying a car soon).  Driving in rush hour traffic to drop her off and pick her up is also frustrating.  Mix that with potential carsickness, parking, and the daycare closes at 6:30- it became our last option.  The daycare itself was great though and she was happy to lie down when she came home.
        Whiskey with “Bruce Wayne”

        someone is a tired puppy

        rubber floors so they don’t slip and hurt joints

      Petsitting $35

      • We found someone on Dogvacay (think AirBnB but for dogs) who lives pretty close so we’ve been dropping her off once a week there.  It’s more expensive but it means no crate time, one on one attention, petting, and a home environment.  She gets to sleep in the bed and go out for a long walk to the park.


      Coming home at lunchtime $0

      • Cheapest option but much more work! We need to bike home at lunch and because the biking takes up half our lunch, we tag-team taking Whiskey to the park and getting her some outside time. It’s great to spend more time with her and she’s always so happy! It’s much harder on rainy days though, and we live in Vancouver (Raincouver)

      Our current schedule is
      Monday: hike Tuesday: hike Wednesday: petsitting Thursday: hike Friday: come home

      I think in the end I would like to leave Whiskey in the bedroom (we only have 2 rooms in our loft) and have her hike everyday.

    • Mountain climbing dog

      I’ve been waiting to hike Mt Seymour since we’ve got Whiskey.  Over the last few months we’ve been slowly increasing the distance and difficulty and this one is a bit longer than she’s used to (about 4 hours return, 7km, 450m climb to the “first pump”). We always hike with her off leash and she’s always leading the way.

      heading up the trail
      Whiskey takes all kinds of side trails

      Earlier this year, we had completed the same hike in snow and found a section to scramble, which was easy enough without having to worry about safety, but tough enough to get your heart racing.  Every dog is different, and although we’re really struggling to get Whiskey to say, fetch, she LOVES agility, climbing, and balancing on things.  I was keen to try this scramble with her, with full intentions on taking the normal trail if she showed any sign of fear, hesitation, or lack of balance/safety.

      This is the scramble
      starting up, Whiskey is patient with us
      going between Daddy and me
      see! no worries!
      My mountain dog

      Well, even in my wildest dreams I wouldn’t have imagined how impressive she would be.  While we were struggling to find handholds and routes, Whiskey was up and over our heads going back and forth between us, sure-footed and happy.  There were only two times she needed to be lifted up a meter or so.  She’s been on another hike with a steel ladder section where she’s learned to stay on my partner’s shoulders in a fireman’s carry, so we had no problems.  Whiskey can also follow if we point her a new route, and when one way doesn’t work out, she will work out another path herself (something we’ve been patiently teaching her).

      hurry up mommy!
      She’s so graceful,  I love watching her

      I just can’t believe my little puppy is a mountain goat!  She’s been constantly surprising me with her fearlessness since we got her.  Every time she slips, she gets right back up and tries again.  I only wish I could have taken my cat scrambling too!

      Whiskey follows Daddy up the boulder
      but she refuses to jump over.  Great decision making!
      Moo is a true acrobat but refuses a harness/collar/leash

      I can’t wait for our next weekend hike and I’m so ecstatic to have the hiking dog of my dreams.

      Best dog ever!

    • Hikes and bikes

      Hikes and bikes

      Whiskey is 4.5 months old now and we are increasing the length of our hikes a little.  We tried Eagle Bluffs which is 8kms with a 350m incline.  It has a beautiful scenic viewpoint of the whole city and is a great place to bring friends new to Vancouver.  Taking it really slow, we spent most of the hike talking to friends (usually we add more training and stick throwing in a hike).  Whiskey had no problems finishing the hike and we took her on a walk in the evening as well.

      playing on the ski slopes
      the view from the top
      water please!
      the former olympic site
      well tired afterwards

      We’re started introducing Whiskey to bicycles to get her used to walking or running next to them.  Eventually we would like to exercise her next to a bike but right now we are not using this as a form of exercise, rather just up and down a parking lot for training.  We also want to start maybe mountain biking with her through the forest but since I would have to learn how to mountain bike, we can assume the pace would be slow enough for a puppy.  Also, the other day we introduced her to skateboards!  She’s a pretty inquisitive pup.

      I don’t understand this contraption but I’ll kiss you
      all four legs on the board!
      she loves running beside the board and barking

    • A very busy day

      This week I’m off work, and I’m really looking forward to relaxing at home with the pets.  Since we don’t own a car, we decided to rent from a car share a couple times this week to get out of the city.

