Corning Preserve Bike Path

Longing to play with the geese

Albany might not be perfect, but I feel lucky to live in a city with so many options to get outside! I have always utilized it's parks and ponds, but since owning Koda, I have never been so *grateful* for them.

Down by the Hudson River, a ten minute drive from my house, we have the Corning Preserve, located along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail. I have biked from Albany to Clifton Park on this trail and it's pretty cool. There is a section where it diverts you into a city and some neighborhoods where you have to be careful of cars (I try to avoid that section now) but the fact that it is there and very well maintained makes me happy!

(note: we saw a bald eagle on this walk, flying low over the river... beautiful!)

We brought Koda here with a group of friends over the weekend. The Hudson was high and brown because of the spring run-off. But ducks and geese are migrating over Albany on their way up north, and Koda has a new-found "love" of these birds, haha. I will be keeping him on a leash for a long while!

Albany is rather historic, as well, so you get to read some signs and see canals. I want to bring Koda up soon to the parks a little farther north, around Troy, to see the locks. I've loved these places since I was a kid. Koda doesn't care so much about the history... but the SMELLS! Oh, the smells, how he loves them. Tons of deer and rabbit tracks for him to shove his nose into. Plus, lots of other dogs and people to meet!

So, spring is coming, it is a little brown, the rains and slush still come, but we can all feel it and we are ready! Koda is growing into a gorgeous and sweet dog that I am so proud of. More to see and do, and we will tell you all about it soon!

Spring is Coming!!!

And while Koda may be born to romp in the snow, he is surely enjoying how much more often and how much LONGER we get to stay out and play!

He loves getting on park benches (as do many other dogs, as  the old paw prints hint at!)

He is getting humongous... approaching his 6 month birthday, he was already weighing in at almost 50 pounds! (today is officially his 6 month birthday, but I am not sure exactly how much he weighs)

His behavior is getting better and better. Some of it I attribute to him simply getting older and being able to quell his excitement more, but some of it has to be the fact that we are working on it all the time! He listens pretty well, sits and stays like a pro, and is super sweet to humans. One thing I am having trouble working on: he just wants to wrestle every dog he meets! He isn't aggressive, but he is overly physical and I have to rein him in, because it makes the other dog's owner nervous.

But, time and exposure I am sure will help that! We go to the dog park and the bike path, where there are tons of dogs.

So, I will leave you with some pictures of Koda, growing as the spring starts showing through the barren landscape of the Northeast!

Lake George

We decided to head up to Lake George for a hike, test how Koda would do in a longer car ride.

One hint: vomit.

Haha. He had gotten himself all worked up when we stopped for bagels by playing in the parking lot's snow banks and proceeded to vomit twice when we got back onto the road.

Well! Enough grossness.

Onto beauty!

We attempted to climb 5th peak in Lake George, though we did not finish, because Koda had already had a very trying day with an hour in the car and wearing himself out in the parking lot before we ever got started!

That does not mean that we didn't have a lovely 3 mile walk through the woods!



The woods were gorgeous. The snow was thick. Koda was enjoying himself to the fullest. Exploring holes:

And just generally being the cute, happy puppy that he is:

I really cannot say enough how much I love this dog. He is so intelligent and so sweet. Yes, he is full of all the energy you would expect out of a 5 month old, 45 pound German Shepherd, BUT it is so rewarding to see my patience, time, and energy pay off and result in a really fun dog! We have our moments were training seems to go awry and my patience wears thin and he gets frustrated, but it is a learning process.

At our best, he listens, sits, stays, and comes. He is learning, slowly, to heel as well. That one has been a learning process for me, as well, because it is not something I have ever taught before. But 5 months in, and I think we are both starting to get it!

I love watching him experience this life, so many things for the first time.

