To give Ray some variety on his walks, and to avoid some of his favorite places (he would live at some of them if he had the opportunity …….. well at least until the treats ran out!), we often head straight down to the lake.
We can then work our way through a lakeside park and follow a trail which takes us near to Oakville Harbour. Climbing a couple of flights of wooden steps (Easy Ray…. Eeeeasy Buddy…. Eaaaasy Ray….) and we are in another park which, after a short climbing trail, gives a panoramic view of the harbour entrance and the immediate area. This is where we chill out!
Ray seems to enjoy chilling out there just as much as we do although, to be honest, he seems to enjoy chilling out pretty much anywhere. On the other side of him, is a steep grassy drop down to the service road. We often navigate that slope which is the direct route to a pathway which takes us alongside the Oakville Yacht Club and subsequently into downtown Oakville.
Ray does have this unfortunate habit of going into “zoomie” mode at the most inconvenient times, one of which is when he is on a steep grassy slope! Typically, I am picking my way carefully down the slope and suddenly the leash goes tight with 75lbs of Ray leaping around on the end of it! By the time he is under control, the damage has been done. I guess it’s an age related thing but muscle strains now seem to be a sort of delayed reaction! I am totally baffled trying to determine what recently happened to make the muscles so tight and sore when Carol says “Remember when Ray had his “zoomies” a couple of days ago?
Note to brain: Must take the long way down next time but, in the meantime, I’ll simply blame Ray for my sore back!
Beautiful harbor and you are so fortunate to live within walking distance. Getting exercise for yourself and for Ray surely is a good thing but our dogs can cause us some terrible pain if we’re not careful.
I was knocked down by an eighty-nine pound lab back in late winter. I got right up but it sure did not do my body any good as I fell on my rear end and jarred my entire body.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Yvonne. My body went into “sympathy pains” just reading that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooh, ouch. I hear what you mean about sore muscles. Sam will often times pull hard on the leash (especially if he’s on a particularly interesting scent trail). I think I have may have some rotator cuff mini tears from it. 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
So many people are relating to this subject! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Baby boomers, we’re a large cohort 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! What a great picture!! He sure looks like he’s enjoying himself.
LikeLiked by 2 people
He is. He has a good life! 🙂
LikeLike
Fabulous view and Ray looks truly content and comfortable overseeing all!
Yep, back problems go with dog ownership. Maggie weighs in at around 14 kilos (30 ish pounds) and if she lunges, my back follows then my hip. I’m glad Hubby did all that off lead training so we’re lucky there, but I can identify with ‘dropping the lead’ not being an option. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ray does create his own rather unique challenges, but he is still easier than my two kids were! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amazing how strong they are isn’t it? It’s really a thing of beauty these muscular animals; unless of course one is on the end of a leash being dragged down a hillside… 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
It is quite amazing how hard they can pull; how fast they can accelerate, and how fast they can react! They have some pretty awesome abilities! 🙂
LikeLike
Lol !! Have some rest Colin. But I must say, the place you described is so lovely and Ray seems so happy out there.. happy evening to you guys 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thx Himali. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Welcome Colin 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I sympathize! I am getting used to having a young dog again- 4 years old and about 50 lbs… I brilliantly decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to pick him up, just to prove I could… And it took my back a week to recover!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Based on the responses to this Post, it would seem like strained muscles due to “man’s best friend” is a common ailment! The price of a happy dog! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
In my case, that one was 100% my fault! On the other hand, my wife had to walk him for a week afterwards, because the yanking he does on the leash is his fault, and I didn’t want to walk him until my back was really and truly better! (He’s actually pretty good leash walker most of the time… he’s a nervous dog, though, so things like car doors closing occasionally startle him and send him running for the hills… There are are a few situations- going into stores or to the park- where he gets so over excited and drags us so badly we picked up a gentle leader to use for those “special occasions.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ray just generally gets into an instant play mode, which is nice to see of course given his history. We do have a gentle leader but have not needed to use it for so long now. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s so conflicting when they’re so happy, and so adorable, but your leash arm is so sore from their enthusiasm!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a beautiful place to rest. Hope your shoulder heals fast. Not much that you can do when they get the “zoomies” except let go of the leash (and that depends where you are).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Interesting thought but letting go of his leash is not an option. 🙂
LikeLike
Beautiful area for a walk. . Or maybe a wild, zoomies drag! 😨
Oreo, at 40# can be (or deliver) a big jerk if you’re not paying attention. I usually walk him as my husband’s shoulders are sore.
LikeLiked by 2 people
We are fortunate to have a number of nice areas all within a 15-20 minute walk from home. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Totally sympathise with you on this! Although my dog only weighs about 52lbs, she can still wrench my arm out of the socket – which she did again yesterday, just as it was starting to heal from the previous serious damage 10 days ago! I can only imagine what damage 75lbs of Ray is doing to you!
I love the scenic harbour view. I could imagine sitting there with a cuppa and just chilling 🙂
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yes it is a lovely spot. During the week it is also generally quiet. Bonus! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLike