schlogging along

My husband took the dogs for their weekend run yesterday; he hesitated whether or not to do the canyon thing. He loaded them into my SUV not knowing if the conditions would be good or not. It rained on Friday; it rained hard and steady the whole day so chances were really good that the canyon was going to be a mucky mess. Saturday he had only taken them around the block; although a block here is huge and steep so it's no leisurely run.

The entrance to the canyon is a steep dirt trail which has been maintained by the city. Once down at the bottom he realized it was as he thought; a muddy mess. So they did their run anyway; heck they were there, why not. The run was rough for them all as they collected huge mud boots to run in. It was an extra dose of exercise; running and sliding in heavy mud boots.

They all came home with mud caked feet after schlogging down the trails. The dogs were in the backyard with mud filled feet awaiting attention. I decided to first hose off what I could and then to fill a bucket with warm soapy water and get the rest of it. I thought I had gotten rid of quite a bit until I brought out the bucket and dunked Tilley's foot. Her feet and toes were packed with mud; each foot took at least a full minute of turbulent mud removal. The dogs are so good about this, being poodles they often have big furry feet when I have not been prompt about foot shaving. So they have had their feet submerged many times before. Even Luke who is not a fan of having his feet washed seemed happy to have his toes back.

They had a blast on their run; even though it was tough and very dirty. Dogs don't mind dirt; I have never met one who did. There are many guardians who mind dirt but it is definitely not the dogs who avoid it. My breed can be a high maintenance one if you allow it to be; we don't. My dogs are shaved right down, no pom poms, no poofs anywhere. They love to get wet and dirty and just have fun. Afterall its just dirt; it washes off.