This might have been our last hike where I need to wear snowshoes. The snow is slowly melting around these parts, making a lot of the logistics easier on me. So look forward to more updates on our progress! We have a goal of getting to the top of a High Peak together by the end of the summer :D

Until then, enjoy a photo of one of the most tired, contented dogs I've ever seen!



The city is covered in ice!

The city of Albany itself has been hit pretty hard by snow, ice, rain, and hail for the past couple of weeks. And while Koda is very much enjoying the weather (I've had shepherds that have loved the snow before, but he just seems as if his mother was a snowman!), it has been increasingly difficult to find ways to get him outside.

I love just our daily walks around the city during the week, but literally every sidewalk is a sheet of ice, or has never been shoveled, or is in some other way dangerous as all heck.

Soooooo... off to the Pine Bush it is! It's only a 15 minute drive from my house, and while it adds a lot more steps to the process of going on a walk, it is so worth it because I have one happy puppy when we go!

Shoving his face into the snow is a huge favorite ^

Heheh.

Also, I adore watching him jump off trail because he likes walking on the high snow banks, and 1 out of 3 times, he falls through, gets this surprised look on his face, and keeps on going! It's adorable.

I love watching his feet as he glides over the snow. I flounder like a fish if I go off trail without snowshoes, but his weight is distributed so perfectly and his paws spread out just so that he is completely comfortable! (the wonders of nature never cease to amaze!)

Well, this was just a quick update on what we are doing to battle the elements here in NY and still enjoy an active lifestyle with the new pup!

Nap Time!

Snow Love!

So, the city of Albany is a huge mess after the snow storm. It is difficult to even get your car out or park it anywhere. We, of course, are taking the snow-opportunity to go skiing (Bromley this week... what a workout!).

Koda, however, is enjoying the backyard more than ever. He loves to just bully through the snow and shove his face into it.

Today, I brought him out to Albany's Washington Park, which is just a huge innundation of snow, and his favorite: insanely tall snow banks.

So I leave you with some pictures of the little man doing what he loves... having a good time!!

On a training side note: he is listening better and my patience is increasing! I am trying to only use positive reinforcement and we are currently working on his worst offence: pulling on the leash at the end of a walk, agrgh!

Crazy January!!

It seems that August and January are always my most busy months. I feel badly that I cannot get Koda out into the forests more, but it is so cold and difficult in this month, I wouldn't have been trying to push it too far anyway.

Chris and I climbed Wright Mountain in the Adirondacks last Monday (Chris' Birthday!) and it actually seemed more than do-able for Koda! The trail was packed down really well and it wasn't a very difficult winter trail. We climbed Wright in the summertime as well, and would also bring Koda then. However, 7 miles is still too long to risk him tiring out deep in the Adirondacks.

So! For now we are sticking to the city of Albany, do around 3 miles when we do our treks. I, myself, need better winter boots for the city, it's keeping me from staying out much longer.

Koda and I love going down to Buckingham Pond and exploring the pond itself and the surrounding neighborhoods. It's perfect dog-walking territory. He loves watching people ice-skate on the pond and absolutely wants to join in. We get lots of squirrel sightings, as well :D

As you can see, he is getting much bigger!! It really blows my mind. He leaves full-sized dog paw prints in the snow. He just had his 4 month birthday a few days ago... time flies!

Brief Hiatus!

Chris and I will be skiing Whiteface Mountain this weekend and hiking Wright Mountain (both of these are Adirondack High Peaks!) this weekend.

Unfortunately for Koda, he is still too young to come on trips such as these (not that I think he will be much up for downhill skiing even when he is older!), so he will be enjoying the new dump of snow we've gotten in Albany with my dad.

He really, truly loves the snow. He immediately buries his face in it and chooses to slosh his way through the tallest snowbanks rather than walk on the sidewalk. I cannot wait to bring him cross-country skiing or snowshoeing with me in the future!

Yeahhhhh, Whiteface!

We love the High Peaks region so much. It is going to refresh our souls to be up there for the weekend!