Thinking outside dog.
Scherzo, Sarroar and I had a rather stressful departure from my mom’s house during the last stay and hit one of those points where things were just feeling bleak. Whenever that happens a good hike can really change the mood, so that’s what we were looking for when we headed up Sype’s Canyon. We had had a half hour in PetSmart (read on to hear about that) that whipped Scherzo into shape and she was walking really nice. It was sunny, but there was shade from the trees, and little streams running all along the trail.
THE HIKE: Take I-90 exit 305 North onto North 19th Ave. When N. 19th Ts into Springhill road in about .5 miles take a right. Go 1.4 miles and turn right on Sype’s Canyon Road. Watch out, the sign is hidden by a row of bushes so if you’ve gone more than 1.4 miles you went too far. Take Sype’s Canyon 3 miles and you’ll come to a subdivision at the end of the road. Parking is clearly marked. The hike is very popular on the weekends so the dingo suggests staying off it then. But she gives the overall hike and 9/10 babies. If she went feral she’d definitely live here.
The hike itself starts with a little fenced corridor between two neighboring yards. The fence is so tight it gives the place an almost secretive feeling, like you’re on your way to the secret garden, a sense that is amplified when the aspen canopy breaks out overhead. Hike a little farther and it opens up with boulders to climb and great views of Bozeman.We also saw a weird beetle bug, and sadly lots of dogs with shock collars.
Flashback to this morning, on a whim I took Scherzo into Petsmart for training. I wasn’t sure if she was ready, which is never the right way to start a training session, but fortunately it worked out. I’d decided that if she couldn’t down we’d just turn around and walk out. With that that in mind I walked up to the sliding doors, took a breath, a dived in.
My first mistake was not knowing the building. I’d been in it once briefly to buy a few treats, but hadn’t taken the time to get to know the area. So imagine my surprise when I took a right turn and found myself besides a wall of cats. Cats have been the worse distraction for Scherz since she was a puppy, but we’ve worked up to where she can almost always walk past a sitting or laying down cat. Still, we’ve never had to deal with more than two. Fortunately, she had never been in the place before at all, and was so interested in the smells I was able to walk past them without her even noticing. At the end of the aisle we hit another challenge: people milling around a cashier and squeeking a toy. Scherzo hit the end of her leash, which meant I had to back up back down the cat aisle. It’s OK, I told myself, she missed them the first time, she’ll miss them the second time too.
I turned her around and made for the center aisle again. Well, she can be dumb, she can be almost blinded by smells, but this time she saw the cats. She darted toward the cages and instinctively I choked up on her leash and backed up. The cats were nonplussed, a best case scenario. In a moment I had her in a down, a whiney down but a down none the less. A few clicks later, a little less whining, we got up and went back to the main aisle.
I worked my way around the store, finding secluded aisles or nooks and having her down. At first she could only lay for a few seconds, but soon she was laying for a minute, ignoring the dogs walking past at the end of the aisles and all the goodies in them. Her whining subsided as well. Triumphantly we headed out of the store, leash loose, and a skip to our steps. We were both ready for a little off-leash hike time.
