Five dogs and four people

We're in Burlington, Ontario again, and it's a great time to get out to enjoy the cool fall weather. There's a lot of clouds and some rain this week, but we did manage to gather some family together with all our dogs to get out for some fresh air and exercise. We all need the activity as much as the dogs do, but the dogs just seem to get a lot more than we do. On the trails, they are all off-leash and love to run up ahead, then back again to make sure we are all following after them. They must cover five or ten times the distance that we cover, with all the running back and forth.

Lori, Jim and Aaron on the trail

Aaron and five dogs

Our little group consisted of my sister Lori with her springer, Jazz, my son Aaron with his two Kerilian bear dogs, Cajun and his puppy Eevi, and Jim and I with Will and Emma. It was the first time for all of us to walk together like this, and it was fun. We found a good spot that was not too far from the city, and is part of the Bruce Trail system that runs from Niagara to Tobermory in the Bruce Peninsula. This is a trail system that was started in the 1960s by some forwarding thinking Canadians who wished to preserve the green space along the Niagara escarpment, a unique geological feature that dates back millions of years when the entire area was under water. Our hometown lies right along this natural treasure, and we've always found wonderful places to hike, some right within city limits, and others that are just a few minutes drive out of town. This place is in the north end of the city, and is high on the escarpment, and at points there were great views of the city and Lake Ontario to the south. For some information on the Bruce Trail Association, check out their website: http://brucetrail.org/

View of the city, Lake Ontario and the Skyway Bridge

Soybean field, asters and stormy sky

The dogs all know each other, and loved to romp together. We noticed that Cajun was especially fond of Jazz, and they ran along together, having fun along the way. The only time Jazz was a little disagreeble was when Cajun tried to take a drink from her water bottle. She can be very possessive and snapped at him when he came too close. He took the cue from her and didn't bother her again. Other than that incident, Jazz loved the walk with everyone else, and Lori said that our two hour hike was the longest walk that Jazz has had. I'm sure she had a great sleep after that run!


Eevi was the smallest of the whole gang, but certainly didn't let that stop her. She was the only one not to get off the leash, since she is only just four months old and not really trained to come to her name yet. I know our pups were probably six months before we let them off-leash and even then I was a little uncertain about it. They are pretty good about coming when they are called, and always run just a little ahead and return regularly to check on us. It's all part of their herding nature, but even Jazz and Cajun behave that way, so it may be just the general nature of dogs to check on their people. Eevi will be joining the crowd soon enough, but for now it's much safer to keep her leashed.


Will has a habit of running just off the path to the side, just far enough in so he can see us but he thinks we don't see him. He will run ahead of us fifty feet or so, and jump out onto the path facing us, as if he's surprising us. He thinks this is great fun!


Cajun, Jazz and Will

Cajun flirts with Jazz

Then plays hard to get

Jazz takes a drink