Dog Mini Mountain Guide

This morning as I explored the hills roped up to three of my adventurers I realised that I have become a Dog Mountain Guide.

I do not believe there is such a qualification and therefore I shouldn’t get in trouble for saying so.

Before every Adventure I go through my routine of putting on my climbing harness, checking my carabiners and ensuring that those leads that need to be fastened safely to me are in place.

Off into the Mini Mountains we head in search of Adventure and fun.

I have never been too fond of flat terrain, preferring always to be heading up or down.

This is one of the reasons that I stopped running on tarmac 15 years ago as I feel the motion is too repetitive and that it creates strains on ligaments and joints.

Instead, as we head into the undulating trails and scrub, no two footsteps are the same. This also varies hip movement and increases stability and balance.

We love to explore the Mini Mountains. Always searching out new routes and trails in order to access Adventure.

This morning despite having three friends roped up to me as if we were on a glacier, we navigated our way up a steep, narrow passage. To put into context our short ascent, I had to push up two dogs and support their back legs to help them clamber up whilst lifting the third one by the harness, where one climbing move was beyond her due to size.

You don’t have to free solo climb El Capitan or Trollveggen to experience Adventure. It is all around us when we open our eyes to the possibilities.

After nearly 12 years of daily adventures with dogs I feel that I know their capabilities. I know how far to push each dog in its own search for adventure.

I have seen many many dogs become more adventurous over time whether with regards to socializing, swimming, climbing or descending steep slopes.

When we hover around the edge of our comfort zone and slightly stretch it, we are more likely to enable Flow.

All too often we are too quick to limit both ourselves and our dog’s potential.

Doggies: Poppy, Tiara and Tesla