Before my eyes open, I can feel his breath on my face. His nose pressed as close as he dared without touching my face. He senses I’m awake. My eyes are still closed, but he knows the rhythm of my breathing as though it were his own. I smile. Slowly, I open my eyes, squinting from the bright sun pouring in through my window. It’s barely 7 am, but the Alaska sun is high in the sky.
You’ve just hiked a vertical mile. You are at the crest of your favorite destination, prepared to relax and take in one of your favorite views. You settle in to rest with your hiking partner, your dog.
Can you imagine the dog you have with you?
Did you imagine yourself with a poodle?
No? Well then, I encourage you to keep reading so I can alter your imagination a bit.
Take a minute, and get yourself comfortable while I tell you what makes the standard poodle the ideal hiking partner you never even knew you needed!
Fall time in Alaska has a tendency to sneak up on me. It seems to arrive each year on a day in August.. Some years it’s early, other years it’s a bit late. But one thing I know as an Alaskan; if I’m paying attention to the subtle signs, I’ll never miss the “unofficial,” but true, first day of Fall in Alaska.
It’s spring in Alaska. And you wouldn’t know it to look at the snow still on the ground. This winter gave us more snow than I’ve seen in well over a decade… and I have loved its visit. But the sun is returning and our days are getting longer. The snow is starting to melt, too slowly. I know though, like a guest who sometimes overstays her welcome, so too, the snow will eventually leave.It was to these mounds and mounds of snow that my thoughts went when I woke up in the early hours of the day. Bryce and Jupiter were at the end of their patience with the COVID-19 home isolation imposed upon their daily routines. I smiled to myself as I declared this day a day of play.
Poodles are probably best known for their fancy haircuts and circus antics. But long before Poodles were performing tricks for human entertainment, they were the staple breed for the various water retrieving dog breeds we know today. It is the long history of selectively breeding the Poodle type… from water retriever to trusted human companion… that gives us a dog breed so diverse in natural talents.
