Adventure Dog Podcast

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Today’s episode is with Korin, the dogmom to Pam @floridadogmom, a catahoula mix just starting to make her way around Florida, visiting all the state parks, beaches, and breweries along the way!

Korin has a Florida State Park Pass and is a member of the Passport Program, where she gets a stamp in her Passport book for each state park visited. The goal is to visit as many state parks as possible with Pam. And the prize for visiting all 175 parks is a free annual family pass for a year! The first two parks they have visited are Highland Hammocks State Park near Sebring. Alafia River State Park is another they have visited and is a unique park in Florida because of the hills. The park is built on a reclaimed phosphate mine and includes 20 miles of trails. Since alligators are part of the natural wildlife, not all the state parks in Florida are dog friendly.

Aside from state parks, Korin and Pam also love visiting beaches. Two of their favorites include Walton Rocks dog beach in Fort Pierce and Venice dog beach. When visiting a beach with your dog, Korin had a couple of great tips to bring plenty of fresh water and be prepared for the hot sand. Of course, no beach trip is complete without a stop at a local dog friendly brewery or restaurant, and one that she gives a shout out to is 2nd Street Bistro @2ndstreetbistro, in Fort Pierce, with a patio and dedicated dog menu!

Korin uses a Kong harness that has pockets for waste bags. She also prefers to use a leash with a traffic lead, or hand loop near the attachment end.

Her shout outs go to Alex @acprogolfer who is a fellow volunteer at the Humane Society of Highlands County. An account that inspired Korin is @sunshinestateseekers, a family that have visited all of Florida’s State Parks. @mcflythemutt is another account that has inspired Korin to adventure with Pam, and a close look-a-like! Both Korin and I want to shout out Jane and Mollie @the_marathon_mutt for her great account and her upcoming marathon.

And since Roux and I are off this weekend for a camping trip and trail race, I thought I would share a link to our camping packing list!

Thanks for listening!

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Today’s episode is with Sheila and Duncan, the dogparents of Gryphon and Edgar @vermontpaddlepups, a couple of lab mixes who are extremely experienced canoeists! Sheila and Duncan focus on promoting safe paddling with your pups.

During the week Gryphon and Edgar help Sheila with her volunteering duties at Green River Reservoir State Park, where they count loons and do water clarity testing. With six or seven lakes or ponds in the area, they like to rotate through out the week. Some of the other places they adventure close by are Waterbury Reservoir, Wolcott Pond, Berlin Pond, and Belvidere Pond. Some not-so-local favorites include Northeast Kingdom in Vermont, super dog friendly Acadia National Park in Maine, and Kejimkujik National park in Nova Scotia.

A recent road trip adventure was to Canada where they paddled and camped at Parc régional du Poisson Blanc, Quebec. Afterwards, they made their way down to the Adirondack Mountains in New York, where they paddled many different lakes and a couple rivers. There, they had the chance to paddle on Henderson Lake which is the headwaters of the Hudson River! But their biggest trip was to Banff and included paddling adventures in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, and Algonquin Provincial Park. 

The gear they use and recommend includes life jackets for both dogs as well as hoomans. They use the Astral Bird Dog and Ruffwear Float Coat. While they always carry leashes, NEVER keep a leash on a dog or tie your dog into a boat! For colder weather, they use neoprene vests under their life jackets. For warmer weather, they use Insectshield bug scarves. For drinking water, they carry Ollybottle. And in their first aid dry bag or backpack, they keep a Fido Pro Airlift sling in case of emergency.

Their shout outs go to North Country Animal League @northcountryanimal, Kev and his family in Winnipeg @oxford_dogs_skijor_n_more, fellow Tubbs snowshoe ambassador John Soltys and Tink @moosefish, Amy and Pungo @itsmorefunoutdoors, and Devin, Pat, and Bella @colorado_canine.

To read more about Gryphon and Edgar’s adventures, check out the Vermont Paddle Pups blog!

Below are two links to information about cyanobacteria, or blue green algae, on the EPA website:

https://www.epa.gov/cyanohabs

Labs that test for cyanobacteria by state

Thanks for listening!

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Today’s episode is with Omar and Luz, the dogdad and dogmom to Benz @benztheshep, the event going, mountain hiking, energetic and engaging German Shepherd dog. Based in Washington, Omar and Luz go absolutely everywhere as a family with Benz and do as many events as they can to promote the idea that dogs are an integral part of the family and the community!

