FitDog Friday #62 - Hiking Wahcella Falls

Wahcella Falls holds the distinction of being one of the most scenic and muddiest hikes we've done lately. It was the kind of mud that squelches and we had to wrench our feet away from the mud because they would sink otherwise.  

Sage loves mud and was probably overjoyed that she was actually being asked to walk in it. Oddly enough, we have no photos of her in the mud. Mr. N was not so thrilled. He very gingerly picked his way through. I'm kind of surprised he didn't get stuck. 

When we weren't looking down at the ground to make sure we didn't get stuck in the mud, we were gazing around us and appreciating the beauty of nature. And the water, water everywhere. 

The hike is about  two miles and not strenuous at all. And the waterfall view compensates for any falls in the mud you may have. I didn't fall this time (last time, I was trying to take a photo and leaned back too much) but Mr. N got stuck in my camera strap and did a roll in the mud once he was untangled. 

Mr. N appreciates nature too but more in terms of all the smells it offers. And for "wildlife" photos.

All four of us had a fair amount of mud on us after the hike. Sage had the most of course. What is the dirtiest you've been after a hike? Or your dogs?

Wordless Wednesday #71 - Hiking Companion

Mr. N would appreciate your nomination for the fourth annual BlogPaws Nose-to-Nose Pet Blogging and Social Media Awards! This is the only award program for which pet bloggers and microbloggers are judged on the expertise, performance and creativity of their blogs. Our email address is (tenaciouslittleterrier) (at) gmail (dot) com and the contact name is April C. 

And this is the last day to enter our giveaway for the Central Park Pups Raincoat!

Thanks to Central Park Pups for offering to give away a Riverside Dr Hidden Harness Raincoat for one of our lucky readers! Use the giveaway tool below to enter. They're also offering a 20 % discount off any of the coats on the website with the code "TENACIOUS" until January 31. 

Monday Mischief #56 - Why Did You Leave Me?

Mr. N was severely displeased when I disappeared for most of the weekend to attend ClickerExpo. Mr. N hates it when I go somewhere without him. And he really hates it when I train without him. And I'm rarely gone for that long.

So he sat home and moped. He didn't want to go for a walk. He didn't want to eat his Kong. He sat by the door and watched for me and followed the boyfriend around and typed SOS messages on the laptop.

He likes people and strangers and getting attention from people but he is also very much a one person dog.

When I came home, he demanded attention and petting and food and playtime. All at the same time. He obviously thought he was severely neglected. In his defense, the boyfriend did try to take Mr. N on a walk (to somewhere novel), and brushed him and let Mr. N steal his computer.

And to make matters worse, I smelled like strange dogs and hot dogs and cheese and had dog fur all over my black pants. Mr. N did eventually forgive me and cuddled next to me while we napped and deigned to use my arm as a headrest.

How do your dogs react when you're gone for a while? Do they react to smelling other dogs on you?

Thanks to Central Park Pups for offering to give away a Riverside Dr Hidden Harness Raincoat for one of our lucky readers! Use the giveaway tool below to enter. They're also offering a 20 % discount off any of the coats on the website with the code "TENACIOUS" until January 31. 

BW Sunday #74 - Forest Web

I'm attending ClickerExpo this weekend so I may be a little slow to respond to comments and visit blogs.

Don't forget to enter our giveaway for the Central Park Pups Raincoat!

Thanks to Central Park Pups for offering to give away a Riverside Dr Hidden Harness Raincoat for one of our lucky readers! Use the giveaway tool below to enter. They're also offering a 20 % discount off any of the coats on the website with the code "TENACIOUS" until January 31. 

FitDog Friday #61 - Fairy Falls Hike

After Mr. N's paw injury and Sage's human having to make an emergency trip to California, the dogs were ready to run!

We took them out to 1000 Acres. Over by Sage's normal swimming hole, we stumbled into a bunch of ducks... and a hunter. We didn't realize at first the ducks were fake. I initially thought the guy was fishing. If you look very closely, you can pick out Mr. N and the hunter in the photo.

