Friday, October 18, 2013

Tradition born, habit formed

Hiking has become a favorite around here lately.  The (pet) dogs love being able to run and sniff.  L'il M also loves to run free (without constant reminders to stay on the side of the road, etc).  L'il M runs after the dogs, but every now and then, she stops and does a recall with the dogs, rewarding them with kibble from her ever present bait bag that she carries.  It is quite funny.  I am not sure if she is resting her legs when she does it or if she just wants the dogs to pay attention to her.  It does seem to happen more frequently on the way up though.  Random recalls while hiking is something I did the first day we went hiking in a long time.  The dogs were so excited and I wanted to make sure they "remembered" and were motivated to come.  They were great, and then the next time I forgot to bring any kibble (which L'il M reminded me of).  Ever since then, L'il M has prioritized grabbing the bait bag before exiting the car at the trail head.  The irony of it is that this is exactly the method that I encouraged dog owners that I was working with to use in order to maintain some focus and responsiveness while their dogs were off-leash.  Many had such a hard time doing such a simple exercise.  So simple, in fact, that even a 2-yr-old can do it.  Habit formed.
Leia(our house guest), Dillon, L'il M, Esme, and Rudy posing in "the spot"

L'il M looks irritated that Leia is not posing for the camera
I hadn't planned on taking even more photos of our hike up to the same location.  But, toddlers are so routine oriented, and apparently I have formed a tradition of bringing a fruit leather (yes, the good old fashioned kind) for L'il M to have when we reach the top of our hike.  She begins asking about it when her legs start to tire.  There is a little bench at the top that allows enjoyment of the view while you rest your legs.  Now, pictures are also required before we begin the more downward continuation of the Outlook loop.  Tradition born.  This day, L'il M walked the whole way without needing to get a ride on my back.

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