We attempted one very muddy hike in Flag in the trails behind Buffalo Park. (Buffalo Park is a nice spot to walk your on-leash dog, with a nice flat loop trail. At the back of the park, there's also a connection to a much more elaborate trail system. But it was too muddy to go very far when we were there.)
Here are Rita and the hubs in the park, with the arrow pointing out the only "real" snow in the background.
It made her a little nutty - hard to tell in this pic, but she immediately started racing around in it!
And she very much enjoyed the few sad, little snowballs her pop made and tossed in the air for her.
But, even better (in her fuzzy opinion) was the big patch of melted snow, where she could dunk herself and cool off after our short, muddy hike.
Afterwards I tried to get her to pose with this big guy at the park entrance, but all she could think about was buffalo-flavored snacks.
And that night, she crashed!
The next day we went to the Grand Canyon. Thanks to the Go Pet Friendly blog, we knew we could bring Rita along and hike the South Rim Trail. (If you don't know... most trails in National Parks are off limits to dogs. Boo!) Although it's a paved trail - so not exactly rustic - it's got an amazing view all the way along, so definitely worth checking out with your pup if you're ever in the area!
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| Rita contemplates the majesty of the Grand Canyon. (Or maybe hears a squirrel.) |
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| "Ahhh, that's better!" |
One bad thing about the trip is that Rita's car anxiety on long drives is getting worse. She normally loves the car, but long trips bother her. We gave her Rescue Remedy, and tried out her new Thundershirt, but she was still panting and tail-tucking. It's something about the noises when we hit bumps in the road. All three of our dogs have gone nuts in the car when we have to drive over a cattle grate, and unfortunately there are a lot of those in AZ!
Poor baby. We have to figure out a way to help her with that since we love to take her along with us!
Anyway, it was fun taking Rita to see snow for the first time, even if it was old and crusty. Hopefully if we try again next winter we'll have better luck!
Anyone want to send us some of your excess snow??
In Other Quick News...
I also wanted to share the funny review that Roxanne Hawn wrote for House Trained over at her blog, Champion of My Heart. I'm pretty sure you'll find that quote from the review intriguing... I know I did! :) Thanks, Roxanne!!
Thanks to BlogPaws for hosting Wordless Wednesday! Thank you for letting me be wordy! You can check out all the blogs in the hop here.
What a beautiful way to spend the days. My boys have only experienced snow twice and it was gone in a day. That is life in the south. It looks as if Rita really enjoyed herself.
ReplyDeleteDid the boys like their brief taste of snow? I wondered if Rita would think it was weird after 4 years with no knowledge of such a thing, but she loved it immediately!
DeleteSadly our winter stinks this year, way too many warm days and our snow is now almost gone. Glad she at least got to experience some "used" snow. We were shocked about the Grand Canyon and dogs too. Going to PHX in June for BlogPaws and wanted to go to the Canyon, but we may just skip it. The US is so not dog friendly, such a bummer.
ReplyDeleteAt least you can take them on that one path - just not beyond the canyon rim. But, yeah, it sucks big time that the national parks aren't dog friendly. I would swear they used to be, long ago. I imagine it was some jerks who let their not-well-trained dogs run wild off-leash which ruined it for the rest of us. Sigh.
DeleteI'm so excited to see the Grand Canyon this summer, I can't wait! :)
ReplyDeleteTake lots of water! It'll be hot in the summer. It's very beautiful - you'll love it!
DeleteSounds like you've been having some good getaway time. No snow here right now, but Rita would probably love one of our blizzards :-)
ReplyDeleteNot so sure she'd dig a blizzard - but maybe the aftereffects of it. :)
DeleteWe love our snow. Got a light dusting last night and noses were in it scooping up all they could get.
ReplyDeleteThat's what we were looking for - not too much, not too little - a light dusting would have been perfect! But, no, it was too warm. Not sure what happened to El Nino and us having a wet winter out west???
Deletecole likes to grab a bite of snow, then urp it up. ewwww. Also loves to dig in it.
ReplyDeleteHe has to listen to books on cd in the car with us, so maybe that distracts him.
Leeanna
We made Rita listen to books on CD as well, but I guess she didn't think much of our choice. Personally, we love Carl Haissen (sp??), but I guess she's not a fan.
DeleteAdorable shots! :) I'm not sure what it is, but every once in a great while Storm likes to all of a sudden race around in the snow. It's like the same energy she gets after taking a poo. LOL!
ReplyDeleteSlobbery kisses,
Paws (aka Jenny) & Storm
http://www.paws2smile.WordPress.com
That's too funny.
DeleteNothing like your first snow to go crazy in. After a while we get tired of it though and can't wait for spring. Beautiful place to go site seeing
ReplyDeletehugs
Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel
Yeah, I can see where too much of it would not be a fun thing! We just wanted a tiny bit, but we weren't too lucky.
DeleteYou had some amazing hikes and it's awesome Rita got to play in the snow for the first time. I bet she loved those snowballs!
ReplyDeleteShe did love them! Next time, hopefully they'll be fresh!