One of the dogs was very intrigued by the fake ducks whereas the rest of the dogs just ignored them. Mr. N decided he had to go say hello to the hunter and tried to solicit petting. I called him off immediately but I think the hunter was glad when we all left. It's a shared access space but normally they hunt further afield. There are a ton of people and dogs that traipse through that area. Too close for my comfort!

After two hours there, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed to hike Fairy Falls. We started off at Wahkeena Falls.

Some water got on my lens

And then trudged through twelve switchbacks to reach Lemmon's Viewpoint. 

And this being the Pacific Northwest,  we saw moss everywhere.

Sage really wanted to dive into every water source we saw as usual. 

Mr. N did not think very favorably of this hike as all the waterfalls meant he got sprayed with water several times and he had to cross little creeks several times. As you can tell, he is not a water fan. Thus fewer Mr. N photos. 

Despite all the aquatic obstacles, we reached Fairy Falls. Do you see any fae? 

Don't forget to enter our giveaway for the Central Park Pups Raincoat!

Thanks to Central Park Pups for offering to give away a Riverside Dr Hidden Harness Raincoat for one of our lucky readers! Use the giveaway tool below to enter. They're also offering a 20 % discount off any of the coats on the website with the code "TENACIOUS" until January 31. 

Central Park Pups Review + Giveaway

It takes me about ten minutes in the winter to get myself and Mr. N dressed so we can go for a walk due to all the things we have to wear. It can definitely be a chore. The founder of Central Park Pups had the same problem so Karine came up with a dog coat with a built-in harness and a ring for tags for her dog, Chewie.

Credit: Central Park Pups

Karine sent us the Riverside Dr Hidden Harness Raincoat to try out. It's super convenient being able to just throw the coat on Mr. N and walk out the door (he wears a collar with a tag so I didn't use the tag D-ring). For people with long-haired dogs, it will take a minute to get your dog dressed because it velcros up the back and I had to be super careful not to get any of Mr. N's hair caught in it.

Mr. N didn't have any trouble with full range of motion while wearing the raincoat. And the harness didn't irritate his trachea. It is sturdily-made, I was able to pick him up via his harness which I like being able to do in case of emergencies. Mr. N has almost been run over by a bike on the sidewalk which he just narrowly avoided by my hoisting him up by his harness. I would not advise doing this if your dog is over ten pounds or so.

The raincoat comes in two colors: taxi yellow sparkle and gypsy black sparkle. The black is heavier material. I asked for the black because Mr. N always gets cold when it rains. Black isn't my favorite color on him because I think it can look severe on him but the sparkle seems to negate that and I love how it glitters.

The silver reflective edging is nice for visibility at night. I've passed by Mr. N's clothes box at night and his raincoat has caught my eye due to the edging. The coat also comes with pockets, big enough to carry some treats if your dog won't be distracted all walk from toting them around. It also has a detachable hood.

Sizing-wise, the coat seems to runs a little small especially length-wise. Mr. N falls right in the middle of the small measurements and it fits him exactly girth-wise and he could use another inch or so length-wise. The raincoat comes in sizes small (12-16 inches girth), medium (16-20), large (18-24), extra large (28-32). The material doesn't have any give so make sure to check the measurements.

I did test out the coat in the rain and it works nicely in light rain but all the rain we've had was of the pouring variety and not suitable for photo taking. And Mr. N would never have forgiven me.

Thanks to Central Park Pups for offering to give away a Riverside Dr Hidden Harness Raincoat for one of our lucky readers! Use the giveaway tool below to enter. They're also offering a 20 % discount off any of the coats on the website with the code "TENACIOUS" until January 31. 

This post was sponsored by Central Park Pups. They are not responsible for the contents of this article. All opinions expressed are our own. 

Monday Mischief #55 - Rose City Classic Dog Show 2015

There was still a torrential downpour on Saturday so I packed Mr. N up and we headed to the Rose City Classic. One of my friends from Mr. N's therapy group came with me and we meandered through the hall. She really wanted to see an Irish Water Spaniel but we didn't spot any. We missed the Yorkies too, they were showing earlier that morning. 

 There was a booth selling FitPaws and Mr. N played with some of the equipment. I meant to ask if he could try the treadmill but didn't get around to it. 