Some of the local events that they have attended include Petapalooza in Auburn, Hounds on the Hill at Bradley Lake Park, in Puyallup, Love a Pitbull Day and Oly Bully Walk, in Marathon Park, Olympia, and the Fremont Dogtoberfest where Benz made a tv news appearance for winning the City Dog Magazine @citydogmagazine cover contest! They also attend quite a few non dog related events such as the Annual Firefighter’s Breakfast in East Olympia, the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival near Woodburn Oregon, and even a military fair at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, with Omar having served 21 years in the Army.

And of course, they also love to get out on the trails. The most recent adventure was at Slate Peak and Harts Pass, the highest road in Washington State in the Okanogan National Forest. Before that, they hiked Maple Pass Trail near Winthrop and the North Cascades National Park. Past adventures have included Olympic National Park and Redwood National and State Parks, in California, where Benz has earned his B.A.R.K. Ranger Badge. The extensive list of trails and parks that Omar and Luz have taken Benz to, just in the last couple of years, is more than can fit in this blog post!

The gear and items they rely on include Rex Specs Dog Goggles @rexspecsk9, Ruffwear Grip Trex boots @ruffwear, Musher’s Secret Paw Wax @musherssecretpawwax, Noxgear Light Hound harness @noxgear_nation, and the amazingly named Doo Doo Tube @doodootube.

Omar and Luz appreciate all of their awesome friends! A few of their friends mentioned are Otter Pop @teampantingpugs_2the_rescue, @the_blue_heeler_bros, and one of their favorite local businesses @swellgelatofordogs. One shout out they would like to give is to Cocaí and Robert @viajerosperrunos for their astounding and inspiring world travels.

Thanks for listening!

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Today’s episode is with Candace, the dogmom to Magnolia @magnolia.pie_adventuredog, an Australian heeler and her little sister Lolita, a Boston Terrier. Originally from Texas and now living in New York state, Maggie has become quite the adventure dog and is overcoming her fear of water alongside Lolita, who is very much a water loving pup.

Candace adopted Maggie with the purpose of having a hiking and adventuring buddy, including kayaking. After discovering Maggie’s fearful reactivity to water, Candace, who has a background in working with horses, has applied that experience to help Maggie  master her anxiety. Along with positive reinforcement, using the Harmonious blend herbal supplement from Kairos for Dogs @kairosfordogs has helped to improve Maggie’s reactivity.

To work on their skills, Candace and Maggie visit lots of small local parks and recreational areas including the Broome County Dozen Challenge with trails in multiple state, county, and town parks as well as some nature preserves. Two of the locations  she really enjoyed were Wolfe Park, in Chenango, and IBM Glen in Union, New York.

One of their first state parks they visited was Robert G. Wells State Park. Their first camping and hiking trip was at Robert H. Treman State Park, with numerous water falls all along the Gorge Trail and Rim Trail. The tallest is Lucifer Falls at 115 feet (35m). Most recently Candace and Maggie visited Chimney Bluffs State Park on Lake Ontario. They are making plans to visit Letchworth State Park, Hudson Valley, and Catskill Forest Preserve in Catskill Park.

Candace recommends the Ruffwear Webmaster Pro harness coupled with the BioThane Traffic Lead from Handle The Hound @handlethehound. Candace’s shout outs go to her husband, her IG friends @astoldbymason, @dawg4dog,  and her real life friend @vesteysylvia.

Thanks for listening!

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Today’s episode is all about one epic adventure over 2200 miles and five months on the trail with Rachel, aka Nav, and her sheltie Arrow @hikingwitharrow. The through hike was one Nav had been planning to do with Arrow ever since their first backpacking trip together, three and a half years ago!

Living in Atlanta, Georgia, Nav, her husband and Arrow, are relatively close to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain. The trail leading up to Springer Mountain is through Amicalola Falls State Park. From there, the AT runs nobo, or northbound to Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine. The trail is approximately 2200 miles (3540k) in length, through 14 states, and is the longest hiking only trail in the United States.

Nav and Arrow began their hike on St. Patricks Day, 2019 and summited 164 days later on August 28th. Along the way, they made many new friends, saw quite a bit of wildlife, and passed through some amazing locations. Several of the national parks and forests along the route include Chattahoochee National Forest, The Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Cherokee National Forest and the Roan Highlands, George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, Shenandoah National Park, Green Mountain National Forest, and White Mountain National Forest.

Aside from simply investing in quality gear for a long backpacking trip such as this, Rachel loves her Groundbird Gear backpack, custom made for Arrow. For tick prevention, she used Sawyer with Permethrin on the advice of her vet.

Her shout outs go to Groundbird Gear @groundbird_gear, her husband Parker, her trail friend Tatum aka Puppet @tatetakesahike, and her whole family who were extremely supportive and encouraging throughout her journey. Nav also has a youtube channel at www.youtube.com/c/HikingWithArrow

Thanks for listening!

