A few weeks ago, Gary and I took all 3 dogs on a short hike to Upper Sardine Lake. It was a little bit of chaos trying to manage two puppies and Levi (who loves water and can't be kept out of it), but it all went pretty well overall. I wish I would have had the front clip harness for Hudson because I couldn't really work on nice leash walking skills in that setting, but it was a very good outing for him and he got to see a lot of interesting things and people. We tried to get him to swim a little bit and he did a short amount but wasn't a huge fan.
After almost 2 years of living in Reno I can't say that I've explored as many of the hiking trails nearby as I had hoped to. I recently was told about Hunter Creek Trail which is just outside of the city of Reno and is ~6 mile out and back hike to a waterfall. Levi and I made the trek today, and although it was very crowded, it was a nice hike for being close by.
Ready to start the adventure!
Levi seems to have a special sense for when water is near, so anytime the creek was accessible he would beeline for it. On one occurrence, it was too steep and muddy for him to get back up to the trail so I had to climb down and help push him up (needless to say, I wasn't thrilled).
Everyone loved his booties and kept commenting on them. Unfortunately, at the very beginning of the hike he lost one of his back boots so I took the other one off. The trail was pretty rocky so his poor back paw pads became raw. I thought he was just getting tired on the way back and that's why he had slowed down and kept wanting to stop. I didn't realize until we were almost done that his paws were hurting :(. I guess I'll have to invest in another set of booties for his back feet.
All-in-all it was a nice hike and we are both ready for a nap now!
A couple weekends I took Levi for a local hike in Reno called "Thomas Creek Trail." I was hoping that with the nice weather and the lower elevation that most of the snow would have melted. What I hadn't expected was that it would still be really wet and muddy. It was a nice hike, and had a good mix of the mountains and pines and the desert and sagebrush.
Since moving to Reno, Levi and I have started taking agility lessons again back with the trainer we were going to in Davis. I had hoped to find someone good that was in the Reno area but apparently the only trainers in this area just train for NADAC and not AKC or USDAA. Since it is such a drive to go for lessons, we only go about once a month. I also try to plan other outings while we are in the area to make the drive worthwhile. Last month after our lesson we went for a hike at "Hidden Falls Regional Park" in Auburn, CA. It was really crowded and was more of a walking trail than a hike, but it was nice to be out in nature.
In January I had a 5 day veterinary continuing education meeting in Incline Village, NV. My best friend, Alicia, flew to NV for the conference as well so it was part learning and part reunion/vacation. The conference was at the Hyatt which was dog friendly so I was able to bring Levi along for the trip. He took to the accommodations quite well ;-).
We had a picnic lunch at this beach not too far from the hotel our first day.
Our patio - easy access to go out to go potty.
Levi felt right at home
There was a nice 3 mile walking path out from the hotel along what is known as "Billionaires Row". It was fun to walk along and look at all of the beautiful homes. We found this cute bench along the path.
On one of the days, the conference only had lectures in the morning so we drove the 2+ hour drive down to Davis for the rest of the day to visit some family and friends. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day in Davis. We enjoyed walking on our old greenbelt and even took a trip by our old house. It brought back a lot of good memories.
Finley and Levi
On our last full day in Incline Village we kind of stumbled upon a really neat hike just a couple blocks from the hotel. There were beautiful views of the lake and even some snow for Levi to roll around in.
Levi and Alicia
It was a great trip and it was sad to say goodbye to Alicia at the end, but Levi and I were both so happy to have gotten to spend an amazing week with her.
2014 brought a lot of fun outings and big changes as well. Here's part 2 of my blog catch-up.
January 2014
In January, my mom and dad flew out to Colorado to visit and we took Levi with us up to Vail for a weekend of skiing. Unfortunately we apparently didn't take any pictures of little Levi during the trip :(.
February 2014
In February I had the pleasure of puppy-sitting Rosie, a black lab puppy owned by one of the doctors I worked with. She was a lot of fun and Levi loved having a playmate! It reminded me of how much work puppies are though.
March 2014
March brought with it Levi's 4th birthday. My the time sure flies! We went for a hike and then of course celebrated with doggie cake and presents.
He always finds water to play in.
I didn't have time to wrap his gifts so he just opened them out of a big box.
Inspecting all his new toys.
I had been doing a bit of agility training again with Levi but was in need of more equipment so I decided to be handy and build a teeter myself. It was a fun process and it turned out pretty good for a practice teeter.
Step 1: Primer board
Step 2: Paint and add sand for traction.
No photos of building the base, but here is the finished teeter.
We also enjoyed just taking walks along the trails near our house.
April 2014
In April, Levi came out to the barn and went on a trail ride with Gypsy and me. He was very well behaved and Gypsy tolerated him really well (I had been slowly working up to this with the two of them).
Got to take a break to roll in the snow.
And here are a few photos from some of our local walks around town.
May 2014
May meant we were just a month away from moving so the packing process began. Levi "helped" as best he could.
All that packing really wore him out!
June 2014
In June, my best friend Alicia stopped by Littleton while she was in town and we went on a nice hike in Deer Creek Canyon.
June also meant the end to our time in Colorado. We both loved living in the Mile-High state and hope to be back to visit in the future. Now we're off to Reno, NV for the next chapter in our lives!
July 2014
July brought with it another family trip to Hawaii which meant more souvenirs for Levi!
August 2014
In the beginning of August I took Levi up to Frenchman's Lake which is nearby where I work. It was pretty sad with how low the water was, but Levi didn't complain. Any water to play in is good in his book.
Mom and Dad came up to Reno at the end of August for a visit (and to help me with a few projects around the house). We took Levi for a day trip to Lake Tahoe to Carnelian Bay-Patton Beach which was dog friendly (although a bit rocky).
We also spent some time at our favorite dog park in Rancho San Rafael Regional Park.
September 2014
In September, Levi and I drove up to Sardine Lake for a hike and swimming (swimming for Levi, not me :).
October 2014
In October, Levi and I found the Sparks Marina which has a fenced dog park with access to the water. There is also a nice paved walking path all the way around the marina.
We also went for a local hike in Reno behind Rancho San Rafael park.
November 2014
In November, Levi and I went for another local hike in Evans Canyon. I can't say that the desert scenery has grown on me yet.
At the end of November, Levi and I drove home to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. We were both happy to be back home for a few days.
Levi enjoys being helpful at home, like finding Dad's glasses that are left out.
I also forgot how Levi used to rest his head on things like this. :)
December 2014
Levi couldn't resist the holiday spirit in December so he took every chance to wear his new Christmas sweater.
He even wore it to work with me.
He helped me decorate our Christmas tree (usually by stealing the ornaments out of the boxes before I could hang them).
Since I was on-call over Christmas, my parents were very kind and came up to Reno so I wouldn't be alone for the holidays. Thankfully I didn't end up with too many emergencies so we had a nice few days together. Levi loved all the extra attention (and xmas gifts!).
For Christmas, my mom and dad got me a canvas print of a photo of Levi from Vail, CO last year. I love it and it is hanging in my kitchen where I can see it every day.
My Mom also found ugly reindeer sweaters to match Levi's for a fun family photo. My dad was the only one left out but I don't think he minded :).
I plan to be better about updating Levi's blog in 2015, so check back for updates as the year goes on.
