I spent 10 glorious days in Alaska - without a doubt one of my favorite places to go (Valparaiso, Chile is 2nd). I spent time in Anchorage, Willow, Denali National, Seward, Portage and in between. We joked that you couldn't take a bad picture there because of the mountains in the distance. We went in the summer and got to fish for salmon across from grizzlies, dry-sled with huskies, climb some glaciers (obviously pre-blown knees & weight gain) and a few rock faces, kayaked in Denali, and hike.
I have a friend who studied photography in college and has landed an amazing job with National Geographic. Every six months or so I get an email from her saying "Here's my new address in X" where X has been places like Teluride, CO, Denali Park, AK, and two places in Chile as well. I always respond with three words only: "I hate you ;-)".
I understand completely - before I moved back home to take care of my parents, I went to some really cool places and I used to receive those emails. I was on a quest to take in a baseball game in every major park - I only have a few left to go - my next goal will be doing more international travel. I've been to all but 6 states in the US and I want to do those before I start trying to go to each continent.
Brad, we want it all! Hiking trails, rock climbing, mountain biking, ATV-riding, camping, skiing, snowmobiling, zip-lining, the works! :-) We'll have to narrow it down to 1-2 to start off with and then expand but we dream and talk about it daily - we have to pay our dues to the Army for now but one day...
I think that's a very cool idea - you guys will be able to use the survival skill you learned in the army too. Very neat! Sign us up for an adventure (as long as you allow dogs)!
We have found our daycare! :-) Ryu loved his first day and can you believe it - he met his first Shiba there today! A 1 yr old named Suzy and from what I hear they played very nicely together. So, a couple of things today that I thought were interesting. When a new dog is brought for evaluation, they take them to the "back yard" so they can eliminate outside. Then they bring them into the "resident dog" room where all of the employees' dogs are kept. They let the newbie get comfortable with the 5 or so dogs and then they bring that entire pack into the large playroom. So it's two packs meeting each other rather than the new guy being thrust into one large pack. I thought that was pretty neat. Then they take all of the dogs (in smaller groups) outside every 30 minutes for outside play time and elimination. When I came to pick him up, they said that he preferred to play with the "big dogs" so they kept him in that group (apparently the other Shiba prefers that group as well...) Ryu was only there for 4 hours today but he definitely passed out on the way home. It looks like he thoroughly enjoyed himself. AND to make things better, the staff and I agree on positive motivation practices and verbal corrections so I feel comfortable leaving him in their hands. They even took some pictures of his first day and printed them out for me ;-) I'm so happy!
That's GREAT Pam! I'm so happy for you! It sounds like a wonderful place. From your description, it sounds like they really care and really know what they're doing. I would lucky to find such a great place!
That place sounds awesome. Love the idea of using their own dogs, who are always there, to help introduce the new guy. Shibas almost always prefer to play with bigger dogs, as they play very rough and tumble. Nemo never cared for dogs his size at the park, unless they also had long legs and could move. He did like to roll Corgi's like barrels....
The webcam does make them sound much more accountable, I'm glad you have a place so trustworthy of caring for Ryu so near to you!
Brandon, lol! my shibas do the same thing to the cairns we play with a lot! Just leap over them or roll them! But it is true, they'd much rather play rough with the bigger dogs at the dog park.
I know!!! :-( We'll be moving at the end of the summer and then I'll have to go through all of this again when we get to MO. And even worse, the daycare is right by my job (which I'll be quitting in exactly 14 days) so it will be a little inconvenient to drive into town twice a week just for drop-off and pick-up once I'm no longer working. But I'm convinced that it will be worth it :-) I'm just so excited that he can play play play to his hearts desire!
I can see how that would be a pain [the driving into town], we went through a similar thing when we lived in ATL... but I think its worth it especially if you plan to add another Shiba... I mean it will be great to have Ryu so well socialized, he will probably just be stoked to have a new buddy.
Daycare will also help reduce any destructive behaviors he could develop from boredom at home.
You guys are doing great! I'm stoked you found such a great place for him!
i'm glad you were able to find someplace for Ryu. i'm guessing you went with ohana. i went to the pet expo and met with different dog care groups. one of them being ohana. the lady seemed very sincere and invited us to bring Aya. i think you made a great choice and it should be a fun and safe place for Ryu. maybe one day we'll take Aya.
Thanks Derek! I really like it there and feel very comfortable with the staff. Ryu will be going tomorrow for a really looong day (11 hrs) so we'll see how he does. :-D
how is Ryu doing at day care? have you seen any good or bad changes in behavoir? i went to the site today and there seems to be two shibas playing together.
Ryu is doing awesome! Thanks for asking :-) He went twice last week (Tues & Thurs) for 12 hours each. Apparently, there is a regular Shiba on Thursdays named Suzy that Ryu is enamored with so he followed her around all day :-) I have to admit, he is sooooo well-behaved when we bring him home after a day at the daycare. He's less rambunctious and listens alot better. It truly is amazing how happy they are when they get their exercise. Even the weekend was relaxing as he just wanted to sleep and lounge around. I think he was really tuckered out. According to the staff, he is getting along great with the other dogs and couldn't be more social. That makes me very happy! He'll be going again this week on Tuesday and Thursday so he can get his "Suzy fix" :-)
Comments
Brandon, lol! my shibas do the same thing to the cairns we play with a lot! Just leap over them or roll them!
But it is true, they'd much rather play rough with the bigger dogs at the dog park.
Daycare will also help reduce any destructive behaviors he could develop from boredom at home.
You guys are doing great! I'm stoked you found such a great place for him!
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