Sheep Dog Weekend

APR 30- MAY 1, 2011

Come see Border Collie sheep herding demonstrations at 2 pm on Saturday and 1 pm on Sunday with resident shepherd Janet Harvey. Janet competes with her dogs at herding contest throughout the country. See how amazing the dogs are!

Clark's Elioak Farm
10500 Route 108
Clarksville, MD 21042

More info:
410-730-4049
http://clarklandfarm.com/CEF%20SE%20Spring%20Weekend%20Events.htm

River Hill Walk: A quiet 3-mile stroll along a wooded pathway

"Hey, driver! Follow that squirrel!" Riley and Cody board a taxi
at a neighborhood tot lot in River Hill.

We took a little walk Saturday along the pathways in the River Hill village. This was a nice, quiet walk, mostly wooded, and sometimes crossing small streams and passing by tot lots.

After forecasts of rain and thunderstorms for Saturday, we were surprised to see the skies clear up and the sun come out. So we decided to try out this walk that I've been wanting to do for quite some time. We started at the River Hill neighborhood pool, which can be reached by taking the Great Star exit off Rt 32, turning right at the light, and taking the first right onto Trotter Road. We parked in the pool parking lot, went down a set of stairs, and then crossed Summer Sunrise (a quiet street) to begin the walk on the pathway. We relied on the Columbia pathways map, a Google map, and Richard's GPS when necessary to map out the walk.

River Hill section, from the Columbia pathways map

The day turned out to be much hotter than anticipated, and the walk was a little longer than anticipated--thanks to a few wrong turns. So the pooches were a bit pooped after it, and so were we. I think we did just over 3 miles on this one, but I would probably shorten it a bit for a group walk.

Next time we do this I will follow the walk with a trip to the River Hill Village Center. There is a Maggie Moo's there, which I think would make a perfect post-walk place to head.

Hidden Trails: Exploring Beyond the Pathways

Riley and Cody go exploring.

With more than 100 miles of paved pathways weaving through our town, there's lots of territory to explore on foot in Columbia. So much that we almost forgot about some of the great trails just behind our backyard that we used to explore--way back when we first moved here, before the bicycle pathways were installed.

That was 25 years ago! I remember exploring these trails--many of which were probably first forged by horses from the nearby Columbia Horse Center. I even remember a pack of beagles running past us on a fox hunt (!), of all things. The area was especially great for bird-watching. We were thrilled to find Indigo buntings, scarlet tanagers, and many spring warblers on our walks here.

Recently, I've taken to venturing off onto some of these old trails and was very pleasantly surprised to find that very little had changed. Who is still using these trails, I wonder? Do they still exist because the deer use them? I do recall a pack of Maryland Mountain Club folks charging through a few months ago. But I rarely see other hikers. I mostly see fishermen standing in the middle of the river, catching trout.

The remains of a washed out bridge at the
 end of Kindler Road (now Eden Brook Drive).

Anyhow, it's wonderful to walk along the Patuxent River and feel like we're far, far away from civilization.

The dogs enjoy jumping into the river on hot days, and a little time running off leash too. The chances of bumping into joggers or cyclists here are mightly slim.

On one of our future walks, Richard and I must remember to take a trash bag along. There is actually relatively little litter, but a few remnants here and there. We won't be able to do much with the abandoned washing machine, however. That thing was there when we first explored here all those years ago. Maybe little animals are using it for shelter.







Ask the Vet: Easing meal time anxiety for a newly rescued pup

Guest post by Dr. Scott Sanderson

Q. We recently adopted a rescued 1-year-old Cavalier King Charles. Hard to believe, but he was found wandering the streets about six weeks ago. The rescue organization thinks he was a stray for a little while. he was badly infested with fleas.

He looks great now--healthy weight and his coat has mostly grown back. However, he is really (understandably) panicked during meal times. He will inhale his food and seek out the other dogs bowls.

We separate them for feeding and I've begun hand feeding our little guy. One handful of food each time, he is calm. Hopefully this will keep him from eating too fast and help us help him to trust that his food isn't going to disappear. I'm not sure what else to do to help him work through his anxiety surrounding meal times.

Thank you for your thoughts on this. --Jenny

A. Congrats on the new addition to your family! I am a firm believer that with unconditional love, attention and consistency you can train your new dog and help him overcome the trauma of his past life. Food is a great motivator so keep on using it to reinforce good behavior. Fresh or dehydrated meat treats are the best.

Bach Flower remedies are a wonderful nontoxic therapy to help with anxiety and adjustment issues. Start with the 5-flower combo called Rescue Remedy. You can put a few drops in his mouth, in his water, and make a spray using a small cosmetic bottle with spring water and 10-15 drops diluted. Add another remedy called Quaking Grass, which helps animals adjust to living together in groups. There are many more Bach Flower remedies to use so you can do a little homework and pick out some on your own!

