Rocky Unleashed
Rocky brightens up a cloudy day.
It’s a weekday, summer is over, and the skies are cloudy, which means fewer park visitors at Oakwoods Metropark today. We had the spacious Cedar Knoll area all to ourselves and I let Rocky explore off-leash. As he explored, I captured a few shots of him posing with some early fall colors in the background.
The fall colors add a little sparkle to the cloudy background, but nothing sparkles more brightly than Rocky who makes his own sunshine on cloudy days. It’s impossible to have a bad day with this happy go-getter at my side. ❤️
Afternoon Adventure with Ringo
Today's day trip with Ringo raised my sense of adventure.
Ringo and I took an afternoon drive today and had a blast just rolling along US-12 with no particular destination in mind. The point of today’s trip was to practice with a longer distance and unfamiliar stops. This was successful as a training exercise and also added a sense of adventure to our afternoon.
Ringo once again pulled off his signature pose with today’s beautiful shot taken at Hayes State Park. I think it’s one of the best Ringo on the Go captures yet.
Sleepless in September
Moose’s insomnia is keeping all of us awake at night.
The Mighty Moose has developed a mysterious case of insomnia and his nocturnal restlessness is keeping all of us awake at night. We’re working through the issue with our beloved veterinarian “Dr. J” but sleep deprivation has taken its toll this month. Heavy rain kept us inside today, presenting the perfect opportunity to catch up on some much-needed rest and to capture these beautiful indoor shots of the dogs.
Reliable Ringo
I can always count on Ringo for a beautiful portrait.
Nothing extraordinary going on today other than this shot of Ringo. I can always count on him for a beautiful portrait.
Action Oriented
Ringo and Moose could play all day.
Ringo and Moose have been enthusiastic playmates since the moment they met. I love capturing them in action.
Retail with Ringo
We took it up a notch on Ringo’s 25th training ride.
Today was Ringo’s 25th training ride since we began the Ringo on the Go weekly trips earlier this year. Rocky reached the same milestone last week. Ringo has been doing so well lately that I took it up a notch today by adding some retail visits to our trip.
After a perfect performance at Sterling State Park, we headed into town and hit a few dog-friendly locations. I’ve never taken Ringo into a retail establishment until today and was feeling a bit anxious about it. But it was finally go-time and Ringo didn’t disappoint.
I had three stops in mind, with increasing levels of difficulty, and we made our stops from easiest to hardest. Ringo aced the first two stops at Tractor Supply and Lowe’s, politely walking through the stores as if we did this everyday. I admit, I was stunned at his stellar performance in these stores, and apologized for underestimating him.
We found our limitations in the PetSmart parking lot, when Ringo lost his composure. He’s an excitement barker and gets overly excited when he encounters other dogs. While we didn’t make it inside PetSmart, today was a huge success.
We learned how important it is to keep challenging ourselves rather than resting on our wins. How rewarding it is to try something new, even if it makes us uncomfortable. And that failure is just a part of the process, and motivation to keep trying.
Not only did we hit a big PR with two successful retail stops, we also learned our limits and now have a very clear goal to work towards. I’m confident that one day I’ll be walking through PetSmart with a composed Ringo by my side. We just need to work up to it.
I noticed the Cinnabon food truck in the parking lot and figured Ringo had earned a celebration treat. I got a pack of four mini Cinnabons, one for Ringo to have on the spot, and then one each for Ringo, Rocky and Moose once we got home. ❤️
Blazing New Trails with Rocky
Rocky explores a new trail at Willow Metropark today.
Today’s day trip to Willow Metropark marks Rocky’s 25th day trip since we began this weekly routine. We’ve clocked many miles and steps since then and that practice has led to a lot of progress. Today we explored a new trail, which Rocky enjoyed on both three and four legs.
