What would that be?!?
Taking Kanga camping with us.
Thursday was a pretty rough day for Kanga. She had an "interesting" afternoon with Gunner, out in the yard... and I was really thinking the dog had lost all sense. I knew I could NOT leave her home with Courtney, because there was no way Courtney could handle the ever changing sides of Kanga.
So, for everyone's safety (or so I hoped)... I chose to take Kanga with us. I have NO problem telling ppl to NOT approach my dog... I have a pretty strong personality, so ppl tend to listen to what I am saying... especially if I am in their face enough! LOL
All in all... GREAT, FANTASTIC WEEKEND! We only had 1 incident that I was concerned about Kanga biting out of fear... and it was FAR from her fault, and she handled it really well. Some dumb lady left her dog get away (a 125+lb hound of some sort... HUGE)... then came running up to us because we caught her dog before any of the dogs got hurt! In the process... the dipshit backed Kanga in a corner... but Kanga looked to Stacy for guidance and she got it!! I am sooooooooo proud of her. Crisis avoided! Dipshit got her dog back... on with our trip!!
Kanga has come A LOOOOOONG way in the few weeks she has been here. She has gained sooo much confidence. There was NO WAY she could have handled ANY of our weekends activities 3 weeks ago!! That would have been setting her up for failure.
She is growing leaps and bounds. With A LOT of work every day. We have to physically exhaust her before any changes can take place mentally! It isnt easy tiring this girl out!! LOL!!
I think this weekend was a huge step forward for Kanga developing a bond... with Stacy! (Who would have thought that?!?) He has turned into a SUPER handler for her... she trusts hims, she looks at him for guidance and he gives her clear, specific cues that she can read... no wavering in his emotions or demeanor when it comes with dealing with her.
It is awesome to watch.
Anyway... Our camping trip!!!
It rained late Friday night (with a HUGE, scary storm that passed through) and then again Saturday evening and night. BUT, the wicked weather that the park rangers came around warning everyone about seemed to pass us by... it also cleared out most of the campers...LOL!
Friday was low key... set up, settling in... a nice evening fire. Lots of chit chatting and watching the dogs act crazy and play. We also took Sprocket with us... and of course Ellie.
We were all surprised that come "bed time"... Kanga and Sprocket BOTH settled into bed with me and Stacy! I really wasnt sure how she would react to being in such a small space with us. Well, it was NO problem at all... once she sniffed everything and everyone out and relaxed.
We got some sight seeing and a few "walks" in Saturday. We originally set out for a hike... but it started to rain on us pretty good, so we headed back to the camper and decided to take the truck up to Canyon Vista.
Well, THAT was where we learned that Kanga has some unknown talents!!! The dog is a natural rock climber. She would make an awesome search and rescue dog!!! NOTHING stopped her!!! Stacy and her climbed, leaped, jumped and took on the scariest of terrain! If Stacy did it... then told Kanga to do it... she followed. No doubt in her mind! It was impressive.
Sprocket was the "butthead"!!! He barked at everyone and anyone around! It wasnt his nice... come pet me bark either! I had to take him out of the situation and hike down the road alone with him. I was NOT a happy camper!
After that... we headed to High Knob... but the approaching storm sent us back to the camper to make dinner and play cards.
Kanga napping under the table while we played card:
We had soooo much fun playing all kinds of card games!! The evening passed quickly! We only ended up with a little bit of fire time Saturday... long enough to cook some chicken, in between the rain showers.
We got some entertainment out of the amateur campers packing up their really expensive camper... and all sat and watched as the guy left their minivan in gear and it with the camper almost attached to it rolled away with their dog beside it and their kid in it!!! The woman caught the run away train wreck...leave it to a mom to save her child!!! Even better... the guy pulling out a garden kneeling pad to put under his knees when he reached under to hook up the safety chains!
ENTERTAINMENT!
Did I mention the HUGE logs they brought for fire wood?!? WOW!
In between rain showers Stacy took the kids over to the creek to play in the water... even tho it was kind of chilly... they had a blast, and Nathan brought home a rock. LOL!
Us being silly... Sprocket's paw is as big as Nathan's face!!! LMBO:
Yesterday, before heading home... we packed up, tore down the camper and then headed back up to the rock garden to do some more rock climbing and get some pic and video! It was so fun!!! Added bonus... there was NO ONE else in the area. (Sprocket was punished and had to stay in the back of the truck in a crate... since he couldnt handle it the day before)
Nathan really proved his bravery too... he was jumping and leaping with Stacy too!! It was so awesome to see the trust Nathan has in Stacy. When Stacy promised him he wouldnt let him fall... Nathan let go of fear and bounced across to the next rock!!
My dare devil son:
Brittany stuck with me... and showed me the less treacherous ways around the rocks... since I missed that lesson on Saturday, because of Sprocket!
By 2 we were back at the camper hooking up and heading home!
Our weekend went far too fast... and we all agree that this was one of our best camping trips this summer. I LOVE that area!!
It was an awesome weekend with quality time spent together! Nathan ate like a horse... Brittany and I shared taking care of poor little pregnant Ellie... Stacy cooked! LOL!!
When we got home... I decided we would take advantage of the trust we built with Kanga over the weekend... and we would introduce her into our pack. So, we brought her in the house, and one by one brought in ALL of the dogs!
It has had its "moments"... but we worked through them. After everyone spending some time together in the living room watching TV... we all headed to bed.
It was pretty awesome when both Gunner and Kanga hopped into bed with us... and no growling or fighting occurred!!
This morning we had some issues... because in the mornings ALL of the dogs are wound up and "play fighting"... well, Kanga wasnt a big fan of that to say the least!!! She attacked Nanuq...who came back at her... with the back up of Sakari AND Gunner!!
UGH! I, of course, found myself in the middle of the chaos and Nanuq's teeth hit my leg... then he took off running in the opposite direction!! LOL!! I quickly got control of the situation...(no one likes it when Momma is pissed!!)
Since calming down... Kanga and Nanuq have made nice and even did some pouncing and playing in the dining room... until I put a stop to that too. LOL
None of my dogs really know what to do with Kanga. She is so backwards! I am really hoping she watching them interact and learns a few things.
They all approach her very slow now... and Nanuq even lays down in front of her with his tail wagging... letting her know he is NOT a threat and has no intentions of hurting her. His down fall is he is a bit of a rough sniffer... very intrusive! LOL
Today it is back to our usual routine. Plus a shit load of laundry to do! EVERYTHING is damp and muddy... because we were all damp and muddy! LOL
I have a ton of blankets and sheets to wash... tons of towels from trying to keep the dog mud and muck out of the camper... PLUS the camper is up and airing out!
Always so much work for a few short days away... but ohhhhh so worth every second of it! :-)
Cant wait to do it again!!
Everyone hanging out last night:
No comments:
Post a Comment