We've done a bunch of city walks and urban hikes on paved trails, but this weekend was Jake's first "official" hike! The four of us went to our favorite park, Big Eau Pleine in Mosinee.
We endured a chilly breeze for the sake of getting some sun and fresh air. There was still ice on much of the reservoir but Jake got his first taste of swimming in Wisconsin (read on for the story below). Even though the temps are still a bit cooler than normal, it was nice to get out hiking.
Because the biking trails were closed due to mud and boaters unable to access the still icy lake, the place was deserted. Which meant we could have the dogs off-leash for most of the time. I was anxious to test out how Jake would do off-leash, and he didn't disappoint!
Jake is one of the best dogs I've ever had. Charlie was a difficult dog from day one and I've put years of hard work and training into her. She's an awesome dog now and I love her so much... and one of the benefits of all that training is that she can help train Jake now!
Jake is definitely a follower. He follows Charlie everywhere. He does everything Charlie does. He even rolled in poop after watching her do this (and yes, both their harnesses needed to be washed when we got home).
Charlie usually trots a little ways ahead of Alan and myself, and Jake followed somewhere in between. He'd jog ahead to see what Charlie was doing and then he'd stop and turn around, waiting for us to catch up. Then he'd trot along next to us for a while until Charlie was sniffing something interesting and then he'd catch up to her.
He was so good.
We had a great hike and the dogs were definitely tiring out by the end of the loop. We slowed down and headed over to the boat landing to explore the shore and check out the ice chunks pushed up on the rocks. There was open water along the shore but also some big ice floes. Jake was hopping from rock to rock and I was watching him to make sure that he didn't get his uncoordinated limbs stuck in a crevice, when suddenly he jumped onto an ice floe and started walking away from us.
I yelled his name frantically to come back to us, but as he got to the opposite edge of the ice sheet, it broke off under his weight and sent him head-first into the icy water. He quickly surfaced and paddled up onto the ice sheet and was able to get back to shore, but I was seriously two seconds from jumping in after him.
He gave me a huge heart attack. But he was safe. We quickly walked to the truck and dried him off with a towel. I wrapped him up in another dry towel and cradled him on my lap while we headed home; he shivered the whole way.
I preach about ice safety all the time and have always been so cautious with Charlie in the past. But with it being the end of April and most of the ice just slushy piles, I didn't realize the danger I was putting Jake in. He's just a baby and doesn't know about ice yet. So yes, I messed up a little this weekend but learned a big lesson too. I've gotten complacent from having an older dog who is already trained and forgot that Jake still needs training.
So we'll be working on voice commands over the next few weeks. He'll be learning "Come!" and "Stay!" and "STOP!" among other things.
My days are filled with dogs, work and sleep. I'm exhausted but also fulfilled. These dogs bring me so much joy and contentment. I'm overflowing with love. And I have a big project ahead of me.