We had us a wing-ding this weekend! We hit some awesome trails over some top-notch vistas, but those come a dime a dozen here in Cali. The real story is that humans once again scored a victory over canine-kind! We once again outlasted the pack, but it wasn't easy friends. My achieving of Tired Dog x3 nearly wiped me out too, but not quite - I still had enough left in the tank to sustain a deep, prolonged laugh at seeing all those tired pooch pusses as they immediately went to sleep in the car after each of our weekend hikes. No dog is ever cuter than at that moment their head hits the pillow in exhaustion after the old man out hustles them on the trail! Such good living!
After the initial stress of getting used to a new house (who knows how many there have been for the kid?), I think we are starting to get settled in with girly-girl. I have settled on the name Chiquita because it still allows one to use Chika-Chika as a nickname (spelled Chiqua-Chiqua?), yet also have a more intuitive full name. More than that, our routine in the house is starting to become more routine for her. Naturally, of all the things in our routine, the thing she seems most bonded to is the off-leash doggie parks and trails. This weekend, we hit two East Bay classics - Carquinez Strait and Chabot.
Each trip brings with it new hazards and new chances to learn about our girly. In this case, I got to see if she was going to follow the customary Chihuahua practice of swan-diving into each and every cow patty she comes within sniffing distance of! Thankfully, she did not - though that doesn't mean we didn't bring home our fair share of pungent mementos (more on that later.)
To be fair to Master Boom Boom - he too resisted the impulse to leap into every pile he passed. He did find his way into a few bad smells, but none of the usual head-to-toe coating with Bovine Butt Bomb. I was proud of him, especially given the fact he had so many to choose from!
The real wild card on this trip would be my sister/nephew's doggie, Ms. Taylor (aka. Nani Too Hottie.) Of all doggies on the ark right now, she is most keenly interested in the other creatures of the planet, and she also has the most chronic case of "MUST CHASE OTHER ANIMALS" syndrome. I wondered what open cattle range would do to her terrier mind.
Without a doubt, one couldn't make the case she was indifferent to the bovines assembled; yet also, her interest in them proved fleeting. I think once she got up close, she realized just how big they are, and that they are not playin'. After a close-up, she decided to slow her roll whenever her roll brought her up on a stand of cows. Wise choice.
She couldn't resist a few more passes up on the crest of the hill where the cows spent much of the afternoon. I think she was curious more than anything. The cows, who live on a pasture which allows off-leash dogs, seemed resigned to another curious visit from a city dog playing at being feral. I literally should open a fantasy camp for apartment dogs!
The weather has been a little weird of late. It has been a very cold summer along the water, although the last two weekends have warmed up sufficiently to allow shorts-n-sandals along the shore. To me, that is literally perfection itself! However, if it is warm enough for me to wear shorts, I can guarantee you will see the chihuahua beset by a major case of Draggin' Butt.
Indeed, to watch Boomie attack the water bottle and pant, you'd think he was crossing the Arabian Peninsula at high noon. The irony is that of the 3 doggies on our excursion, Boomie has the lightest coat and the most hairless surface. By far, poor Taylor had the heaviest fur coat on, but you wouldn't know it from her hyper to-and-fro in the sun. She was all over the place and having a blast, yet Boom Boom was oppressed by having to spend any time walking in the sun...Not sure how to explain it, but one possible explanation for Boomie being as he was is that he might be somewhat spoiled. Not sure. I'll look into it.
As I spend more time with Chiquita-Banana, I am seeing more and more of her personality come out. She is exceptionally sweet, and I do still take much inspiration from her pleasure at the simple things. Our excursions really are showing me a new side of her, and she seems to very much find the time out and about to her liking. Again, I know nothing of her history, but she doesn't seem terribly scared being in the outdoors - not at all skittish or overly concerned with much but sniffin' and marking. Even so, in those simple pursuits, she takes much obvious pleasure. Most importantly for me, she also now seems fully comfortable with the notion that she is there with Boom Boom, me, and Taylor. She goes off on her own a bit, but always within earshot and (to the degree her eyes allow it) she seems to be trying to keep track of where we are at (though I am guessing, as part Rat Terrier, her nose has no trouble doing the tracking of our location.) It does please me that she has very quickly taken to being in our "pack", being off-leash comfortably, and by all appearances, actually wanting to hang out wherever we are.
So far, we haven't tried any truly EPIC hikes. Over the weekend, we kept both days under 3 miles, and on each we took lots of breaks. I don't want to push her too hard given her medical history, but she has not shown even the first inkling of being tuckered or even taxed by the effort. Now that we have a routine going and she is over the transition to our casa, she has taken on a greater sense of confidence, and she even physically is looking stronger (though I think some of that is weight from the treats we share from time-to-time.) It will be a few more weeks before we try anything approaching tough, and even then, we will work our way up to it. I suspect when the time comes, she'll be ready.
Miss Taylor is a most impressive specimen on all physical fronts. She can run up or down any incline, she can trot-to-sprint indefinitely, and I am yet to find a park she doesn't want to survey end to end.
At the house, she is a bit of a piggy about food and piling her way onto the bed, but all is forgiven when we hit the parks and trails. She makes a fine pack leader, and of the 3 doggies, she seems to love the time out-of-doors more than the others. She is a country girl, originally from North Carolina, so who knows? For all I know, she is descended from the Piedmont Sasquatch.
Mister Boom Boom has a tough time keeping up with Taylor and Chikka, and I don't really expect him too with his little legs. Frankly, picking up the kid isn't much of a burden for me considering he weighs 5lbs. It isn't that he doesn't like to sniff and explore and all that stuff too, it is that he has to work way harder than I do to cover the same ground. For this reason, the kid gets to hop on pop when I make the other doggies hoof it. Naturally, he takes it in the spirit I intend it, wouldn't use it to rub our special relationship in the face of the other doggies, and he never takes advantage of the offer.
If you haven't been out to Carquinez Strait park, it should definitely get onto your radar. I am yet to travel all the trails, but as is the case with so many of the awesome East Bay Parks, it is a slice of paradise right in the middle of otherwise familiar territory. When yr on Interstate 80 stuck in traffic at the crossing of the delta, it just seems like background. Only when you head out into the parks do you realize just how special these open spaces are - all the more when you bring a doggie along.
I am partial to Carquinez because it is on the water, but also because it is above the Union Pacific train tracks out of Martinez with a view to their yard where they load Toyotas onto trains. While there are moments where you have to see industry and suburbs and such, there are also lots of spots where you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere.
Another big plus of this park is that being where it is, it is far enough from the main bay to have a chance to get some sun and warmth, but it is close enough to the water to get a beautiful sea breeze. In the sun, our hike could get warm, but just when Draggin' Butt Syndrome would start setting it, we'd hit the hilltop and catch that breeze off the water. It really works perfectly, and balances sun and wind better than almost all the bay/delta-side parks.
This was our Saturday. If that was all we did this weekend, it would have been a winner. However, the trip to Carquinez ended up being a mere prelude to a much longer hike at another top East Bay park, Chabot, on the east face of the East Bay Hills. This weekend was the hardest we have pushed our new Girly-Girl, and without giving too much away, I can divulge that she came through with flying colors; and as you will see, I have the photos to prove it.
Posted by rudayday at July 26, 2010 04:04 PM