Along the Snake River with Reggie

Mom and Dad took me to breakfast at Pond’s Lodge in Island Park, Idaho. Well, really what happened is that they let me watch them eat breakfast through the car window and restaurant window. I’d prefer to be inside, staring at Dad or Mom until they gave me scraps from their plate, but instead I patiently waited for them to quit stuffing themselves because I knew we were going for a great long walk afterwards. Besides, Mom usually sneaks some pancake to me if Dad doesn’t eat it first.

We drove to the river where there is a place that humans and dogs camp and fishermen park. Dad said this is the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River, only about 6 miles from the start of the river. This river bubbles up from the ground into Big Springs, a great big pond with lots of big fishes. I’ve been there too! It’s a fun place to visit.

Mom let me go free after we got on the Coffee Pot Rapids Trail. (It's near Yellowstone Park.)

Anyway, we started on the trail and of course Dad brought two cameras. Mom walked me with my leash until we were out of the campground. There are so few humans and dogs here that I promised to behave and she let me go free. They call this part of the river Coffee Pot Rapids. Dad says they named it that because an old camper human lost his Coffee Pot here once. Dad lost a lens cap for his camera here once. Maybe they should rename it “Lens Cap Rapids.”

I thought I saw a deer! But it was just another dog coming along the trail!

This river is really cool. No I mean it. I can get in the river and it feels so refreshing and cool. The water isn’t very deep and at first its moving very slow. The water only comes up to the middle of my legs. I guess I could lie down in it to get fully soaked, but I didn’t. (I don’t like to get that wet.)

I could get water anytime I wanted. Mom and Dad forgot to bring water for them and they wouldn't get in the river with me.

I was running up and down the trail in front of Mom and Dad. The trail was along the river but the forest went to the edge of the river. I smelled a lot of interesting animals, but didn’t see any. I could smell the deer and elk and moose. In fact, we saw a lot of elk droppings on the trail. Then suddenly I smelled a familiar and scary smell and came across a pile of bear. It was a pile of bear hair and a few bones. Dad said it was a Grizzly Bear that had died on the trail. Now all that was left was his light brown hair and a bunch of bees that were buzzing around. Dad got me away quickly. He didn’t want my nose stung (I didn’t either.)

I think I saw a fish in the water. If Dad would let me, I'd jump in and catch it with my mouth.

Mom and Dad forgot to bring water for themselves, but I could get my water from the river. Whenever I got too hot, I found a place next to the river I could wade and lapped up water. It tasted real good.

Dad pointed his camera at this Sara Orangetip butterfly along the trail.

Dad started running around like he was crazy! Mom told me he was chasing a white and orange butterfly with his camera. Poor little butterfly. Dad should be nicer to such small insects. He pointed his camera at it a few times and then it flew away into the forest. Dad says her name was Sara Orangetip.

The heart leaf Arnica was the main wildflower we saw. Dad said more would come later.

Dad brought his camera for wildflowers too. He didn’t find many blooming yet. But one flower that he thought was very pretty was all over the place. (It has a great smell!) It’s called the Heart leaf Arnica. It’s a bright yellow wildflower (this is according to Dad since I’m so color blind.) He also found the striped coralroot (it stinks!) and a couple Indian Paintbrush just starting to bloom.

Humans toss string at fish but don't catch many. USE YOUR MOUTH!! It's better.

The river attracts humans that like to throw string at fish. Dad says they are trying to catch fish with the string. (I’d just use my mouth if I were them, it’s easier.)

This Night Heron was right next to me. He looked at me and flew away.

The river is VERY quiet at the beginning of the trail, except for the sound of the many birds. I heard the eagles that like to fish here. They fly high overhead and with their good eyesight spot a fish and dive for it, catching it in their claws. (Much better than using string.) We also saw the really big White Pelicans in the river looking for fish. Some had their heads under water for a long time. Dad says they are expert fishers too (and don’t use string but their beaks.) But when I ran into the water, they flew away. I wasn’t going after them, but they didn’t know it. Another bird that got Dad all excited was the Black crowned Night Heron. This is a big silly looking bird that I saw sitting on log right next to me. He looked at me funny and then flew away. They like to eat fish too.

Big White Pelicans like to go fishing here too. (They don't use string.)

