# My "dog sport"



## Losech (Jul 10, 2012)

So, I have this Shiba Inu who is one of those "needs X amount of exercise a day or he'll eat your house" types of dogs. I didn't turn him into that, he did it all on his own, and I sometimes have a hard time keeping up with him. So I figured I'd better find a dog sport to keep him busy, give him plenty of good exercise as well as mental stimulation. I've not got a lot of money so it has to be a cheap sport, my Jeep is a major gas guzzler so it can't be a long-distance sport either. The Shiba has Luxating Patella in both knees so it can't be too hard on his joints, no slamming around or rapid turns. (On the other hand, reduced or minimum activity is worse for LP than a moderate or even high amount, as long as it's not harsh. The stronger the muscles and ligaments are, the less likely the kneecap is gonna slip out of place.) He is very nervous inside buildings and around strangers so anything indoors or crowded is out as well. 
I happen to live in the mountains in a smallish city that is surrounded by the forest and I really love the great outdoors, as does the Shiba. So... Naturally, I choose hiking as my dog sport!










As you can see from this picture, there is plenty of things to smell to help with the mental aspect of exercise. He is given as much time to smell as he wants, provided it doesn't get me over 1/5th mile away from him. A favorite activity of his is locating molted turkey feathers and bringing them to me to play with.
(Oh yeah, I've got one of those mythical off-leash Shibas. He's better off-leash than on-leash, as strange as that sounds.)









Every now and then we go to a really steep trail that's only 2 miles from my house (we walk) that's got a great view of the little city we live in. There is a lookout rock at the top of the 1,000 foot (in only 1 mile) climb that is perfect to sit on.









Occasionally we have disagreements as to which trail to take.
This particular trail system is either 3.5 or 5.6 miles from my house, depending on which trailhead you park at. It's got over 10 miles of trails with a wide variance in difficulty, so it's perfect for daily hiking. Most of the time it's pretty lush, but this summer has been exceptionally dry so everything's now pretty dead and brown.









The Girls come along too on some hikes. Not always, but often enough to keep them happy. They are not total spazmoids if they don't hike and are content to stay at home most of the time. But Juneau (red backpack) can sometimes be a handful on the trails, so she stays home if I know lots of people (or horses) will be there, and is sometimes leashed when she gets too crazy. They also have packs that they wear to help give them a better workout.





We play games on the trails. With ginormous pinecones. And we practice recalls, sits, stays, and other commands (especially Leave It) while hiking.









A couple of the trails look neat in the fall.









In the winter it can get really wet, but we hike anyways. Sometimes on the higher trails we end up in a bank of clouds.









Every once-in-a-long-while it'll snow instead of rain, and we always head for the trails at daybreak to take advantage of the snow before it melts. The Shiba LOVES snow and always has a blast when we hike in it.









Sometimes we even take a buddy along. (This dude has ZERO recall and isn't mine, so no off-leashing for him.)

It's always pretty cool when you can end your day with one of these.








They aren't too terribly common here though, normally there's not enough clouds or way too many to make a good sunset.

We usually log an average of 7.5 miles per hike, but it can range from just 3 to over 13 on any given day. We get in around a minimum of 35 miles a week, but it can be as many as 50, not including walks. Which we also do plenty of.


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

Gorgeous photos!


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

Love it :smile:


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

Excellent thread!!!


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## Tracy (Aug 11, 2012)

Love the pictures. They're excellent.:smile:


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

What great pictures! How great to have such an awesome place to hike so close to your house.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

Nice pics, great scenary. I hike too. Its something all the dogs can do. When they stop, I let them sniff and mark. Its their facebook! Glad you found something top save your house! Lol.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

God you are lucky, you live in an awesome area with all that bush and hiking trails around the place. I miss hills, alot. Neat pictures, thanks for posting your story, I enjoyed it.


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## Janet At Nutro (Mar 11, 2011)

Wow! What a beautiful place to go hiking!


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## NZ Raw (Sep 14, 2011)

Stunning place, beautiful dogs and a gorgeous sunset, thanks for sharing :smile:


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## Herzo (Feb 5, 2011)

I love the pics of your cute little Shiba. Thanks for sharing your hikes with us.


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## Losech (Jul 10, 2012)

Thanks everybody!


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

Those are gorgeous pics!


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