Mr. N on the Fitbone with Paw Pods underneath for extra difficulty

We also watched some agility. The particular course we were watching was an international one and very difficult. Most of the dogs we watched didn't qualify. Mr. N watched very intently, I think he was attracted to all the movement. Either that or he was trying to learn agility through osmosis. 

Miraculously, I managed to walk out without buying anything for Mr. N. I had another friend's shopping list with me and we bought some toys for her dog and a thirty-pound bag of kibble. Someone thought I was feeding Mr. N with that and I was like nope, that would take him a couple of years to finish! 

I did want to buy him a fur tug toy that you can stuff food in but I couldn't find any small enough for his mouth. The smallest one I could find was about his size in length. One of the booth people directed me to the small dog toy aisle but they didn't have any fur tugs. Small dogs tug too! Maybe I'll find one at ClickerExpo this upcoming weekend. 

What did you do with your dogs last weekend? Also watch for our giveaway/review later this week.

*GCH CH BUGABOO'S PICTURE PERFECT (Old English Sheepdog) won best in show. 

BW Sunday #73 - Fitpaws at the Rose City Classic Dog Show

This Blog Hop hosted by Sugar the Golden Retriever and Dachshund Nola

FitDog Friday #60 - Bad Weather for Walks

Yesterday it positively poured. Portland gets its fair share of rain so when we get "very heavy rain," it's notable! 

Mr. N ran out long enough to go to the bathroom and ran right back indoors. In the few minutes that we were out, we both were fairly wet despite wearing rain gear. 

Mr. N plans to hibernate until the flood is over

It's not really fair to make him walk in this weather because he gets drenched despite wearing a rain coat and a fleece and starts shivering. Then he starts running to the nearest awning he can find and looks like a miserable drowned rat. He has very little body fat and his hair isn't weather-proof at all. He's not made to be a water loving dog. Although oddly enough we know someone with a Lab who hates the rain (but loves water otherwise) so she has to put a rain coat on him for walks. 

Thanks to the moderate climate here, we really don't have to worry about cold weather (at least not enough to prevent us from walking) or hot weather for the most part. But we do have the odd day here and there when it's raining cats and dogs and we decide to do indoor activities inside (playing with the FitBone and working on rolling with the blanket in his mouth). Being cold is bad enough, being cold and wet is just wretched. 

How do you decide it's too miserable outside to walk outdoors? 

Wordless Wednesday #69 - Dog Painting

Even fake dogs are bigger than Mr. N.

Monday Mischief #54 - Paw Injury

On Saturday, I came home from brunch to discover blood on the floor and door and blood all over Mr. N's paw. I'm still not quite sure how he scraped his paw pad as there were no sharp objects in the room and he hadn't done anything more strenuous than eating breakfast. He wasn't limping and would let me examine it as long as I didn't poke in the area.

I called the vet and they told me it wasn't an emergency and to watch him and to come in on Monday if I felt the need. Mr. N was placed on a walk restriction. The concrete isn't good for his paw.

Mr. N is very fond of his walks so we've been going out on outings where he gets carried the majority of the time so he still gets some socialization time and fresh air.  We go into the stores where he's a regular and he gets petted and cossetted and fed treats.

There was a little girl whose mother was instructing her on proper dog greeting etiquette and who was very interested in Mr. N so I let her feed him a treat and she was thrilled. There's a reason why I refer to Mr. N as a walking petting zoo.

To those of you who have sent well wishes on Facebook, thank you. Mr. N is improving and I hope he'll be able to get out with Sage soon!

BW Sunday #72 - Literary Stairs

FitDog Friday #59 - Allergies

Mr. N is allergic to chicken, fleas and bee stings. Chicken is the easiest one to avoid because most things are labeled and he can have it in small doses without becoming too itchy.

He is on flea medication pretty much year-round though because the weather is mild here and we have bugs pretty much all the time. Even one flea bite drives him crazy for weeks and then we have to cone him and he uses that cone as a weapon to show his displeasure (who says dogs can't use tools?).

