On Saturday we went to see the Fremantle Dockers (my Aussie Rules team) beat Hawthorn in the preliminary final. Their first final since 2006! And they WON! The dogs got a long walk that afternoon, but we decided we had to do something special for them today.
First though, we went out for breakfast. The dogs weren't allowed to come for breakfast because of previously mentioned 'no dogs in cafes' rule.
Then we drove up to the hills and went for a walk in Whistlepipe Gully. It was about half an hour, and Bender spent the whole time huffing and puffing. He didn't recognise the route and was pretty excited to be going somewhere new.
Barbie started off slow, while Bender attempted to drag Nic down the trail. I think Bender needs a backpack to slow him down a bit. Lovely Barbie decided to poop very early in the walk so we had to carry it the rest of the way. I tied the poop bag to her lead.
They both enjoyed some yummy smells on the trails. Probably rabbits and kangaroos!
There was some nice fresh water trickling down the gully, making for some cute little waterfalls.
Barbie went wading a couple of times to cool off. She loves water. She likes to dip her whole face in. I haven't seen her swim yet. Being so lean I think she will have floatation issues.
We came across two large logs that had fallen over the trail. They were probably about 80 cm tall and Barbie leapt over them with minimal encouragement. A very big improvement from last time we went hiking in the bush!
At the end of the trail there was a house. Barbie was convinced we should go in and visit. The woman who lived there came out with her old German Shepard and they said hello to each other. The GSD was barking at first but then it's body language softened as the lady grabbed hold of it's collar. It took treats to lure Barbie away from the house.
On the way back we met an adorable Border Collie pup with a blue eye and a brown eye. I think he was about 6 months old and he played a short wrestling game with Bender. Barbie said a brief hello then I held her back because I got the feeling that she was going to turn into the fun police and tell them off for wrestling.
The view from the top of the hill was quite stunning...
although I think it was lost on the dogs.
Barbie did well with the walk and we made it back to the car with minimal paw-dragging.
We dropped in to City Farmers on the way home to pick up more kibble for the dogs and the kittens. Barbie was cool as a cucumber because she has been there a few times lately. Bender found the environment very very stimulating. He tried to steal the tennis balls, and then perked up his ears and looked around when he heard someone squeezing a squeaky. He also discovered the fish in tanks at the back of the store and left nose prints on the glass. The staff gave both the dogs treats, though Bender was a little snappy with them!
Midday we got home and now Barbie is sleeping in her crate and Bender is outside in the sun. I think they had a good day.
