Yesterday I took Daffy to Action K9 Sports up in Escondido.  It was her first time to really be on a farm, and actually get to deal with cows, goats and sheep.  The purpose for heading up that way?  To see if she has a good instinct to chase and herd animals.  Of course she does, it’s what she was bred for.

Daffy did absolutely wonderful.  She has the instinct, she needs to do this.  Unfortunately I’m the one that needs to learn more.  I’m not that great at it.  With time I’m certain that will change.

Daffy got to chase sheep twice yesterday and had a blast.  She was so happy all day out there.  Makes me wish that we lived on a farm just so she could have this every day.  Maybe one day in the future she will.

She and I got there stupid early so we went walking through one of the fields and through a dry creek bed on the property.  While in the creek bed she saw a lizard and charged at it.  Once she caught it she consumed the little devil in no time flat.  It cracked me up.

Looks like for the next few months we’ll be going every other Saturday.  She’ll be a great herding dog

Took Daffy to Fort Funston for the first time. What a blast that was. I always loved walking through this park with a dog. It’s definitely fun, sandy, and no leash is required! Of course we got to meet a lot of new dogs, and Daffy had fun chasing this beagle around in circles while we were on the beach. Unfortunately Daffy isn’t trained enough to be without a leash when there are a lot of people, dogs, cars, and bicycles around.

To give her room to run, and figure out training her to come when she hears her name no matter what we hit up PetCo at first. I needed treats, more food, and crap bags. I also bought one of those extendable training leashes. What a great idea. She can run away from me, then I can call her, if that doesn’t get her attention a slight tug on the leash with her name gets her attention and she bounces right on over to sit and get a treat. It’s certainly a blast having a puppy and realizing that she can be a very good dog as long as I spent time playing with her, walking her around, and training her.

I wanted to hit up REI and Nordstrom yesterday. Still working on that mythical ultralight pack. I’m still aiming at 15 lbs minus food and water for spring, summer and fall, and should I ever decide to go where it’s snowy and cold up to 20 pounds. Down side is 2 pounds is always going to be taken for a bear box in certain areas of California. I also need to carry twice as much food and water because of Daffy.

Since California is mostly temperate, or fucking hot as hell, I really don’t need much in the way of a sleeping bag or quilt. For about 30 bucks, much cheaper than a quilt or bag, I found Thermo Lite 2.0 from Adventure Medical Kits. I had no idea they made things like this. I have three first aid kits from them of various weights depending on what could be needed. Modified them to have enough to survive as well keeping the weight under a pound, in some cases well under half a pound. That right there took about 2/3rds of a pound out of my gear. Good deal in my book!

As I mentioned in one of the first posts after I fixed hatred back up I’m rather out of shape and a bit over weight. I’ve been using RunKeeper Pro a lot more to keep track of most of the walking I do, either just to the store, and the walks Daffy and I take through Golden Gate or through the city. Tracking something definitely helps keep your goals in mind. Makes sure you’re not lazy. Too bad I forget to turn the damn thing on when we go for walks in the middle of the day or at night. A few more months of this and I should hit my weight goals and can set new ones.