Weekend Adventures

Whew! What a weekend we have just had! A real bonanza of canine adventures.

Saturday.

The pups and I went for a walk around Yarralumla with Mum, Dad & Lucy (Lucy & co. ). We started near CSIRO, walked around the Golf Course, then along the side of the lake and finally back through the streets of Yarralumla.

Yarralumla is  one of my favorite suburbs, with the tree lined streets and huge sidewalks it is a suburban dream. It also has one of the more under-utilised sides of the lake.. something that remains curious to me as it is beyond stunning and so peaceful.

The dogs loved having an explore through the woody terrain, and we even had a few moments of hide and seek between the front and back pack (Belle can lag at times..) This route was a relatively easy 5.5km;  even road and paved the majority of the way.

Yarralumla

Happy boy.. 

We were planning on stopping in at Yarralumla for coffee afterwards,  however we were too late and the crowds beat us! We still had a lovely session back at Lucy's house where she revealed her natural talent for stalking! As you can see below she well and truly has that kelpie eye and seemed determined to stare Occa and Belle into order. .. pity she was doing it to two more experienced working dogs who felt free to ignore her instinctual ways!!

Lucy; the stalker

Hey... what are you guys doing??

Sunday.

Occa and I were up bright and early and got straight to the Farmers Market.  Occa continues to impress me with his calm demeanor at the markets, he genuinely seems happy just to plod along, just to be involved in the morning activity. He doesn't mind the odd pat and cuddle that he receives every few steps either!!!

Then we were all back to school! Occa and Belle are currently enrolled in Obedience at the ACT Companion Dog Club out at Symonston. Our overall goal is to take Belle through Agility/Rally-O and Occa through Obedience.

It has always struck me how inclusive the club is. A community of dog lovers who will help one another out no matter the problem. Problem dogs are never turned away so long as the owner is dedicated to rehabilitation and training. They're also dedicated to teaching owners how to read dog body language to give owners a greater understanding of how we can communicate with our fur-babies. They are passionate about training the owner to train the dog, which is my great passion also. Dogs are so capable and intelligent, our role as human is to break down the communication barrier and understand what the dog is trying to articulate.

The dogs love going to class and it is helping hugely with Occa's emotion control (he can be exuberant..). In only a few classes he's realised it's okay not to play or jump on every dog he is within a metre of and can now happily sit next to another dog without forcing himself on it. A big win in the self control stakes!  But when it comes time for end of class he knows that means playtime! 

However, after yesterday's class we took the dogs for a bush walking adventure.  We met up with Lucy and co. and headed out to Woods Reserve (on the way to Corin Forrest out along Cotter Road).

Our initial goal was to find Gibraltar Falls, however we discovered quite quickly that the path, which had been damaged by floods a few years back, hadn't quite been repaired as yet.. so this meant that the journey became more important (and fun) than the original destination.

After a few minutes we let all three dogs off lead and they were off!! Leading us humans through the dense bush. . Every so often we would happen back on the creek and attempt a crossing to gain some height, however after about 2kms we couldn't go further and decided to turn back. 

Crossing the creek..

The dogs displayed their true working dog colours,  with continual check-ins on each member of the group and plenty of rounding from the front of the group all the way to the back. We figured that since they ran from the front to the back of the pack that they'd done about fives times the exercise we did!!

Whilst there was some initial fear during the first river crossing we used our basic training (wait, direction, come) to make sure they made it safely across.. Although it must be said that Occa chose to plunge himself in for a swim.. The true Blue Whale.

Now an experienced creek crosser.

Gibraltar Falls; the Holy Grail

After about an hour walk (it was pretty tough going at times so felt longer!!) We had a picnic lunch by the fire.. A great way to spend a winters day in Canberra.

If you are a keen walker, I'd definitely check out Woods Reserve. It's not for the faint hearted though so be prepared and don't wear clothes that you are worried about damaging!

We hope you all find an adventure to be had with your pup. The bond you create from experiencing, learning and challenging yourselves together is priceless and everlasting.

Forever love your dog,
Emma