      Today we tried out Jug Island in Coquitlam.  It’s a short little hike with minimal incline and a great way to start the day.  The highlight of the hike is a little beach that faces the Indian Arm and Jug Island.  We caught (and released) some tiny crabs, talked to kayakers and just chilled.  As a joke, Thierry tossed a stick in quite far into the water and Whiskey actually retrieved it!  She swam out further than she’s ever been before, although it was a bit of a panicky swim back.  We were so proud!

      working on our agility (yes they made it to the top!)
      our hiking group
      Whiskey fetches and swims!
      catching small crabs
      we are going higher and higher with this little girl

      On the way back we popped into a wild game butcher for pet and human meats (kangaroo, bison, venison, elk, ostrich, wild boar).  I think we’re stocked for awhile now!  At the moment I’m trying out various foods for Whiskey so we’ll let you know how our experimentation goes.  We’ve got tons of kibble and even raw samples from Petapalooza.

      a bison heart is enormous!

      Continuing on our day, after we dropped the meat home, we took Whiskey off to the vet for her last set of shots (Rabies and Lepto).  She was amazing and even got a little handkerchief.  As long as she’s eating a snack, she doesn’t even feel the needles. So as far as Whiskey understands, the vet means lots of attention, pets, and snacks!  I wonder if she’ll wise up eventually.  The cat is under no such illusions.

      Whiskey has no idea she’s getting a shot

      After the vet, we drove to the off-leash dog area of Spanish banks where we met the cutest German Shepherd puppy.  Whiskey was pretty tired but perked up for some glorious playtime, digging and sniffing.  Then it was back home for a dinner of turkey hearts and gizzards, and we all fell asleep really early (except for Moo who then demanded attention).

      Spanish Banks has a beautiful view
      Whiskey with Nala, the German Shepherd 
      These two played rough and cute!

    • Sunshine Coast dog-camping

      Sunshine Coast dog-camping

      It seems like we’re always on the ‘go’ these days.  We just got back from a weekend on BC’s Sunshine Coast where we had a fantastic time with Whiskey and a group of friends.  At the moment I’m exhausted, the dog is happy, we’ve got a ton of stuff to unpack and a dirty house to clean.  Here’s how it went:

      Ferry ride
      We had our first ferry ride with a dog.  Unfortunately dogs aren’t allowed past the car deck so our top-deck photo-ops are over.  We did however walk all around the parking level saying hi to everyone and sniffing all the ropes.  Good thing it was a 40 min ride otherwise we might have gone for a poop though.  Whiskey’s been great with the car these days although we make a big effort to make sure she’s tired before a long ride.

      our little poser
      I wonder who peed here?

      Blackberry season
      It’s blackberry season and boy are they everywhere!  Every stop we made whether it be a scenic view or pit-stop there were heavy bushes waiting to be picked.  Here we are waiting for the ferry, collecting and eating our fill.  Whiskey is a fan of  sweet ones and gobbles them up from my fingers.

      it pays to be tall!
      sooo many wild blackberries!

      On-leash campground
      It was a dog-friendly campground, much less rugged than our last trip though a clear downside was that dogs had to be leashed at all times.  There were RVs, tents, yurts, cabins, and a motel section along with a dock.  It was really hard to keep her on a leash while doing all our activities and we still needed to give her all the exercise she required.  It was half as productive (putting up the tent, cleaning, cooking, eating, packing) and half as relaxing.  On the upside it was good to have her on-leash when there were deer around.  I’ve never had her pull so much before!

      Whiskey helps rearrange firewood

      Lakes
      Whiskey is still too scared to dive into water from a dock.  She’ll fetch up to her tummy, and maybe take one step further, but beyond that she’s whining and stressed when we ask her to do more.  So it was a big shock when we were hanging out on a little platform and our little Whiskey took a couple steps backwards, falling in the water!  She was only in for a second before we fished her out, but was shivering for an hour afterwards, even with a towel-down and lying in the sun.  I guess she was just stressed.

      Come on in!  The water’s great.  *lots of whining*
      shivering and miserable in the sun
      overseeing activities on the lake

      Dog limitations
      We ended up at Alice Lake just past Squamish on our way back.  Little did we know, dogs must be leashed and are not allowed on the grass, paths, or beach areas (so where are they allowed??).  It’s frustrating when you’re with a group of friends but have to chose the dog.  We ended up taking a hike while the rest of the group sunbathed, swam, and relaxed by the beach.

      Hikes

      We did one hike on Sunshine Coast: Mt Daniel as well as another one at Alice Lake: the Four Lake Trail.  Mt. Daniel is about 6km and 440m climb which is the most we’ve tried with Whiskey.  She was running until the end!  Alice Lake was unplanned but was absolutely gorgeous.  The trail was easy and beautiful (around 6km) and the landscape was astounding for a rainforest.  For both hikes we had loads of fun.  Sometimes I can’t believe my luck when I go hiking with Whiskey.  She never fails to make me laugh and smile and she’s just so fearless and silly.  I’m addicted!

      trail of Mt Daniel

      having fun off leash finally!
      The view from Mt Daniel
      a little log climbing is good for the vizsla soul
      the amazing trail of the Four Lake Loop

    • Whiskey the little celebrity

      We are famous!!  On a hike to Deep Cove a couple weeks ago we met a nice man who took a couple shots of Whiskey as she was romping around.  We finally made it on his website 🙂