To Take The Dog, Or Not Take The Dog

We have been debating for a couple of years now on taking one of our dogs on a trail ride. We knew Sadie could not handle a trail ride due to some of her "issues", would bark at everyone and every horse she saw and she probably would not make it through a whole ride physically, but she is extremely loyal and would not try to run off. Bailey on the other hand has the stamina to go long distance, rarely barks and does not have problems with strangers, but he has a tendency to run off on his own. So over Memorial Day weekend we were going to head out to the trails. We hemmed and hawed over whether to take Bailey with us. I told my OH that I was extremely nervous about taking him only because if we lost him I could never live with myself for losing my beloved dog. We had already loaded the horses and we were going back and forth for like 10 minutes. Should we take Bailey? Should we leave Bailey at home? We decided we would give it a try and if Bailey didn't behave himself on the trails we would just go back to the trailer and go home. 

I know everyone has their own opinion on taking dogs on a trail ride. Some like it, some don't. We were never concerned that our horses would not be able to handle it because they are used to the dogs running all over the place, plus we run into dogs on the trails all the time. While on trail rides, other people's dogs run in and out of the bushes and it has never spooked our horses. Brandy would rather amuse herself with spooking at butterflies and dandelions. Not dogs. 

So we took the dog. 

Our first break.

When we got to the trail head, we tied Bailey up to our trailer. One pet peeve of mine is people letting their dogs run all over the trail head parking lot. I did not want Bailey running all over and introducing himself to every horse and human there. He just laid down and waited. I think he was a little confused on what he was doing at this strange place and we had our horses. Once we saddled up we took Bailey off the leash and headed out. He followed along. After about 15 minutes we ran into our first horse on the trail. Just a guy by himself riding his beautiful QH. I had put a red, white and blue bandana around Bailey's neck for the holiday weekend and for easier sighting of our Aussie. The man said we had a beautiful dog. Bailey minded us really well and did not go near the strange horse. When we got down to the big stream, Bailey was very unsure of what to do. We crossed and he went down the bank and to deeper, faster moving water. We called and called to get him to cross. He is not scared of water, but I think he just unsure of going through this water. He finally jumped through the water and met us on the other side. A few minutes later we ran into another guy riding and he had a black lab with him. Bailey and the black lab wanted to play and Bailey wanted to follow them, then the black lab wanted to follow us. But Bailey listened to our commands and came back with us. He ran off a few minutes later, following a "scent" and we called and called and he did not come. My stomach did flip flops. I thought to myself "Oh crap! This is where we lose our dog!". We stopped and listened and couldn't hear anything moving through the brush. For what seemed like 15 minutes, but was only a couple minutes, Bailey came running up the trail ahead of us. He just found a short cut and knew exactly where we were. I told myself to relax! I know some people put bells on their dogs, but Bailey's name tag and rabies tag make a bunch of noise, so we can hear him pretty well.

Bailey staying in the middle.

My OH and I always take turns leading and following. So the person in the lead was in charge of keeping an eye on Bailey when he was in the front and the person in the back was in charge of keeping an eye on Bailey when he was in the back. 

What looked to be a beautiful day turned into a rainy ride.

Bailey would switch positions from front to back to middle. But for the most part he stayed right behind the horse that was following. He only ran off one other time in the Christmas tree area. I think he found a rabbit to chase and was gone. Again, we called and called and a couple minutes later he came flying out of the Christmas trees towards us. I didn't panic so much that time. I had a much better feel of everything at this point and Bailey was sticking pretty close to us except for those 2 times.

Our second break.

We rode up to the bathrooms and decided to let everyone rest. We had brought extra water bottles, a small bowl and treats for Bailey. We had also brought an extra lead rope in case we needed to tie Bailey up at the hitching post. If there were a bunch of horses there, we did not want him running off bugging anyone else. 

Bailey taking a water break.

But no one was at the bathroom area, so we didn't have to tie him. He stayed close by.

My OH feeding Bailey treats.

This big black cloud had moved in right on top of us, but was sunny everywhere else. It started to rain. It was gorgeous and sunny when we left without a cloud in sight, so we were caught off guard. We decided to get back on the trail to head back to the trailer.

Bailey and I.

We tried staying on the trails in the woods for cover from the rain. I was in a tank top but had brought a flannel with me. We had decided to go back the same way we came. We get to the large stream that we had crossed on our way out and this time Bailey jumped right in.

Heading back through the stream.

We sat in the water for a good 5-10 minutes and let Bailey play and drink.

Bailey loving the water!

Heading towards the trail head, Bailey sped up and decided to lead us back.

Bailey taking us back to the trail head.

He would stop and wait for us every so often.

Bailey waiting for us to catch up.

By the time we got back to the trail head, the sun was shining again. So we only got a little bit wet.

Drunken Fritzy, weaving back and forth.

There were only 2 trucks and trailers left at the trail head. Bailey knew which one was ours!

"I think this is my trailer!" (This is our old truck)

Bailey was such a good boy. He only ran off twice, but came back pretty quickly. For the most part he stayed right with us. We did have to watch him quite a bit to make sure he was with us. But I think after a few rides we won't be so nervous about taking him. I just don't want to lose my dog!! I was very proud of my Bailey and we are taking him on another ride this Friday!! He's been waiting patiently. Every time I load my horses and leave, he looks at me in the truck with the sad "please take me" look. It breaks my heart. He can't go on every ride, but on week days when it's not so busy out there he will get to go. Only a couple more days Bailey and you get to go on another ride!!