The Dingo Chronicles

Another friendly game of tag has found it's way to our blog. Danni has again included us in the fun, and we're happy to join in! Unfortunately, most of the items have to do with running, but since Hunter (and now Wally) run with me...I'll try to loop them in.

1. Most memorable moment on the trails:

When we lived in Hailey, Hunter and I would often drive up past Sun Valley to a single-track trail in Adams Gulch. We'd gone up one mid-Saturday-morning to escape the summer heat (the area is a rare find...trees...shade...and water for Hunter). A creek flows alongside the entire stretch of the trail and log bridges are scattered along the way, creating a zig-zag effect from one side of the creek to the other. This day just happened to be perfect...I could have run forever. Hunter and I had a blast running across (and through, in his case) the creek. The sun was just right and the sky so blue. I'll never forget that day.

2. Best new trail I discovered in 2007:

Bear Creek, on your way down to Swan Lake (off highway 83). My dad and I explored this trail late Spring 2007. We constantly drive past the sign for this area and had been wanting to explore for quite some time. We parked at the base of the road - he rode his bike and I ran - and started the climb. The road eventually turned to Forest Service road...definitely not a single track, but just the right amount of room for two people. Creeks and waterfalls were scattered throughout our journey upward. It was so serene and beautiful. We only went three miles up, but it was definitely a trail worth exploring more. I've yet to go back for another run, but it's always on my mind. Maybe I can drag Danni down there, since she'll need those trail runs for WS! :)

3. My best performance of the year was…

Most definitely the Coeur d' Alene marathon!!! My first!!! And with a finish time of 4:06, I can't complain. It was hard...painful...maybe even excruciating at the end?...but well worth it. I couldn't have done it without my family there to support me and Danni by my side until the end. This is hopefully only the beginning of my tally for long-distance runs (not sure about ultras yet, though) ;).

4. I do not know how I previously survived without…

A Garmin! When I very first started running, I used to be so against tracking much about my runs. I would even get mad at my dad for starting the timer on his watch at the start of our outings. All I wanted to know was how far I'd run, which was tracked with the odometer ahead of time or course markers. Ha! How that's changed! Now I'm fully "in the know" and almost obsessed with it. I LOVE YOU, GARMIN!

5. The person I would most like to meet on a trail in 2008...

They're not people, but they're just as important and almost seem like people to me...my dingos!!! I look forward to many more trails runs with my constant companions (24/7, actually). Since Wally will be 1 in April, he'll get to hit the trail with us for much longer runs. I feel so safe running with these two and can't wait for new adventures with them. They always seem to find a way to make me laugh and keep me entertained on runs. And we can't forget Sonja and Danni!!! We'll also be so excited to meet up with them on the trail in '08.

Not to worry...I'll get a true dingo post here soon. Maybe even today!!!

So...I almost got Hunter hit by a car this morning. It wasn't a close call or anything, but it was most certainly my fault that he was nearly in harms way. How could this be, you ask? Because Hunter is too smart...

A few mornings out of the week, Hunter, Wally and I go for a stroll around the neighborhood before the work-day begins. Hunter is such a good boy that I can walk with him off leash. Luckily, he follows voice commands so well that I'm able to put my concentration into wrangling Wally. He's amazingly smart and has such an understanding of the words we speak to him that, in the past, I've wondered if Ty and I have Dr. Doolittle powers (*note...Wally has since dashed this theory).

Two important commands that I employ on walks with Hunter are "Over Here" and "This Side," which means move to my right or my left, respectively. It's so great to be able to have him on one side of me or the other. Typically, I have him move to my right or left to put me in between him and an oncoming car, a dog on the other side of the street, or a tempting treat in the middle of the road. Even if he's not at heel and some distance ahead of me, I can holler out one of these commands and he'll move to the side I need him on.

This morning we were on a stretch of our walk where there are no sidewalks. We had just come off a sidewalked portion on the right side of the road and we were now hugging this side, close to the grass. Hunter was not too far ahead of me when I saw headlights down the road coming towards us. "This Side," I called out to Hunter to get him to move off of the pavement and more into the ditch/grass portion. He held his position and stayed on the pavement. Frustrated that he wasn't listening, I shouted "THIS SIDE, HUNTER!" Now...you might be catching on to why exactly Hunter was not doing as told (do you recall which direction "This Side" refers to?). At this point, Hunter knew what was up and was more than likely thinking to himself "screw you, lady...I ain't doin' that."

Hee-hee...well...I still hadn't caught on and interpreted Hunter's action (or lack of) as disobedience and shouted one last time "THIS - SIDE - HUNTER!!!!" Hunter had to make a choice...face the wrath of an unhappy master or take on the car. He made his decision and swooped LEFT towards the oncoming car. I reacted to his movement with a panicked "HUNTER!!!" and he came back towards me, easily getting out of the way of the car. (Guess this says something about my wrath...he chose to take his chances with the car!!!).

