The Dog Walks Me

Salt Spring Island is beautiful

Last weekend we took off on a little mini vacation to a place I kept hearing about, but had never visited: Salt Spring Island

the beautiful clouds at the ferry terminal

Stuck in the lower deck with Whiskey

Yey! We’re here

We spent a total of 5 days on this small but packed island with the whole family including our cat, Moo! While we started driving to the ferry as soon as we got off work, we had to endure a 3 hour ferry ride getting shuttled from one island to the next to finally reach Salt Spring late in the evening. When we finally reached our super quaint airBnb cottage and herded everyone in, we were so tired we fell asleep super fast and couldn’t wait for our next adventure.

Moo explores and dreams of escaping

The dock at our vacation home

breakfast with posers

I’m not sure why, but our normally mellow Vizsla was very very excited to be on vacation and wasn’t happy to let us sleep in. While my partner slept until noon, I took Whiskey out for a little tour of the farm we were staying at. She was so excited about meeting the sheep, I was afraid she would sneak under the fence!

Vizslas are the best!

She kept trying to “touch” the other dog

omg sheep!! hello sheep!

We choose Mt Erskine as our first hike of the island as it promised great views and hidden fairy doors. The start of the hike was a little hard to find, but once we got started we really loved the trail. A relatively short hike, we soon reached the top for extensive views of Vancouver Island. Along the way we only found 2 fairy doors but we heard there are many more we missed and along the other trails. At the top was a beautiful stone dog bowl dedicated to someone’s loved one.

On our way up Mt Erksine

No better place to explore

A fairy door! Who lives inside?

I love banana slugs!

At the top much faster than expected

really nice views

I love these fairy doors

knocking to see who’s inside

The next day we headed over to Ruckle park on the other side of the island. It has a much longer trail up to Yeo point and we met few people. We passed by a couple tiny beaches and overall loved how quiet it was on a long weekend.

Ruckle park’s scenic walk

It’s chilly but there are some dive sites here

loving the moss covered rocks

racing to the camera

Taking a moment

Loving the fresh air

more sheep! why cant’ we be friends?

After the hike we checked out a local cheese farm, brewery, and hopped out a couple times on the road to check the farm stalls. There are unsupervised stalls along the roads with fruit, veges, eggs (and one time bacon!!) that you can pay for on the honor system leaving cash in the cash boxes provided. We just loved the trust here. Afterwards we drove around the main town which was full of cute little local stores. The Saturday market was in full swing and I really loved wondering the stalls (but dogs are not allowed) and buying up all the local produce, even local dog treats!

Saturday market

cooking with all local ingredients (Moo approved)

This is how Moo hangs out

Farmer’s stalls everywhere

On our last full day it looked pretty cloudy but we hit Mt Maxwell anyways hoping the clouds would clear when we got to the top for a little view. We didn’t really get our view but what we saw was much better: fog. I love fog and the pictures usually look so much more beautiful than under blue skies. It’s also easier taking photos with someone else to direct the dog and being able to take your time. The hiking here was super well mapped out and signed and I suppose the clouds had scared away most people because we didn’t meet anyone except at the top (which you can drive to). I’m so happy we didn’t drive!

We started here and walked 1,5,4,6,6a,2 and back

Just starting out and it’s pretty

This is the life! 4 days off

not much of a view, just a hint

I am in love with fog

Playing with silhouettes

running around the trails

My shot of the day!

I’m not sure how much Moo enjoyed the trip but she wasn’t stressed out at the change whatsoever (great appetite and went straight to exploring). Her escape plans are getting better though, and we had a couple scares but we caught her quickly. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have such a confident genius cat…

Last day’s beach visit

until next time Salt Spring

A much nicer ferry ride for us

Whiskey wonders when we’ll be done with ferries

The last day we had found out the ferry was full so we ended up taking a ferry to Vancouver Island, then another one back to the mainland. We were so happy and tired when we got home! 

On top of the world (Mt Seymour)

It’s been such a busy summer that this weekend I found my usual hiking buddies were already booked. No problem! I’ve got my most dependable canine buddy to go with. This day ended up being scorching hot and I finished my 3L hydration pack with Whiskey. It’s probably the fastest we’ve done this hike since I skipped 1st and 2nd pump and took very little rest on the peak.

just starting the hike

mom! take a picture!

a resting space with a view before going on

very hot today!