I have tried various holistic measures and several different flea medications. Right now, he's wearing a Seresto collar and I spray him with the Pet Naturals Flea + Tick spray if we're going hiking or somewhere with a lot of dogs.

My biggest concern though is his bee allergy because the last time he got stung by a bee (which was before we had him), he had to go to the ER. At his last vet visit, I got a prescription for juvenile EpiPens for Mr. N. I didn't know this was a thing for dogs until I went to a canine first-aid workshop a few months ago.

The vet told me to stab Mr. N in the thigh muscle with the EpiPen. The boyfriend said what muscle to which I replied that Mr. N has very nice hind muscles... the vet said so! I can see his point though, it's not exactly a large target area.

Now we'll have to see if his insurance will cover the cost.

What kind of allergies do your dog(s) have and what do you do to combat them?

Pet Blogger's Gift Exchange: Speedy, the Cheeky House Bunny

We are joining the Pet Blogger’s Gift Exchange, hosted by Something Wagging This Way Comes. We got paired with Speedy, the Cheeky House Bunny. As Pamela pointed out, Speedy and Mr. N are almost exactly the same size so it's only fitting.

Speedy is a male Himalayan Rex who lives in the UK and enjoys taking selfies.

And wearing stylish sweaters.

He is fearless and fierce and loves celebrating various holidays.

Speedy even goes for walks wearing his harness!

If you want to read about the adventures of a valiant pirate/knight bunny with his own kingdom, check out Speedy's blog! 

Positive Pet Training #12 - 2015 Training Goals

Welcome to 2015's first Positive Pet Training Blog Hop, hosted by Cascadian Nomads, our new co-host Rubicon Days and myself. During 2014, Mr. N learned how to fetch, became certified as a therapy dog and improved his recall skills dramatically.

And worked on his balancing and perching skills! 

This year, I'd like to:

• Work on the hot dog retrieve. We did a training session or two over the holidays. I've gotten to the point where he will take it from my hand and drop it back in my hand. Mr. N thinks I have lost my mind and does not understand the point of the exercise yet. 
• Teach Mr. N one or two of the flashy tricks: skateboarding, jump rope, foot stalls etc. 
• Add a few titles to his name. Lure coursing, and maybe his CGC this year. 
• Teach him how to heel! He walks nicely on a loose leash so I haven't really bothered but Bethany suggested it as a way to teach focus and attention and to wear him out(?) so I'm putting this on the list. 
• Look for truffles. A friend told me that if I teach Mr. N to sniff them out, she knows someone who has truffles on their land and will let us search. 

Mr. N working on his core by standing on his inflated K9 Fitbone. #activedog #terriersofinstagram #terriers #tenaciouslittleterrier #exercise #conditioning #portland #ilovemydog #ilovemydog #yorkie #yorkiegram101 #yorkiesofinstagram #resolution #maltese #dogs #dogtraining #dogoftheday #dogstagram #doglovers #dogstagram #dogsofinstagram

A video posted by Tenacious Little Terrier (@tenaciouslittleterrier) on Jan 1, 2015 at 4:04pm PST

I'm also going to ClickerExpo in Portland later this month so I'm sure I'll have lots of new training ideas after that. 

What are your training goals for 2015?

BW Sunday #71 - Shore

FitDog Friday #58 - Fitness Gear Presents

Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season! After a decadent holiday vacation, Mr. N and I are both ready for the New Year and getting back to our exercise routine. Mr. N and I both got fitness gear for presents this year to help us with our exercise goals.

Mr. N got a new harness from Hurtta (which I think may have to be exchanged for a smaller size), several jackets, and Musher's Secret which we ended up not using due to the lack of snow. As well as more frivolous things like his favorite soft squeaky toys and what I'm pretty sure is his weight in treats. 

My gifts included a Fitbit (exercise tracker), lots of woolen base layers, and a bright coral Saucony jacket with reflective strips and built-in LED lights which will be handy when I walk Mr. N in the dark.

Mr. N pictured with some of his presents

I'm aiming for 10,000 steps every day and I'd like to get Mr. N back into lure coursing this year, work on his conditioning and continue our hikes. 

Did you and/or your dogs receive any fitness gear for the holidays? What are your fitness goals?