Not a second later, it dawned on me...oh my gosh! I should have been telling him "Over Here" to get him to move to the right! I instantly began apologizing and pampered him with a moment of master-to-dog rump scratching. Hunter flattened his ears in forgiveness and satisfaction and went about his way sniffing and eating snow.

Luckily, the car really wasn't moving fast and slowed down when he saw Hunter's blinky light, so I don't think Hunter was ever really in danger...but it was enough to cause my heart to skip. Hunter Bunter...the smartest dog in the world (and today...smarter than me!).

First off, I must say...how in the world is it December already? And almost the 25th?!?!?!? I can't believe our last post was close to a month ago. Ever since Thanksgiving, the Anderson house-hold has been going non-stop.

A week after our home was filled with the cheer and occasional holiday bark or pant of our dearest families, Ty took off for Boise and a week of training for work. Leaving the "kids" and me to fend for ourselves. Thankfully, our routine wasn't too affected and aside from almost being smothered in my sleep by Wally on numerous occasions, we all managed to still love each other in the end.

The week following Ty's trip to Boise, I was also scheduled to travel to the City of Trees for training and meetings. We decided to take advantage of the chance to spend time together in Boise through the weekend, so I headed for Boise early and took off on Friday.

Yes...this meant Hunter and Wally were in need of a doggy-sitter. Luckily, Mom and Dad came to the rescue and we were able to avoid a boarding fee! Turns out that Mom (or "Grandma" as we sometimes refer to her, for the puppies' sake, of course!) was picked to stay at the house with the dogs...spending Friday and Saturday nights with the circus crew.

She was a trooper...sacrificing her own personal comfort for the contentedness of each dog, as both of them were keen on snuggling up REAL close to her on the couch. She managed to consume food without being forced to share half of it and even managed to speak to us AND go to dinner with us the weekend following her dog-watching stint.

I'd drawn up a set of animal feeding instructions for Mom and included some tips and tricks for getting Wally fed without 1) allowing him to sneak full-mouth bites from his food bucket while she filled his bowl, 2) spilling large quantities of food from the scoop as she guides it from his food bucket to his bowl, and 3)(worst-case scenario) keep him from considering Hunter's food bowl as fair game. Dad came over Saturday afternoon, while Mom was at work and he had just gotten of his shift, to feed Wally. Unfortunately, Dad failed to read the helpful tips and upon opening Wally's food bucket to fill his bowl...aghh...mayhem...Wally dove in head first and started chowing down. Fortunately, he's still a scrawny pup and Dad was able to pull him away from a potentially monstrous feast.

I stayed in Boise up until this past Friday and Ty was home alone with the critters. His routine is much more interrupted when I take a trip, since - with me working from home - the dogs are used to being catered to every moment of a normal day. He ends up playing doggy chauffeur and entertainer for the time I'm away. Each day, the dogs load up in the car and travel with Ty to work. Ty's lunch hour, which typically consists of a solo gym workout, is spent as personal trainer for Hunter and Wally...ensuring they get a decent amount of energy expenditure. At the end of the day, the dogs are hauled back home and once Ty arrives at the house, he's forced to entertain yet another dog fitness session, as they're both wound up from spending an entire afternoon in the car. I would agree that all this sounds a little over-the-top, but with a puppy that's still unreliable and a grown dog that's proven his ability to demolish prized possessions when he's not happy we've left him for long periods of time...we have no choice.

Out of the whole crew, Rosco did manage to show his disapproval of the situation through Kleenex. One-by-one, he tugged a tissue from the box, leaving them strewn across the bathroom floor. He also found a bag of screws and other hardware and ripped through the plastic with his teeth and claws. Proving what? Not really sure. But then...what are we sure about with Rosco?

Needless to say, it's great to be back home and getting back to our routines. The animals have returned to doing what they do best when I'm home working...snoozin' away!

Sonja's mom Danni (Hunter and my early a.m. running buds) tagged our site in a friendly game of blog-tag. I guess we're supposed to tag 5 more bloggers after we list 5 random facts about us, but I'm a blogging loner :(. Actually...I should say, Hunter and Wally are limited in their blogger connections. So...we'll list random facts and just have fun with it.

1. Hunter likes the taste of cigarette butts (he ate one this morning at the stop light, Danni - did you catch that?). Gulp!

