Sugi likes to track and search

  • Lesson from Sugi: canines enjoy tracking and locating through scent
  • Sugi says,  “I’ll find a scent trail if I can…!”
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We noticed that Sugi has an ability to concentrate without distraction. Sometimes he gets so focused on a scent that he doesn’t hear us calling him! We thought we would put this ability to practical use. A couple of years ago we did a tracking lesson with the owner of Canine Spirit (where Tom went to obedience school). She taught us how to track (follow a scent trail) and how to search (locate a scented item). Since then we have been training Sugi to find chanterelle mushrooms on our hikes! He is still learning how to do this…but he is also practicing his tracking ability every time we take him out on the trail. He seems to love finding a scent trail and then following it.

Sugi gets bee stings

  • Lesson from Sugi: Carry some Apis homeopathic on hikes in case of bee stings
  • Sugi says,  “I hate bees!”
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I don’t know why, but Sugi seems to always get bee stings in the summer. Tom not so much. This morning we did a quick hike on the Baden Powell and Sugi got stung! It’s difficult to know what stung him, but he was favoring a spot on his leg and asking me to do something about it. I carry a few homeopathic remedies (Arnica, Apis…) in my waist pack when I’m  hiking. I gave him a few granules of apis but they are the big human kind so he just spat them out. For the rest of the hike he just passively walked behind me, hobbling a bit. When we got home I gave him some tiny canine sized apis granules and he calmed right down. I got this from my vet. The remedies come in a little kit with a bunch of other different remedies. Very handy to have for trauma for dogs…

Hiking dogs have a great memory for trails

  • Lesson from Tom + Sugi: Hiking dogs can develop a great memory for trails.
  • Sugi says, “I remember the way!”
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I like to go on hikes 3 or 4 times per week with the dogs. We make use of the set of trails at foot of Mount Seymour around Hyannis Drive in North Vancouver. There are many loop trails ranging from 2k to 8k, easy to steep. So you can choose a trail based on how energetic you are. With different starting points and variations we’ve developed a repertoire of 10 or so loops. It only takes one go along these trails and the dogs can remember the individual routes of each loop. I believe they use landmarks of sight and smell. They are usually up ahead enjoying themselves and showing the way!