Finally, the river got really mad and loud. I think it was afraid of going down the steep mountain. It threw up white water and crashed itself against big rocks and roared like a scared cat! I didn’t want to drink the water there because the river was running really fast and I was afraid it might take me with it. (Who knows where it would go when it’s so mad!)

Lots of humans in kayaks came to the rapids.

Suddenly we all saw a bunch of funny looking humans in weird little boats and wearing funny hats coming down the mad part of the river. Dad says they were in little boats called kayaks. They looked like little coffins to me. There were over twenty of them twenty (I can’t count higher than that). They would wait next to a rock in the dark water and then take off into the white water and be gone very quickly. Dad says they were brave to be on such rough water. One of them rolled over in the white water but came back up and went on. Strange things that humans do for fun!

The white water would take the humans down the mad river very quickly.

Soon, Mom and Dad turned around and headed back when the trail started to turn to big rocks. Reluctantly I followed them. It would have been fun to jump around over the rocks. But, I ran ahead and kept sniffing for new smells. This trail certainly has a lot of interesting smells. Dad and Mom were constantly saying how beautiful the views across the river were. Mom and Dad seemed happy. Dad said their muscles and paws were feeling very sore though because they don’t normally walk four miles so quickly. I think I must have ran a lot more than them because I kept coming back to see what was keeping them. Usually it was Dad pointing his camera at something. Keep up Dad! Geez!

Anyway, we finally made it back to the car and they drank a lot of water. Of course, I had water from the river and didn’t need any. It was a good day and I went home and slept all afternoon.

Come see us at RedRock RV Park this summer. Ask for me!

Arf

Reggie

Reggie at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

I’m still in Idaho at RedRock RV Park. Dad reminded me that this is my 52nd blog here and that means a whole human year of writing these things. I hope you like them. I haven’t heard from many of you. I’d love to hear that SOMEONE is reading these.

I haven’t been able to be outside much lately because it has been raining a LOT and because I have that dreaded Golden Retriever disease: HOT SPOT again. Dad says it’s a skin disease that nobody knows WHY we get it, but it means that the hair over my “SPOT” has to be trimmed and an ugly and bad smelling yellow liquid gets put on it until it heals. Dad doesn’t like me to go outside because I scratch it and it bleeds because of my sharp claws. But, the hot spot is getting better and the weather is improving a bit so I think I’ll be outside again soon.

This weekend we had a sunny day and Dad told me to HOP in the car. I love that word. It means we get to GO in the car. So, I waited patiently in the back of the Jeep for Dad to fill the it with his camera stuff and we were on our way early in the morning. Dad said we were going to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a very big place nearby that lets lots of different animals live there without much interference from humans. Mostly birds live there, but also Elk, Moose, Deer, Antelope, Fox, Coyotes and Bears.

What that means for me is that I get to look for animals. It’s not very far from the RV park and Dad likes to do his photography there (you know, he points that little black box he calls a camera at animals and flowers and presses a button. For what ever reason, I still haven’t figured out.)

The fox ran away from me when he heard my barking. Dad was mad at me.

I hung my head out the window and started to look for animals. I like to look for cows, dogs, coyotes, elk, fox, moose, buffalo, and sometimes even big birds. I bark to let Dad know there’s an animal he can point his camera at. He doesn’t seem to appreciate it though since he tells me to be quiet. Like the other day, we were driving along Red Rock road and I spotted a fox. Dad stopped the car and rolled his window down, grabbing his camera. I wasn’t sure if Dad saw him so I barked again. Well, unfortunately the fox thought I was trying to chase him and it ran away. (I was a lot bigger than him.) Dad pointed at the fox but he was running away. Dad was mad at me for a minute for scaring it away. It wasn’t my fault the fox was so sensitive to my barking.

It was foggy when we left on our trip. You could see the top of Sawtelle Peak (in Idaho).

Well, when we started on our trip, it was very foggy (that’s the white, wet, cold stuff that hangs in the air in the mornings sometimes). We could see outside, but only in a few places, like just the tops of the mountains. However, the fog went away soon (I don’t know where it went though.) and I was able to look for animals. The first one I found for Dad was a big bird. Dad says it was a Red-tailed Hawk. Well, just in case Dad didn’t see it, I barked and guess what… it was as sensitive as the fox and it flew away. Dad pointed at it as it flew. He wasn’t very happy with me. Sigh!