2. Wally almost lost his wee-wee in a not-so-fun tangle with some barbed wire 2 weeks ago. It's almost all better.

3. Leanne has two different colored eyes - one green and one blue with a sliver of green in it.

4. Leanne and Ty were married on the same day AND the same year as Jim and Christina (our neighbors across the street that LOVE Hunter - and now Wally too).

5. Hunter has at least 12 nick-names:

• Dingo Roola (Dingo, Rattlesnake, Kangaroo, Koala - describes a myriad of his behaviors)
• Dingo
• Roola
• Roo
• Rooda Roo
• Bub
• 'Da Bub
• Bubba
• Mister Hunter
• 'Da Mister
• Hunter Bunter
• H-Man

I think that covers it! 5 randoms!

The inspiration for today's post is a question I often find myself asking Hunter and Wally. It occurred to me this morning that I say it quite often and it usually follows the unwarranted consumption of something...SOMETHING...they seem to have found on the floor or in the grass...maybe even on each other.

This morning's incident occurred on our way out of the garage for our quick, before-work walk. I was putting on my shoes when out of nowhere I hear Hunter slurping up something with his tongue and proceeding to crunch and chew away at an object that was more than likely non-edible (a term used loosely in the dingo world). "What and why?" I questioned out loud to him. Translation..."What [did you just eat] and why [in the world did you think you needed to eat it]?"

Last night it was Wally chewing on a piece of plastic shattered from the dropped fabric softener bottle. "What?" when we saw him laying on the floor shuffling something around in his mouth, followed by "Why?" when we discovered what it was and yanked it from his mouth. It can't possibly taste good, so what's the inspiration?

The attraction to "irresistible" items, I can kind of understand - chewing gum abandoned on the sidewalk, cookie crumb trails from the daycare kids next door, and even the olive droppings from the trees on our way to the park, kind of makes sense. But then there's the randoms...the "Whys?" in full force. Those items that just boggle my mind - deer poop, landscaping bark, the lowest branch of our apple tree, cigarette butts, cat poop, and worst of all...the leftover remains of something - the "What?" - DEAD!!!

If we're lucky, we intercept the item before the swallow and my frantic plea to "Drop it!!!" solicits an immediate response to spit out the item. But sometimes (and usually when it's utterly disgusting), there is no way that thing is coming out of their mouth. And that's when I ask..."What...and Why?"

As Ty reminded me last night, I missed out on a Halloween post, so a "belated" post will have to do.

Halloween started off with an adventure in the early morning hours of the day. Hunter and I met up with Danni and Hunter's friend Sonja (beautiful husky with blue eyes) for a spooky Halloween run. The morning was quiet, cold, and dark...perfect. The dogs agreed and we took off for a run up Lone Pine Trail. The intent was to creep ourselves out with a run in the "forest" with only our headlamps and pups to protect us. It turned out to be not so scary after all and we attributed it to the excessive panting that our partners in crime contributed to the experience. Kinda kept us from hearing any scary stirring sounds in the trees and bushes beyond the glow of our lights. Oh well. It was still a great run and a fabulous way to start the day.

The real fun began around dusk. Ty got home and donned his mullet wig and I transformed into a green-haired witch (thanks, Jodi!). The dogs were pretty unsure about our get-ups, but they soon ignored the attire (I'm sure they were thinking we're complete weird-o's). Mom and Dad showed up to help hand out candy. And then...the ceremonious door bell ringing began. For Hunter and Wally, the doorbell is a signal to bark. I don't think they know why, but it's more of a Pavlov thing than anything else. I like to think they're trying to protect us, but after about the 30th ring on Halloween night and the successive mad-dog barking that followed, I'm pretty sure it's a repetition-based reaction to...THE DOORBELL. Actually, now that I think about it...I think we subconsciously invite Mom and Dad over on Halloween night to help hold back the beasts from giving some kid a life-long fear of dogs or...even worse...trick-or-treating.

Hunter and Wally got to see a few of their neighbor friends on Halloween night. We took Hunter over to Jim and Christina's (the older couple across the street) and he got his fill of treats. He was so excited that WE were going over THERE, since usually he has to sit and wait for Christina on OUR side of the street until he gets his goodies. The idea that he was that much closer to a satisfied tummy seemed to leave him unable to control himself (in other words, he wouldn't stop barking). Joe (a neighbor kid that somehow seems to find us whenever we're out with the dogs) hollered into the house "Where's Hunter?" as we filled his bag with treats. Uhhh...kid...lets not worsen the situation. The last thing we need is one of you actually calling out the dog's name...he's already a bit riled as it is. It was pretty cute though, I have to admit.



What a great Halloween! We avoided any trick-or-treater vs. rabid dog run-ins and managed to enjoy our pumpkin shaped Papa Murphy's with minimal begging sessions from our four-legged friends. 'Til next year!