I found my new hiking partner!

I am so ecstatic! I think I needed this Memorial Day Weekend to show me all the good things about Pepper and not just the things that she needs workin' on.

She acts HORRIBLE when I take her to work. She is not social with strangers AT ALL. She growls and looks pissy all the time - its kinda' embarrassing. And so when I take her out for walks I have to be extra careful because she will growl at kids running up to pet her or other adults that walk a little too close. We're trying... But she's afraid of strangers and it's something that might take a while.

Well this weekend we went for a hike. We figured that Monday was the day when everyone was heading home, so it would be calmer out in nature. We picked a trail with some altitude and away from traffic. We put the baby in a stroller, packed a back pack, and brought our kids along.

Well Pepper was stoked to get to go with us. She was happy during the car ride. She was pulling ahead during the trail. There was such a free spirit about her that I started contemplating...

We're the only ones here. A few hikers have walked past and she could care less. She's smelling every tree and plant and picking up the scents of bears and moose and all the animals that have walked past on this trail. She's perfectly comfortable around my kids. What if I let her off the leash?

What if she runs off and never comes back?! We'd never find her up here and she can outrun anybody!!

I don't think she'll run away. I think she's attached enough to me to come back. She's "come" every time I've asked her without fail... I'm going to give it a shot!

So I let her off the leash. And off she runs! She's so far ahead on the trail I don't even see but the speck of her. Paul yells, "What have you done?!" I yell, "Pepper! Come!" And off in the distance I see her spec turn her head towards me - and run right back faster than she darted off! She gets so much praise for coming back, that this becomes her routine without me saying a word. She would get a little ahead of all of us, then run back and greet all of my kids (sniff them, make sure they were ok), then sniff the baby in the stroller, then sniff me and get praised (some treats) for coming back.

It was such a joy to see her soooo happy! And when we stopped to take breaks she stopped with us. She was glowing with doggy joy, the kind of contentment you see when the retriever has a ball in his mouth? Or when a rottweiler has a huge bone to settle with? That kind of... victory. Seeing her that happy (and that well behaved) made all of us happy to hike with her.

In fact, the trip was so enjoyable that we know we will probably hike every weekend now - just because we all enjoyed going with her so much! My husband and I like the excercise, my kids like the adventure... and I think Pepper finds in it a sense of adventure too.

I found a reliable hiking buddy. And Pepper found something that boosts her self-esteem, an activity where she doesn't feel afraid or threatened, but she can be the Pepper I see at home when we play fetch or I get home from work.