This Red-tailed Hawk didn't like my barking either!

Dad says this is the Wild Blue Flax wildflower. I was sniffing around when he took this.

The road is very bumpy and a little bit muddy due to all the rain we’ve had, so we drove very slowly. I could see a lot of birds and Dad stopped and pointed his camera a few times. Finally, after about an hour we stopped near the Red Rock creek and Dad let me roam around. The smells here are great because I can tell that lots of animals have been here. Dad was on his knees pointing his camera at tiny wildflowers while I ran all around. There are no cars or humans nearby so he lets me run free. It’s lots of fun.

This is Red Rock Creek. It flows to the Missouri River. I like to play here.

The big mountains are called the West Centennials. There's a big field for me to run in here.

We hopped back in the Jeep and drove some more. I didn’t see any big animals though. There were lots of things that Dad pointed out to me (he thinks I like to see them), like the snowy West Centennial Mountains, the wildflowers, the creeks, the lichen and the birds. I pretend to listen to him but I really just look and smell out the window for more animals.

I saw the Antelope (Pronghorn) and he saw me. I ran but Dad called me back.

When we stopped again it was in front of those great big mountains. There was a huge field full of grasses and wildflowers and I ran fast and far away from Dad (I could still see him on his knees looking at the flowers.) The smell of Antelope was heavy in the air so they must be nearby. I would love to chase them but Dad says I’d never catch them because they are one of the very fastest animals. Soon, I saw them at the edge of the forest. We just stared at each other for a moment. I decided to run after them, but Dad asked me (well, he kinda TOLD me) to come back NOW. It was hard to do, but Dad knows best. The Antelope sprang away real fast and I ran to Dad. He had a treat ready for me (I have him trained well.) Boy that was fun though!

My favorite animal to spot, the ground squirrel. Dad wouldn't let me chase him.

We drove on and I continued looking and smelling out the window. Then, suddenly I saw one of my favorite animals, the little ground squirrel. He was sitting on a fence. I immediately let Dad know and he stopped to point his camera. This time the squirrel didn’t run away, but Dad wouldn’t let me out of the Jeep. Darn! I could have had a good run!

Tracey & Jay Petervary are riding the Tour Divide race. Dad talked to them in Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

While we were driving Dad spotted some humans riding what he called a tandem bicycle. It’s a machine that humans use to go fast (they can’t run like I can). We talked to them (well, Dad did, I’m shy around strangers!). They were riding their bike from Banff in Canada to Mexico, almost 2750 human miles along the Continental Divide. They were in a race (without anything to chase by the way). They hoped to ride the whole distance in 15 to 20 days. I guess that’s fast. I hope they stop to eat and sleep! Dad talked to several more humans riding bikes in the same race along Red Rock road. He also pointed his camera at them. They didn’t seem to mind. (I didn’t bark to scare them away.)


We stopped at the Upper Red Rock Lake Campground and walked down to the lake. There were White Pelicans and some ducks playing in the water (Dad says they were fishing for lunch). It was quiet there (except for me sniffing around) and we stayed a while to enjoy the quiet. (Dad sat and enjoyed the quiet, I sniffed around.)

We were on our way again. I saw some more Antelope playing in the fields, but Dad wouldn’t let me out to chase them this time. We stopped at the top of a hill overlooking both the lower Red Rock Lake and the upper Red Rock lake for lunch. Dad gave me a big dog biscuit and I was happy. It was so quiet there except for the birds chirping and a few cows in the fields mooing.

Unfortunately, we had to go home, but we took our time getting back to the RV park as we stopped a few times for Dad to photograph and me to, well, lift my leg and do other dog business, you know. One place we went was on the other side of the lake. It had a lot of sand dunes that were fun to run in. We saw some big hawks and an eagle fly by. But I didn’t see a Moose or a Bear. Maybe I’ll see one next time. I know that I’ll be out here again with Dad soon. I think he likes to take me even though I scare the animals sometimes. I’ll try to be quieter next time. I promise.

So, I hope you liked my trip as much as I did. You can come and see it for yourself. Come say hi to me when you do, please.

Arf,

Reggie

Measure Birthdays with your "happy age"

Humans have an event that they call BIRTH DAYS. They apply this name to the event that happens on the day which they left their mommy and became independent to breathe air on their own. Dad says humans call this “birth.” I had a birth too.