DeleteThat looks like a fantastic trip! I'm sorry Rita has car anxiety, though! That sucks!
ReplyDeleteIt does suck. We really have to work on it. I'm taking her for an hour tomorrow, so we'll see how a shorter ride goes.
DeleteOh, I love Flagstaff! And Sedona! And the Grand Canyon! Sounds like a great time, and how cool that Rita got to walk in snow, even if it was sad little stretches instead of long, uninterrupted miles of the cold white stuff. My last dog, The Beebs (I miss her so, so much!) also became stressed riding in the car and when we went over grates and bumps would become so nervous that she'd often pee, or poop (which is worse??). Poor dear. I tried everything, too. Rescue Remedy helped somewhat but not enough. But look at it from their point of view. They're riding along and suddenly wham!, a loud noise and a jerk and they're thinking: Alert! Danger!
ReplyDeleteCheers, thanks for a fun post, and take care, woof-woof.
Oh, gosh - that's awful. Poor baby. And poor you! At least Rita doesn't pee or poo when it happens -hopefully that won't happen as she gets older!
DeleteThat's so funny. My Boston terrier did the same hopping and rolling when she saw snow the first time. It must feel really weird on their paws!
ReplyDeleteJean from Welcome to the Menagerie
I'd hop around too if I was in the snow barefoot, I guess!
DeleteDogs are so funny. Jax did a similar "dance" when he saw his first pile of pine needles. Here in the Carolina's they use it for mulch and when he steps in it, he freezes for a second and then starts to dance around in it. #goofy
ReplyDeleteThat's funny. Rita is the same when her feet get wet in a puddle or something. We always yell "wet feet!" and she gets all nutty and starts racing around. Nut.
DeleteCute how she walked in the snow where ever she could! My guys had a good game of chase the other day and then settled into the last little patch from our big storm to cool off.
ReplyDeleteRita loves to have a spot to cool off - she gets hot easily with her black coat, just like I'm sure your guys do!
DeleteGreat fun, if you want more snow you can come on over.
ReplyDeleteWish we could "beam" over just for a play session!
DeleteOh, Rita can relate to Charlie's hatred of that. I know what you mean - if we hit of patch of pavement where it's different and makes a weird noise, she hates that!
ReplyDeleteAs for the hound thing... She was "marketed" as 1/2 bealge, and that's what we thought she was, until we had her DNA tested! She's mostly German and Aussie shepherds with the rest being Heinz 57 mutt!
We can put some snow in the mail to you :) It sounded like a fun trip despite the lack of snow!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful trip! Those views really are stunning.
ReplyDeleteWe were promised 6-10 inches of snow today. Oh they made a huge deal about it. All we got was some slush. Phooey.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a fabulous trip. The pictures are great.
Thunder used to be scared of driving over rumble strips in construction zones. We have a lot of those in MI. He would try to climb in your lap even if you were driving. He eventually got over it. We really just tried to ignore them. Of course you can't ignore a big dog trying to climb in your lap...lol.
Mr. N loves snow even though he rarely sees it too. Car anxiety sucks. Mr. N doesn't mind the car at all but he's terrible about riding in his carrier in the car.
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice seeing Rita included in the family outings. I am sure Booker T and Cassius would send her some of the snow we have had this year. The pictures are great and for some reason, snow makes our dogs really hyper as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this year winter is missing! I have mixed feelings I prefer warmer weather but its odd that it seems like spring in february
ReplyDeleteUm, yes, we will send you our excess snow. We had over 2 feet in 24 hours!! So funny how she loves the snow. I love that picture of her rolling in it. Cocoa is not a big fan but we really have had a good winter.
ReplyDeleteWhat great pictures! You had to drive a little farther than I did to get to snow!
ReplyDeleteYou've been having some fun! It looks like Rita really likes the snow. I love the photo of her rubbing herself on it...our crew all does that, there's nothing like a good rub on the cool snow (even when it's cold!).
ReplyDeletehello rita its dennis the vizsla dog hay wow that is wot buffalo bergers luk like in there naytiv form??? no wunder peepul grind it up befor they eet it!!! ok bye
ReplyDeleteFirst time snow adventures almost always produce loads of smiles; we like seeing the white stuff on the mountains, not on our sidewalks. As for the car anxiety, when we drove to California last month, we used a homeopathic product called Licks and it was a tremendous help to Sam on our travels. Good luck-traveling with a pooch that is afraid is no fun. ღ
ReplyDeleteLooks like you all had a fantastic adventure. Hopefully you can find a way to calm her nerves on car rides so you can enjoy many more trips.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Rita was compensated for the car discomfort with days of glorious fun! I really need to bookmark that website for future reference. It's so funny that Rita loved the snow like that and that you all had lots of fun together.
ReplyDeleteIts always a treat to see a dog's "first time." You never know what to expect, the curiosity, the excitement, the joy, and sometimes the disgust. I remember taking my girl out in the midst of her first snowfall, and she would react to every snowflake that touched her. Funny. She likes snow, as long as it isn't too cold outside. Glad you had a great trip w/ Rita!
ReplyDelete