Good luck, I salute your efforts to rescue this puppy!

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Got a pet-related health question? Use this form to Ask the Vet. Scott Sanderson DVM runs the Animal Wellness Center in Columbia, MD and is a sponsor of Columbia Dogs on the Go. He is a certified Veterinary Acupuncturist and has completed training in the Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET). Dr. Sanderson is a member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncturists, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Animal Hospital Association. He is a local resident of Howard County, and a past president of the Howard County Veterinary Medical Association.

Ask the Vet: New CDOG Feature

Got questions about your dog’s health? Dr. Scott Sanderson will answer your pet-related health questions in a new CDOG feature, Ask the Vet.

Dr. Sanderson runs the Animal Wellness Center in Columbia, MD and is a sponsor of Columbia Dogs on the Go. He is a certified Veterinary Acupuncturist and has completed training in the Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET). Dr. Sanderson is a member of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association, the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncturists, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Animal Hospital Association. He is a local resident of Howard County, and a past president of the Howard County Veterinary Medical Association.

Use this form to submit your question; answers will appear in this Blog and the CDOG Forum page.

Off the Beaten Track: Bluebells Galore

Today, Cody decided to veer off the usual path we follow on our morning walk and head down a small trail that led to the river. Could he have known that just ahead were large patches of Virginia Bluebells--my favorite local wildflower? There were hundreds--maybe even a few thousand--all in peak bloom and looking gorgeous in the morning sunlight.

We came back later in the day with friends Ancho and Sparkle, who graciously posed for photos. (See the slide show for some of these shots.)

Other wildflowers in bloom right now are the delicate pink spring beauty, star chickweed, and various yellow and blue violets. May apples and jack-in-the-pulpit are starting to emerge from the ground too. We're even seeing some dogwood trees starting to bloom, which seems a bit early.

Thanks, Cody, for this great find! Spring is here at last!

Dogs Can Sign Too: How to Teach Your Dog to Communicate with Gestures

A new book, Dogs Can Sign, Too, says your dog can learn sign language--not just to understand your signs, but to sign to you too.

I have not read it (yet; I wish it were available on the Kindle so I could get a sample chapter), but here's the product description:

If you’ve ever wondered what dogs would tell us if they could, now you can find out. The K9Sign system teaches dogs to communicate to us–making it a first in any dog training book category.

Dogs Can Sign, Too is the first book dedicated exclusively to the K9Sign system for teaching dogs to communicate to their human companions using a vocabulary of gestures.

This extraordinary education tool, developed by the creator of AnimalSign Language exclusively for the canine community, teaches people and their pets a unique mode of communication that employs an extensive lexicon of specific signs. Sample signs range from general concepts, such as “Food” or “Play” to identifying special treats, such as “Liver” or “Cheese” and specifying a favorite toy, such as “Ball” or “Frisbee.” Signs also include useful questions such as “Who’s that?” or “What type?” to naming a particular friend or family member, or even indicating a stranger.

The author's website, Animal Sign, has reviews, videos, a blog, and more.

Dogs Can Sign, Too is available in the CDOG Book store under Health & Behavior.

I, for one, am curious . . .

"Dining with Dogs" Bill Passes!

The Maryland legistature just passed the "Dining with Dogs" bill, which will go into effect on July 1. Dog lovers will be allowed to bring their pooches to friendly restaurants with outdoor dining areas.

For more details see our previous post on this topic and today's update on the Unleashed blog.

Great news for us!

Blossoms Walk @ Sewells Orchard Pond

The walk around Sewells Orchard Pond is one of my local favorites. And it was especially pretty yesterday with many pretty fruit trees in bloom--not to mention the warm summery weather, sunshine and a nice breeze. It's always a great place for a quiet stroll--without the many joggers and cyclists that use the more popular lakes.

 

We usually start our group walks on the trail that begins at the business center parking lot at 6420 Dobbin Road. There's a short walk through a shady wooded area, then across a meadow (crossed by high tension wires, but we just ignore those). Then the trail goes up a slight embankment on the left to the pond, which is not visible until you walk up the embankment.

The walk we do is about 1.5 miles, but there are a number of side pathways to explore for a longer stretch. We, however, were ready to head to the nearby PubDog for some cold beers and pizza. It’s about 1/10 of a mile up from our parking area and dogs, of course, are welcome here on the large outdoor patio.

With the 80-degree weather yesterday, the place was packed—with people and several very friendly dogs. Thanks to quick action by Rubina, we claimed one small table. And thanks to our rambunctious pooches, we acquired another from someone trying to read a book there (?!). Ingrid supplied the CDOG trivia team with its one correct answer. Too bad “dogs” wasn’t a topic. We coulda been contendahs!

Maybe we’ll try this again later in the week. I saw more trees ready to bloom.