I remember Mom holding me so tight as a puppy. It felt good and I was happy.

Humans do special things on their “birthday.” Humans measure this birthday by something they call the year. In this way, on last Saturday, I was 9 years old. I have seen 9 Springtimes in my life so far. Mom and Dad and Karen and Steve and Georgiana and Arlene and John and Gordon all told me to have a happy day. Steve and Karen gave me a special present of four little cozy babies to play with. They squeak and they’re soft to touch and chew. Thanks!!!! John gave me a nice treat to eat and Mom and Dad gave me a special blueberry dessert after my lunch bone. Dad took me on a long walk. So it was a a nice day.

Meeting new friends like me. Here's me and Brandy in Rockport, Texas. We had a good time together in the lake.

But to me, this seems like an arbitrary measurement of your life. If you are going to count the number of times the earth goes around the sun as your age and let that guide you on how you should act, you might as well count the number of squirrels in a field and say that is your age.

Going with Dad on his photography trips when I can be loose and play. That's a good memory for me.

Us dogs don’t live as long as humans and we should have another way to measure our life. Our life needs a larger number than the few times the Earth circles the Sun. Every such Birthday for humans is a special day. They mark the day and add it to a count they call their age. They use that number to determine many things in their lives, like when to kiss, when to drive, when to drink, when to quit having fun, etc. They compare their ages to each other and decide how one should act to the other based on this number. They give presents to the person on that day and feed them special food. Sometimes they get to go out and play instead of work. That’s OK with me. (I usually get a little piece of the special food, like cake, on that day.)

Playing with other dogs on a Dog beach in California was a happy day.

For me, I’d rather make the marks that count my life measure the number of days that are special in my memories. I think that a dog should measure how many special times happen in their lives. I don’t mean just a walk or getting to go outside. I mean really fun times when you do something very special. For each one of those, you mark it and add it to your “happy age”. Then, when you die, you’ll know how much fun you’ve had while you were here.

How could I forget the great and happy times on the boat at Lake Powell? I felt the water on my face.

Some of the fun and memorable times that would make my “happy age” would be:

1. The day I met Mom and Dad and Genevieve. That was special because I was with my new family for the first time.

2. My first day when I could run outside and play all day in the white fluffy cold and icy stuff humans call snow!

3. My first long walk with Mom and Dad in Nederland, Colorado when we walked along a nice stream of water and I could play by myself.

4. When I first met my good canine friend Casey.

5. My first trip to a dog park in Boulder Colorado. It was fun to play with the other dogs.

6. My first visit to a Pet’s Mart. I could go shopping with Mom and Dad too!

7. My first trip in the big motorhome. I was scared but also very excited. It turned out to be fun.

8. Swimming in Henry’s Lake and playing with Mom and Dad when they would throw a stick to me.

9. When I was a puppy and I got to sleep on Genevieve’s lap for as long as I wanted.

10. Meeting Genevieve’s canine friend, Megan for the first time. We ran in the tall grass and played.

11. Seeing my first cows and barking at them.

12. Running after squirrels and actually catching one of them.

13. Meeting my Uncle Johnny and Aunt Linda and their dog Gus. And later, Mia.

14. Going on photography trips with Dad when we can get out and I can sniff around as much as I want.

15. My visit to the beach in California. It was a dog beach and I met a lot of canine friends and got to run a lot.

16. Getting to “glide” with Dad or Mom on their Segway. I could go anywhere with them as long as I stayed out of the way of the Segway.

17. Riding in a boat on Lake Powell with Mom and Dad and getting to jump off on an island and play. Feeling the water spray in my face as we raced across the big lake.

18. Playing with mom on a beach in Pacific Grove, California. I jumped high to fetch a stick. It was so much fun.

19. The first time I met Dad and Mom’s Granddaughter Chloe. She smelled so sweet.

Chloe is my "sister". She's really Dad and Mom's grandchild. She smelled and tasted so sweet. I love her.

Swimming in Henry's Lake at RedRock RV Park is a fun memory. Mom was tossing sticks for me to retrieve.

