King's Game Mobile

Took the very charming dog Jesse James to the mobile. He is a dalmation/pit bull mix and is very, very sweet. He was featured on the mid-game TV spot and did an outstanding job by looking at the camera, wagging his tail, and responding to the talent giving him a treat.

We took a dog that was black and white like Jesse, and people thought the two dogs were the same.

I took a video of Jesse's tail wagging because he kept it going like a metronome for almost the whole game! So far I can't seem to get it to play on anything other than my phone.

More Dramamine and Hiking

Drove up to Foresthill again and took the Deadwood road down to the Western States Trail. Walked downhill on the road to the Deadwood Cemetery and then to road's end.

It was creepy too! I'm all alone with just Commando. When we get to the restored cemetery (with just a memorial headstone, no apparent graves) I look at Commando and his hackles are up. Whooooo.

I also dropped my cellphone, which I didn't notice at first. I had to walk up and down the hill to the cemetery to see it.

Walked back up the WST, which paralleled the road, and found it a much nicer trek. Saw plenty of fresh and not so fresh deer tracks as well as some fresh animal scat but no actual animals. Possibly saw some bear scat too, but I'm not completely sure.

Great hike. Next time, I'm going to check out the Devil's Thumb.

Tiny Hike with Brother and Dog

Drove up to the Foresthill Divide as it's a relatively straight road for the mountains. Gave Commando some dramamine and he threw up anyway. Poor doggie.

We first hiked a bit at the Beacroft Trail but stopped when we got to the edge of the canyon leading down to the American River. Although there wasn't much snow, I just didn't fancy going down a steep, wet, snowy, and icy trail and then trying to climb back up.

We drove back down the road and stopped at some forest service road that goes partway into Secret Canyon and hiked around there. We could hear a waterfall but the road didn't go all the way down so we never saw the waterfall.

Could he be any cuter?

Lots of Commando Pics

In picture 1, Commando is napping in his dog basket. In picture 2, we've just finished a walk at Goethe Park near the American River. Commando is lying in the sun while we chat and look around.

Commando at the Granite Regional Dog Park

I've been sick with a cold and out of work but the dog still needs to be walked. I remembered going with Jodi and Bridget to a dog park nearby and thought this might be a good idea. I could sit and rest and Commando could run around like an idiot.

They have moved the park slightly from when I was last there, and the new location is fabulous! It's 2.5 acres with some decomposed granite paths, plenty of grass and even some trees that will eventually make it shady.

There were people (and their dogs) last night and this morning. Commando ran around with every dog that would run with him and was pretty relentless. Every other dog in the park came to me (and my delicious Trader Joe's treats) except Commando. He is so smart, he knows that he'd rather run around than have a treat!

This morning he had a really long exercise because he slipped his collar off and then waited until almost all of the other dogs went before deigning to come near me. I think his tongue was hanging out for an hour after we left.

Devil's Falls

Based on the great waterfalls page, I drove east to Colfax to Devil's Falls in the pouring rain. The excellent directions got me right there and it's a beautiful drive, even in the bad weather.

Commando and I hiked around from the falls to the bridge and down to the river. I had Commando off leash and he was reasonably obedient. I won't be able to trust him yet around other people, but he's definitely getting it.

He did learn an important lesson too that's kind of funny. He got carsick again (I'll have to take him to the vet for that) and so I stopped in the middle of the road to let him out to finish being sick and clean up. He scampered around happily and refused to come back to me in spite of the treats.

I was in the middle of the (isolated, dirt) road and could see a pull out about 100 feet ahead. I got in, left the driver's side door open, started up the car, and drove to the pull out. Wow! Commando had a complete attitude adjustment and decided that maybe coming when I called was in fact the best option. He got a treat and some ear scratching as a reward. I also put him in the front seat to see if that made his stomach any better.

He really is the perfect companion dog for me. He's smart though which means I have to be smarter with training. On several instances you can see him thinking, "Hmmm, do I want the treat she's offering, or is what I'm doing now more entertaining?"

I hope we can get him over this car sickness because he loves hiking and hiking involves getting in the car and driving. He seems to recover quickly and still loves hopping in the car for a ride so we'll see. Maybe the vet will have some insight.

He's curled up now sleeping in his new dog basket from Ikea. So cute.

Could There Be More Commando?

Let's see. He's now fairly reliably pooping outdoors but I can't trust him not to pee indoors so he's on a leash when we're inside.

We've had several great walks around the neighborhood and along the American River. Today we're going up to the snow (hope he doesn't get too sick), probably to Donner Summit. Or maybe we'll go to Carson Pass instead. Hmmm.

Last night he and Bridget played for a few hours while Jodi and I got Thai food for dinner.

Okay, right now he's playing on the bed, messing with the covers and if a quilt headed blob with occasional dog feet popping out isn't cute and funny I don't know what is!

I promise there will be a non-Commando post here soon.