The Tails of Hydra

08/04/2025

little dude found a pine beetle- and proceeded to mangle the bug.

08/03/2025

Day 1... We mostly were trying to find a spot so it wasn't exactly fun camping happening. I really like camping in 'free' or random camping spots, not near people and as it turns out most of the places I used to camp when I was younger are now developed and regulated, with very specific places to camp, and you have to pay extra to stay in those places. I already have a back country camping pass, so paying again to stay somewhere is ... frustrating. The designated camping is also literally 10 feet away from your 'neighbour'. This is definitely not what I need and would stress me out more. I'm trying to get away not get cozy with strangers lol. I legitimately have more space from my neighbours in my backyard, and more privacy. (I have a whole rant about this, maybe I should make a post on substack where I vent my angst LOL)

We went further away and found some areas that were still random camping, and we made a spot on a 4 wheel drive trail for the first night. It was dark when we arrived, and I was super tired so we had a fire, then straight to bed. Hydra walked through some sloppy wet mud so I ended up using drinking water to wash his feets, and he was not a fan. I foresee a trip to a grocery for more water- next spot will have to have a river nearby for dog emergencies lmao.

08/01/2025

Are you ready for adventures?

We went camping! Many pictures to follow soon (next few days!)

07/30/2025

Who loves being brushed? This guy. I sometimes worry he wants to be brushed until he's bald. As soon as I ask if he wants to be brushed he's super excited and runs to the nearest elevated surface to assume the position- bending is problematic so I get him to jump up on a bench or Jons toolbox for brushing. Hydra will just sit there looking around and soaking up the brushing. He is a short coated breed but he can be a bit sheddy at different times of the year so a regular brushing keeps him neat. It also cleans his fur, he is generally non stick when it comes to burrs and mud but a quick brushing wipes all that stuff off.

07/29/2025

The doctors office, the most boring place on earth (probably) It's been raining a lot, so we brought a mat for him to lay on so he isn't on the wet floor. He's been doing great and I love this little dog so much.

We been working on teaching him to close the door- something that my old doggo Titan knew - it's not really related to service work specifically, it's more to do with *someone* (not mentioning any names) drop kicking the bathroom door and busting in like the Kool-aid man and then leaving the door open..... be nice if that *someone* would learn to close the door after coming in. It's funny because he gets all worried that the door moves when he touches it to close it, but the movement is okay when he's coming in on his own LOL.

07/28/2025

We bought the cheapest tent in the world! It was $20 bucks, and frankly it's horrible LOL! But it will work great in the backyard to help Hydra get used to tenting/sleeping outside and not bashing through a tent screen like the Kool-Aid man. I don't generally tent, but I do have an outside camping hammock that I plan to use someday but little dude will have to learn how to settle in strange places at night and sleep. So far he thinks the texture on the floor is great for digging LOL (That's the Brat terrier) so I'm discouraging the tent digging and encouraging the laying or sitting quietly. This tent is ideal size for both of us because we are both kinda short.

I'm hoping to get away for a mini trip next week sometime to decompress from stress. I been getting way more frequent migraines and symptoms of my brain injury than usual because of stress. Hopefully some time in nature without demands on my cognitive abilities will help.

07/27/2025

This is so important. Even if your dog is friendly, what if the other dog isn't? Also when we are training, we don't need other random dogs suddenly approaching us uncontrolled.

“He’s friendly!” 🐶
That might be true… but it doesn’t make it okay.

If your dog has ever been rushed by an off-leash dog in a leash-required area, you know how stressful and unsafe it can feel. 😟

Whether your dog is reactive, recovering, in training, or just not interested in saying hi you have the right to walk in peace. 🐾

This blog covers how to handle these encounters with calm confidence, what to say to unaware owners, and why setting boundaries is not overreacting… it’s responsible. 💪

👉 Read it here:
https://humbledog.ca/blogs/humble-dog-canine-training-blog/when-he-s-friendly-isn-t-friendly-how-to-deal-with-off-leash-dogs-and-unaware-owners

07/22/2025

I get a lot of questions about Hydras Tags- they aren't jingly and are super silent which is important to me because I have sensory issues with the jangle from dog tags. That jingle can be triggering for dogs - not just yours, but others as well. Many dogs wear jingling tags, and some may have developed negative associations with the sound. I've also seen cases where dogs have gotten trapped by their tags in heating vents on the floor, and kennels- so these tags keep Hydra and I safe in many ways.

I get these amazing tags locally from a person in Calgary- they sell them online and I can't say enough about how great these tags are, and how awesome the owner is, Joan is super responsive and the customer service you receive is above and beyond great. They custom engrave the tags which is fantastic, I've ordered several tags at this point for all of Hydras harnesses and his collars. If you get a chance check out A Second Time and show them some love. They also have amazing jewellery and do custom work as well.

https://asecondtime.ca/

07/22/2025

I'm legitimately burning out, between the classes I have to take and just how bad they are and just regular life, coupled with the issues I am having from my injury I'm starting to run out of energy to keep up. Some days it feels like more I can ever keep up with. We need to camp or do something not adulting, but it's been raining and just horrible lately and not great for hiking, relaxing in nature or camping.

Here's a photo of Hydra wearing the fragment of toilet paper from the end of the roll to remind us to not take everything so seriously.

07/18/2025

Party time! Actually it was a while ago now, but I had migraines and didn't post in a timely manner.

We had a small get together with friends and family to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, it rained alllll day and we ended up using a hall to have snacks, and visit. After the rain stopped we moved to the yard where we could enjoy all the flowers. I started them all from seed (or they were perennial ) so I'm pretty proud of how they all turned out but at the same time it's a relief to get the party out of the way because now I don't have to be quite as vigilant with them and having them look good- it's a lot of work !

Hydra did great at the party and was able to be a dog and visit everyone, but he stuck fairly close to me and kept an eye on me. He also alerted on a few other people which is a new development and kind of adorable. I had a few people who have only seen him working previously remark how different he is when he is 'off duty' running around and being a normal doggo.

07/16/2025

Sports Practice!!! Was a chilly-ish day but that's perfect for the fighters with all their gear on- Hydra however thought it was cold and I ended up wrapping him up while he snuggled in to my chair.