Well, I think you get the idea. I won’t list them all. But I can think of at least 65 memories that make me happy. So I guess you’d say I was 65 by that measure. Maybe this way I can’t have special presents every time the Earth goes around the Sun, but when I think of my “happy age” it will always remind me of the good times in my life. And that is a very special present.

Running as fast as I can on the beach and in the water is so much fun for me.

So, when you have a birthday, think about what you did to earn that special day. Think of all the good things that happened to you in those years and add them up. If it is greater than your human age, then you are truly a happy person or dog. If not, you need to spend more time making happy times for yourself.

Meeting my good beagle friend Casey is a day I won't forget.

Arf,

Reggie

Mile Creek Montana

I want to tell you about a trip we made last week to Mile Creek. Dad said for me to hop in the Jeep and we’d go exploring. That’s a fun thing to hear because I like to hang my head out of the window and smell and look at everything around me as we drive. I know that we will stop and I’ll get to run around and explore the smells. I was excited to go.

Mile Creek trail and Henry's Lake Mountains in Montana

Mile Creek is a small creek in a big grassy meadow next to big mountains in Montana, not too far from our RV park in Idaho. On the way, we pass many cow pastures, but sadly there are no cows in them yet. Dad says they will be here soon. They are being driven in large trucks from the south where they spend the winter. (It’s too cold here.) I like to protect Mom and Dad from the cows, so I bark at them. It’s fun to do and it helps Mom and Dad. We also drove to the other side of the big lake near us called Henrys. Dad stopped to see the lake and our RV park very far away from us. Dad said it was pretty. What do I know about pretty? I could smell some nice smells coming from the lake though. (A combination of fish, birds, skunks, last year’s cows and humans. Ah…)

Henry's Lake and the East Centennial Mtns. Our RV Park is at the base of those mountains.

Dad always drives the Jeep slow on our trips so that we can see birds, the cows, the coyotes and other animals. I don’t mind. That way I can keep my head outside the window without getting my eyes wet (like when he drives too fast.)

When we arrived at Mile Creek we had to drive through the water. Water splashed on my face as we drove through Mile Creek since I had my head out the window. It was fun.

Little Mile Creek is fun to play in.

Dad likes to come here because it has a lot of wildflowers. I like to come because Dad is so busy photographing wildflowers that I can run anywhere I like. I like to walk in the creek and splash. The water was running very fast and I tried to catch it. (I couldn’t) There is a trail and it goes up into a canyon high into the Henry’s Lake mountains, but we didn’t walk on that trail today.

Lots of Glacier Lilies for Dad to Photograph along Little Mile Creek.

There are two creeks. Mile Creek and Little Mile Creek. Today Dad said we would follow Little Mile Creek to see if there were different wildflowers. I didn’t mind because it was something new to explore. There was no trail, but I led Dad so he wouldn’t get lost. (I didn’t know where I was going, but I could always smell my way back.)

It's sure fun to wade in Mile Creek.

It was fun to go back and forth across Little Mile Creek. It was small but I liked to jump across it or to splash in it. Dad had to step carefully across the creek because he didn’t like to get his feet wet. My paws were soaked, but I didn’t mind.

I found these bones. Probably the Grizzly Bear forgot to clean up after lunch.

We walked along the bubbling creek, with Dad stopping to photograph flowers and me, well, I was exploring. I found some bones with teeth and barked for Dad to come to me. He came to see the bones. He didn’t know what animal had died but I was scared that I could look like that if I wasn’t careful. Probably some bears had come here to have lunch.

Dad took this photo of the Low Larkspur at Mile Creek.

There were plenty of flowers for Dad. He said there were yellow Glacier Lilies, purple low Larkspur, yellow Arrowleaf Balsamroot, purple Vase Flowers, white Valerian, purple tiny Hooked Violet, yellow Puccon, white and purple Shooting stars, Mountain Goldenrod and much more. To me they are just smelly sweet things. Nature is generous with flowers and their smells. I found some little buzzy bees that Dad warned I should not eat because they will prick my nose or tongue. I agreed but wasn’t sure he was right.

I wanted to bite this Bumblebee but Dad warned me it might prick my nose.

We walked up Little Mile Creek into the trees where the canyon started and then turned around. I had fun running and hiding from Dad in the high sagebrush. He would call for me and I’d come running. He’d give me a treat for coming and I’d do it again. Eventually, he got wise and quit giving me treats.

