Jack goes to school!!!

Jack and I skipped our run today because it is colder and the wind has picked up. OK, to be honest, I decided to skip the run, Jack was ready to go as always!!!! He is definitely a winter guy.

Jack went to school today to give a "show and tell" presentation with Skender. They are quite a team with Jack being the "show" guy performing tricks, "sit", "shake a paw", "lay down" and giving wet doggy nose "hello" to all the kids, while in French Sken told the class all about Jack, including their mutual love of curling up on the couch and watching Sponge Bob.

Charlie and Ralph!

Jack and I are making slow progress these days. We ran 6 miles in the past four days (Jack 47 miles, Caroline 61 miles) because it was impossible to run over the weekend with the snow storm. Jack was happy to get out today and meet his buddies at the dog park. In the past two runs we have met a couple very cool dogs, Charlie (at the top) and Ralph (black dog above). Charlie is also a rescue dog, coming from British Columbia. He is absolutely cute and recently arrived with his owners from Vancouver. Jack and Charlie had great fun playing and we were sad to say goodbye and hope to see Charlie and his owner again on our runs. The second dog Ralph, we met today. He is 11 years old but doesn't look it. He plays like a puppy! Jack and Ralph tumbled around in the deep snow until I finally had to grab Jack so Ralph and his owner could carry on with their walk. After a few days of relaxing, Jack was ready today for some winter fun. Tonight he is laid out on the carpet snoozing, no doubt having doggy dreams about playing with his buddies Charlie and Ralph!

Graduation day for Jack!

             Jack and I ran 3 miles late this afternoon (Jack 41 miles, Caroline 54 miles). Once again the weather was wonderful. I hope it lasts at least a little while longer to ease the pain of winter. Much to my surprise I enjoy winter running almost as much as warm weather running and actually prefer a day like today to a hot July day. The difficulty with this time of year is getting a run in after work before it gets dark. The days are slowly starting to lengthen but it is still dark by 6:00. The city has done an excellent job of clearing the running path without going all the way to the pavement. By doing this the path maintains a nice cushion of snow that for reasons I don't understand, never becomes slippery. I have not had any injuries (slipping or muscle/joint) running on the winter paths and the surface is easier on Jack's paws than icy pavement.

            Jack graduated last night from his first obedience class. It was very fun and Jack and Skender successfully completed the final course made up of all the lessons we learnt. The pictures above are of our last class and the last two include Rigby, a little friend of Jack's from obedience class and his wonderful owners. Rigby is the most amazing little guy and watching him play with Jack is so funny. The size difference is a bit unnerving at times, especially when Jack takes a swat at Rigby. Rigby doesn't seem to mind but instead jumps up at Jack to get him to play more.  The photos also include Jillian and Karen our course instructors. They run "No Bad Dog" obedience classes and in our case, I have to admit it was equally challenging for them to teach the dog AND the owners!

Is Jack a Munsterlander?

            Jack and I ran 8 miles over the weekend, 3 on Friday and 5 (Jack 37, Caroline 51) today. I was too tired Saturday to run so I did a walk around the dog park while Jack played with his friends (Jack gets an extra mile) (Jack 38). As usual we met a number of wonderful people including some really cool kids who found Jack quite amusing, especially when he stole the little girl's stick.

           We visited our vet, Sharon Bruce on Friday and Jack had a check up and I received advice about keeping him healthy as we run. I learnt about keeping his paws healthy, hydration, and watching Jack's body language so that he doesn't over do it. I also bought vitamins to keep his muscles and joints healthy. The very cool thing that came out of our discussion with the vet was an answer to the question everyone asks, "what breed is he?" Sharon said he looks likes a Munsterlander. A what lander???? If you google "Munsterlander" you will see a number of pictures that look exactly like Jack. I'm unsure what Jack "is", but a cross between Springer Spaniel, Lab and possibly some Munsterlander is likely Jack's pedigree given his size and temperament.

January 17, 2010

January 16, 2010

January 15, 2010

Jack, Mr. Sociable

       Jack and I ran 3 miles late this afternoon (Jack 29 miles, Caroline 43). It was a gorgeous day, perfect for running. The temperature was around freezing, a wonderful change from the first week in January. We met two very nice men who initially ran by us when Jack was stopped sniffing something. After they passed, Jack decided that we needed to catch up with them to say hello; always the sociable guy! We had a very nice conversation with them during which Jack came close to wiping one of them out when he stopped dead in his tracks to sniff something. Thank goodness our new friend was agile enough to jump over Jack in time. Yup, there are a few things Jack and I need to work on :) We also had the pleasure of meeting Mary Jo and her dog (from yesterday's run) on the bridge, and they were kind enough to help encourage Jack to walk across the bridge. It took us 10 minutes to get across because Jack was very unsure about the build up of ice on the bridge and was afraid to walk on it!
           Later we had the pleasure of meeting two former acquaintances (April 11, 2009) at the dog park. Jack had fun playing with this big beautiful white guy, who made Jack look like just a little guy. We left the park with them but soon said goodbye because Jack decided he needed extra time (ughhh) to get across the bridge.

Back on the trail with Jack!

Jack and I resumed our running today after I picked him up at the kennel. He was sooooooo happy to see me and I was equally excited to bring him home. We hit the trail over the lunch hour and did a short four/three mile run (Jack 26 miles, Caroline 40 miles).  Jack gets an extra mile today because I walked the loop at the dog park and he ran and ran and ran with his dog buddies. It was a gorgeous sunny warm day and we had the pleasure of meeting some very nice people and their dogs. When I explained our 1000 mile goal to raise money for New Hope Dog Rescue I found out that they also had connections to this wonderful organization. The beautiful brown Husky X above with his owner (and Jack) is a New Hope Dog Rescue dog just like Jack. With the other big Husky the two of them played and played until all three dogs laid down in the snow from exhaustion. Jack and I also met another dog/human running team on our way home and stopped and had a little visit with them (pic above). Let's just say it was a sociable run today; we took our time, enjoyed the hot weather and the great people we met along the way!