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Today’s episode is with John @blindcowboy, the dogdad to Thor, a guide dog trained to compete in obstacle course racing, or OCR, and endurance trail running. Trained and raised by Guiding Eyes For the Blind @guidingeyes in their running program, Thor is the only guide dog of his kind.

Using a custom made harness from Ruffwear, Thor guides John through OCRs such as Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, and others. In the past year, John and Thor have completed 10 races of varying distances, including a Spartan Ultra which is 31.2 miles or 50k in distance. Together with his wife, John has traveled all over the country competing in various races.

When not racing, John and Thor like to visit some of the local places around their home in Kentucky. Some of  their favorites include the Pinnacles near Berea, Pilot Knob State Nature Preserve, Cave Run Lake, and Red River Gorge Geological Area, all located in Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky. Red River Gorge Geological Area is about 29,000 acres with more than 100 natural bridges and sandstone arches!

Besides the custom made Ruffwear harnesses that John has used with Thor, they also occasionally use Ruffwear boots and sock to protect Thor’s paws while on course.

John’s shout outs go to his wife, who also races and has been on course for John and Thor, and his friend Bill McConahy, who not only races but also helps to guide John and help with Thor. Julie Albany is the volunteer raiser who raised Thor. Corn Fed Spartans @cornfedspartans is the OCR team John and Thor belong to. For their equipment, John uses Ruffwear, Bombsquad, and Team Moo. Teddy and Friends Dog Boarding is John and Thor’s sponsor.

And of course, a huge shout out from both John and myself to everyone at Guiding Eyes for the Blind @guidingeyes for putting John and Thor together and helping other visually impaired people to live independent lives as well as growing the awesome dog community.

Thanks for listening!

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Today’s episode is with Jason, the dogdad to Grimlock, Sirius Black, Egon, and Ghost @ourpackruns, a whole crew of running and hiking pups in Indianapolis. Jason @i_eat_spinach, along with his daughter Jayla, uses instagram to inspire people to get out and be fit with their dogs.

With four dogs that are all very different in their abilities, Jason and Jayla typically take each dog out separately for runs and hikes at their favorite local spot Eagle Creek Park. At 5,300 acres, Eagle Creek Park is the largest municipal park in Indianapolis and one of the largest in the United States. There’s more than 10 miles (16 k) of paths throughout the park. They’ve also been to Cataract Falls State Recreation Area, the largest waterfall in Indiana. Just to the south of Indianapolis is Brown County State Park, known as the “Little Smokies” with it’s similarity to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee.

Jason is planning on taking the entire pack to visit Turkey Run State Park, which has some amazing sandstone gorges along Sugar Creek, west of Indianapolis. Aside from just hiking this fall, Jason’s goals include training and taking part in a 5k race along with Sirius Black, the main runner in the family.

Jason recommends two items that he uses for his dogs. The first is the Gulpy water dispenser bottle and the second is any type of car restraint that keeps your dogs safely inside the car and restrained to the back seat. His shoutouts include Heather @being_shortt and her pups Lita, Penny, & Arizona, Beth & Meatball @sunflowerrun16, Melissa & Argos @Mel.runs.with.dogs, @keanuwolfdog in Germany, @Janelizabeth29, and @charitymiles for being a major part of Jason’s running inspiration.

For more info on finding a race to do with your dog, check out The Dog Race Database at www.runrepeat.com.

Thanks for listening!

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Today’s episode is all about Kasandra and her two mountain loving pups Maggie and Radar @vermont_trailpups2, also known by their trail names, Grublet and Sneasel, from Vermont! Maggie has officially completed a NH 48 and is starting her second round along with her little brother.

The NH 48 is a list of 48 of the highest peaks above 4,000 feet (1219 m) located in White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire. The first of the mountains worth noting here is Mt. Washington, the tallest on the east coast at 6288 ft (1917 m), and known for its unpredictable weather. A few more that Kasandra mentioned were Mt. Isolation, Wildcat Mountain, Owl’s Head, and Mt. Pierce which was both Maggie and Radar’s first peak in the NH 48. To see a complete list of the NH 48, check out 4000footers.com.

Closer to home in Vermont, they also enjoy summiting Camel’s Hump in the Green Mountain Range. They also have plans to backpack the 273 mile (439 km) Vermont Long Trail, which runs from Massachusetts in the south to the Canadien border in the north. It is the oldest long distance trail in the United States. They will also be competing in the annual Green Mountain Iron Dog competition, an obstacle race for police K9 and the public.