I had fun chasing this butterfly.

Once, I had fun chasing a white butterfly. He would flit in front of my face and I’d chase it. He could go higher than me so it really wasn’t a fair chase. Once he stopped on the ground and just as I was about to pounce on it, Dad told me to stop. He photographed it instead! I did all the work tiring out the butterfly and he got to have the fun! Not fair!

This storm was headed our way and we soon had to leave.

I played in Mile Creek a while and then Dad said that a rain storm was on its way so we had to go. I wouldn’t mind getting wet all over but Dad says that lightening and thunder would soon be there too and I knew what he meant. I don’t like the loud thunder and bright lights that come out of the dark clouds. I need someplace to hide from them. The car is a good place.

It's sure fun to play in the water.

On the way out, we saw two pronghorn antelope but Dad couldn’t photograph them in time. I think there were afraid of me and they ran. They run real fast. I don’t think I’d even try to catch them. Dad told me they are the fastest land animals in the world. They can run as fast as 60 mph. Whew… I don’t think I could even get close.

This Horned Lark was waiting for us when we left.

Dad was so excited when we left because he saw a Horned Lark bird. It looked like any other little noisy bird to me, but Dad said it was special because it had horns that stuck up and he’d never seen one. I’m glad Dad got some fun too!

If you are one of those humans that like to see wildflowers and other animals, you might read Dad's Nature Blog that he is writing this summer. He's trying to blog about new things that Nature brings our way while we are in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming this summer. See the link below to read his blog. (I think my blog is better, but you can be the judge.)

Dad thinks this Glacier Lily is pretty. I think it is smelly.

Well, come see us at RedRock RV Park this summer and I’ll take you on a exploration trip too. We’ll have fun together. We can even go to Yellowstone National Park (if you don't mind being in the car on on a leash.)

Arf,

Reggie

Reggie Takes a Rest

Hello. I'm Reggie’s owner, James Perdue. Reggie has asked me to take over this week’s blog, mainly because after 48 weeks of steady writing for this blog he wants a week off. I could barely refuse him after his being so conscientious. He tells me that he may be getting Carpel Tunnel Syndrome of the dog paw. He reads the internet too much!

Reggie and "Dad" along the Madison River in Yellowstone Nat'l Park, a favorite place.

I thought I’d take this time to tell you a little about Reggie, the RV Dog. I can tell you some things he won’t tell you himself, either because of his modesty, his bad memory, or his refusal to acknowledge certain things about himself.

Reggie and "Mom" somewhere at an RV Park in Ohio. Do they look happy together?

Reggie is our third Golden Retriever. We thought no dog would top our last Golden, Prince, but I think Reggie has managed to do that. Prince died at 5 years and we’ve had Reggie going on 9 years June 21st. Reggie is a very special dog, even aside from his un-canine ability to type, surf the web and write using pretty good English.

We’ve been RVing with Reggie from about his 7th week and therefore he is accustomed to all the things that go along with RVing, mainly moving his home base so often and thus his base of smells and his sense of territory. I think he does that very well. He takes joy in sniffing out the new smells everywhere we land. Of course we do stay an extended time in Idaho each summer, so that kind of makes up for the rest of the year.

Reggie enjoys RVing. It gives him a chance to experience a lot of the USA. This is in Utah.

Reggie is an off-leash dog. Most dogs that we meet are not. In general it’s not a good idea to let your dog wander around or be off-leash in strange places. Especially if you aren’t sure of what he or she will do with that freedom. Reggie will not wander around even if he is off-leash, unless we are with him. Reggie loves to explore, run, and jump, but never far from us. Of course there are places that you just can't allow it, like National Parks. Reggie really doesn't like to be told he can't wander free, but he does it for me.

Reggie posing in front of the Centennial Mountains, near our summer "home".

On walks (and we take a lot), Reggie keeps within a few hundred yards of us, and if we are on a road with traffic he stays next to us. (Really busy traffic calls for the leash to be sure.) We walk down Red Rock road here where the traffic is mostly fishermen and ranchers and they are not frequent. He usually sits by the side of the road without being told when he sees an approaching vehicle. If I determine that he isn’t planning to sit, I use the word “CAR” and he sits immediately. Of course, that type of behavior can’t go un-rewarded. He always comes to me after I release him for a small treat.

