Sniff Sniff Sniff....

Sniff sniff sniff, sniff sniff sniff, sniff the bushes, sniff the bushes, heeeeyyyyyy sniff sniff sniff....

One thing Tessi loves to do is go for walks/hikes in the woods. She could go for hours and never tire. She will make someone a wonderful hiking buddy and we hope whoever adopts her will do a lot of walking and hiking with her because it is just so fun to watch the way she is so curious about every fern frond and leaf, every texture she walks on, every site and sound. She is curious about it all!

Getting puppies out on different ground textures is really great for their brain development. Of course the earlier you start the better, but it is never too late so get those pups, adults, and seniors out in nature and let them experience the myriad of textures mother nature has to offer them!

I know it is tempting to always want to hurry our dogs along and some people even go as far as always wanting their dog to heel and never stop for a sniff. True sometimes you do need to do that kind of walking, where you are a team and you need to get from point A to point B. But it is also just as important for dogs to have some free time too, and since Tessi had been cooped up in a shelter for so long and we aren't sure what her pre-shelter life consisted of, we want to give her ample opportunity to get into her "dogness" and spend some time sniffing, hearing, pawing at, and don't forget peeing, on things :) if you look closely you will see Timken with his leg lifted, he loves to mark the bushes on the trails.

On the move and nose is in full information input mode. I can just hear her little brain calculating....calculating....

Tessi and Tim do a lot of hanging out together, they are both the youngest kiddos in the pack, with Tim at 2 1/2 yrs, and Tessi about 6 months.

Trilliums!!!!

More calculating and information gathering, MUD!

Oh and did I mention Tessi likes to graze on plants now and then. Just like toddlers she sometimes puts everything in her mouth, so she needs supervision when out in nature. Mushrooms will really need to be off limits as there are many poisonous ones to get into trouble with. But nothing like that happened on our walk, mostly she tasted grass.

She has figured out already it is fun to walk with her fur siblings in a pack, such a smart girl.

More beautiful trilliums....

She really enjoyed the mud puddles, while the other dogs went along the edge, she plowed right through....more investigating how it smells, tastes, and feels.

Hey let's check out this large cedar tree!

She decided on the way back that she could cross the slippery logs herself, she was carried over the first time round. Just needed some time to get her confidence and mission accomplished!

Skunk Cabbage!

Tessi figuring out how to get over a log, then my camera battery ran out, but I can affirm, she made it. :) After our 1 1/2 hour walk she was a tired little girl, ready for a nap in her crate in the car while the humans did some errands....