Her go-to gear list for both dogs includes Howling Dog Alaska Distance Harness for Radar, Ruffwear High & Light harness for Maggie, and long lines for both. While Radar is preparing to backpack with his hand-me-down Ruffwear Approach pack, Maggie is retired from carrying but has a Groundbird Gear pack. When hiking in the rugged Presidential Peaks, they use boots from DogBooties.com as well as Musher’s Secret paw wax. Oh, and never forget the treat bag!

Kasandra’s shout outs include her parents and their dog Sully from Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue @yankeegoldens, Emily and Autumn @emilyandautumnjourney, Samson & Nellie @theadventuresofthemutts, Amy and Audrey @ames_audrey_adventures, Beta @hikernugget, Tybee & Tango @pawsonpeaks, Gryphon & Edgar @vermontpaddlepups, For The Love of Dogs Vermont Dog Rescue @fortheloveofdogsvt, and Great Dog Rescue New England @gdrne.

Though I have not had a chance to completely research it, there are several reports of dogs becoming sick and a few fatalities from blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in the news recently. Here is some good information to know from the ASPCA website:

Pet Safety Alert: The Rising Dangers of Blue-Green Algae

Thanks for listening!

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Today’s episode is with Traci, the dogmom to Dex and Aksel @aksel_the_gsd near Eugene, Oregon. Dex is a camera shy 7 year old black lab and Aksel, aka “Bugs”, is his younger German Shepard brother. Both Dex and Aksel love all adventures, from easy car trips to tough mountain trails, as long as they’re hangin out with their pawrents.

Locally, Traci loves to take the boys to Fern Ridge Resevoir, which has an off leash dog area and access to the water. For hiking they head to Spencer Butte, and then to Hop Valley Brewing Co. to relax on the dog friendly patio. In Junction City, they like The Beer Station. A little farther from home, up McKenzie Highway, is Tamolitch Falls, also known as Bluepool.

Recently, Traci and her husband took Dex and Aksel on a trip that included Crater Lake National Park, where they drove the Rim Drive. Then off to Lake Tahoe where they enjoyed time at one of the few dog friendly beaches and several hikes including Eagle Rock trail and Shirley Lake trail. Specifically, Shirley Canyon trail was more difficult than they first expected but was a rewarding experience. Their last stop was Reno, Nevada and the Whitney Peak Hotel which caters to guests coming to enjoy the outdoors, and allows dogs! One of the features of the hotel is an indoor climbing wall and the world’s tallest outdoor climbing wall.

Traci’s shout outs include her husband Travis for being the best dogdad ever and encouraging her to adventure, her friend and neighbor Gillian @blackdogsadventuring, Lauren @mister_mogul, Heather @thenorthwestdog, and Francesca @huskiesofpnw who has helped Traci with her photography skills.

Our thoughts and hearts go out to a friend of Traci’s, Zoe @thepnwstaffies with the loss of her pup Angel. If you are in the Portland area, there will be a birthday celebration and memorial for Angel on September 7th, 2019. Zoe asks that you bring donations for Multnomah County Animal Services @multcopets or make a monetary donation in Angel’s memory at the website. Please visit her account for more details.

Thanks for listening!

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Today’s episode is with Emma, the dogmom to Cooper @theperintonpup, the laidback super mutt with a super tongue from New York! From waterfalls to Wyoming, Cooper has an awesome collection of adventure photos on his account.

Cooper was adopted from Joyful Rescues @joyfulrescues in western New York, and more recently, Emma and her husband have been host to a couple of foster pups from Operation Freedom Ride. Both Red the coonhound and Jack the lab mix were able to find furever homes thanks to Emma.

Just a few of the local places Cooper has adventured include Green Lakes State Park, Stoney Brook State Park, Letchworth State Park, and the beautiful Taughannock Falls State park, with its namesake 215 foot (20m) waterfall!

Recently, Emma and Cooper made a two day drive to Denver, Colorado, to meet up with @Zephyr.Treks before caravanning north to Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest in Wyoming. There, they hiked and camped with the rest of the dogmoms and dogs from their IG chat pod! The nine women and twelve dogs spent five days adventuring and exploring the national forest!

Emma uses a Ruffwear harness for all of Coopers walks. For snowy conditions, they rely on Ruffwear boots to protect Cooper’s webbed paws. And for collars and leashes, Emma loves her Sloppy Chops Co. biothane long leads and collars. Her shout outs, of course go to all the dogmoms of her pod, most of whom have been on previous episodes: @adventure.yuki, @zephyr.treks, @adventures.with.willow, @baxter.the.lil.gentleman, @dreamerdeus,  @duo.down.south, @duodoggos, @finnyschminny, @ontherowedagain,   @red.and.blue.duo, @wallywanderlust

Thanks for listening!