Around first pump it becomes very rocky

fantastic views all around

With just me and Whiskey, we didn’t have any distractions and finished in under 4 hours (taking our time) despite not having been hiking this incline in quite awhile. Whiskey never wanders far, usually in my eye line and a little shout brings her right back to me if she runs to far ahead. She also poses like a professional model and several times froze in a position begging me to take several photos. I’ve always treated her for posing so it seems now that she knows what to do without asking. Over time I’m realizing I’m not the great dog photographer I was hoping to be- Whiskey is just an amazing model I’m lucky to have (because no other dog I’ve photographed does what she does).

2nd pump just beyond

looking back at first pump

it becomes steep to the peak

great views of the north shore mountains

the scariest section

my hiking partner

As we were on the way to the first pump we passed several groups that had been waiting 15mins for a mama bear and her 2 cubs to pass. I put Whiskey on leash for a bit after that, made lots of noise, and took out my pepper spray. We saw no sign of the bears but it’s good to remember that the wildlife is moving more than normal because of the drought so watch out!

view back on the city

so many mountain ranges here

Coliseum Mountain behind Whiskey

Since Whiskey doesn’t like to drink water along the route, I’ve found mixing dehydrated food in a container with water worked great. We’re experiencing a unusual drought in Vancouver so many of the ponds along the route have dried up into greenish algae infested puddles. Make sure your dog doesn’t drink from these (I make sure Whiskey is well hydrated before we pass by) but dipping hot paws into the water/mud may not be a bad idea.

what a view!!

these roots were a challenge for Whiskey

Posing like a model

I just love it here!

There are some passes on this hike (mainly between 2 pump and peak) with steep falls, so watch your step, though we also passed adventurous pre-teens on the peak, and toddlers on 2nd pump. Vancouver is truly a hiking city!

on the way back home

The shadows get longer

Until next time

Whiskey in her flowered diaper

Whiskey has impeccable timing. The day that my partner left for Belgium, she started her heat. We’ve been noticing that she’s been slowly swelling for about 1.5 months before she started bleeding. The last 2 weeks her nipples had swollen up as well and she had been losing appetite for 2 weeks prior. Other changes were that she’s been getting more protective (barking at “strange” people and sounds) and there’s been more “discussions” about rules in the house. For instance, Whiskey “talks” to me to try to convince me to give her my dinner. Or she’ll “argue” with me that she doesn’t think it’s time to go into her crate. The latter could be just part of her growing up and nothing to do with her heat.

Lots of swelling

Here are a couple links to information about the heat process:
Heat Cycle Explained (redbirddog)
Forum discussion

She’s got a little less energy

I bought dog diapers on amazon when Whiskey was 6 months old. Her mother had her first heat at 6 months so I count myself lucky that she held on for 1.2 years. I bought a size medium, which is too large so I just ordered another size small. You really do need 2 so you can wash one while she wears the other. Currently, with the diaper and a load of sanitary pads, the bleeding is fully contained and not a huge issue. I’ve lined her crate with light coloured towels and change them daily so she doesn’t have to wear diapers in her crate. Thankfully Whiskey is tolerating the diaper because I know not all dogs will. The reason we are not spaying Whiskey yet is to let her full develop and also to avoid health issues later in life.

A meet and greet in the woods

As soon as her heat started, she became more interested in other dogs, especially males but they are not yet going “crazy”. Her training is pretty poor (recall down to 50%) even without other dogs around but I haven’t felt an increase in velcro tendencies or much more overall moodiness. She much more often though, and is very very interested in smells around town.

Still hiking! Still smiling

Meeting few hikers on the trails

We take walks in quieter areas now with only female dog friends. She’s still ok with a couple dogs around, but to avoid problems I’m trying to go on less populated hikes so I can let her off leash. Once she starts “flagging” or lifting her tail, I’ll have to be much more cautious and keep her mainly on leash. I’m pretty happy a know quite a few “secret” hikes to do during this time.

Just girls these days. Hana already had her heat.

Shorter hikes in the summer heat on Whiskey’s heat

until next time!