Reggie waiting for me on Red Rock road in Idaho. He will sit if I give him a remote command.

In unfamiliar areas, I use the words, “this way” and he follows me. If he starts to investigate something I am unsure of, I merely say “ugh-ugh” and he stops. If he picks something up, I say “drop it” or “leave it” and he does.

Reggie "heels" along a "glide" with my Segway transporter in North Carolina.

I own a Segway personal transporter. Occasionally, I’ll take Reggie on a “glide”. If we have to be on-leash due to the rules, he’ll obediently walk along side me without getting in front of the Segway. He forgoes his normal sniffing unless I stop for him. Off-leash he will either “heel” next to me or wander around ahead of me if possible.

When we are walking where there are many dogs, we will leash him, but here, on the dirt roads outside of RedRock RV Park it is enough to ask him to “stay with me” when we approach another dog. That’s akin to “heel”. Once we are next to the dog I ask him to sit and stay. The other dog may be tearing at his leash to get at Reggie and he will just sit until I tell him it’s OK to investigate the other dog. I praise him after such encounters and he seems to be proud of his behavior.

If Reggie spots another animal he wants to run to investigate. Usually I’ll notice his behavior and call him back. He stops and comes back. I give him a treat. What more could you ask of a dog?

Reggie likes to nap and watch outside our motorhome. But, he gets lonely, or too warm or too cold or wet and he wants to come in. He has figured out that if he gently knocks or scratches on the steps to the RV, we will come and let him in. He will also do that if he smells something appetizing cooking, or if he hears one of us putting on our shoes getting ready for a walk with him. How he knows we are getting ready for a walk is a mystery to us.

Reggie waiting for me and my photography at Mile Creek in Montana.

While on our wildflower and photography walks, Reggie is great. He will patiently wait along the trail as I lay down to photograph a small flower close up. I may spend 10 minutes and he will wait. When I finally get up and approach him, he asks for a treat which I give him. Further, if I point the camera at him and ask him to sit for a photo, he does it graciously, but after the camera comes down from my eye, he comes to me to extract a photo tax.

Reggie waiting for me to finish wildflower photography in Idaho. He is so.. patient.

Although Reggie likes to bark at cows from the car, usually he will behave himself when a strange animal is seen from the car (like an Elk, Moose, Antelope, etc) when I’m photographing them. If I am photographing birds and he is loose, I’ll give him a hand signal to get down and wait so as not to scare the birds. He does that without question.

Reggie really likes the cold. RVing gives him the opportunity to experience it occasionally.

Last year I developed a little secret signal that says COME TO ME. I draw the air between my lips to make a very quiet high-pitched sound or almost silent whistle. After about 2 or 3 times of doing that and giving him a treat he behaved like we’d been doing it for years. He can be 300 to 500 yards away from me, or he can be sniffing around in the forest out of my sight and I’ll silently signal him that way and immediately he is upon me, asking for the treat. That beats carrying a whistle.

Reggie sleeps in our motorhome at night and gets the entire front of the RV to himself, including the couch. He rarely wakes us during the night. When I finally decide to get up for good in the morning he comes into our bedroom, and demands a pet and hug. He won’t do it if I’m just going to the bathroom. Somehow he figures out I’m up for good. Once he’s had his hugs, he turns and goes back waiting for me to take him for his morning walk.

Reggie has never met a human or dog he doesn’t like. He won’t overwhelm you with love, but if you invite him, he’ll make sure you know you are liked and welcome around him. He rewards your attention with his.

I could go on with more great behaviors by Reggie, but I’ll spare you. The point about this is that Reggie is a member of our household like any child would be. (Except that he behaves better than any child I’ve ever had or seen.) He is a great friend, companion and probably great protector, though that hasn’t been tested yet. I suspect that his good behavior is a combination of breeding, and how he has been treated by us. (Same as with a human child.) We know that rewarding him for good behavior gets us more than punishing him for bad behavior.

Aside from his big ego because he can type and browse the internet, he is a great dog. I hope that all of you feel the same about your dog as we do about Reggie.

I’m sure Reggie will be rested enough to continue next week. I hope he doesn’t mind me bragging on him so much. You can’t tell when he is embarrassed, after all, he is already red.

James Perdue, (Arf)