The Great 4-Wheeler Chase

We live in the country, but we own 2 computers, so we're pretty "up" on things modern. The best way to get around 700 acres of wilderness is definitely not your feet. We have a 4-wheeler (a motorcycle with 4 wheels). Manny is just too big to fit in the cargo box, so we decided to see if he would follow.

He did.

It was really too hot to have him out running, so we had to stop often and let him catch his breath. He isn't a pup anymore and he is grossly out of shape. The farthest he ever ran before was a lap around the one acre at the old house.

We started out with a simple plan. Go across the fence to the pasture, follow the trails through the woods, check on the wild plums, check the hog trap, and look for deer tracks. We should have sent him home at the edge of the woods.

Jack and I can make the round trip in less than 15 minutes (that's with a dip down the sight- seeing trail). With Mann, we were gone for about an hour and a half. He wouldn't go into the trees, but stayed on the trails with us. Even when we rounded a turn in the trail and could see him through the woods, he wouldn't get off the path. We do have predators (coyotes, wild dogs, and a cougar) in the area, so we never let him out of our sight.

We checked a stand of wild red plums and ate a few while we waited for Mann to catch up. He was excited and was begging to go see more. He eagerly accepted the plum I offered and after a minute of rest, was ready to go again.

We found a small grove of yellow plums and stopped to sample those. Mann took one of those, too, but required a bit more rest. At the hog trap, we found blackberries which were wonderful because of all the extra rain this year. Mann decided he liked blackberries, especially since he could pick them himself. By the time he was rested, his beard was purple.  The hog trap was empty and still set and baited, so we headed out to a pipeline right of way.

The right of way isn't our property, but we use it as a sort of 4-wheeler highway. It's kept mowed and cleaned out and there are very few bumps, which means we can go fast. We ride the pipeline looking for deer tracks. I plan to do a lot of filming as soon as the weather cools enough for me to sit still long enough.

We came to the creek which is our usual turning back point and this time we had to wait a full 10 minutes for Mann to get on his feet again. He didn't trust the water in the creek enough to try it. "Are you CRAZY? I'm not gonna drink water everyone is walking in!" He wouldn't even cool his feet in it. When I splashed him, he gave me that wolfhound look. (You know, the "I'm too dignified and too well-bred to care" look.)

The run home from the creek is about a quarter of a mile. We let Mann set the pace and rode at dog trot speed. Afterward, it took him 30 minutes to revive from his collapse in the living room floor. He wouldn't even get up for a treat.

Now we take shorter runs. We can go as fast as we want as long as we don't go longer than 3 minutes. After that, it's time to head for a bowl of cool water and the couch. We hope he'll be in shape to do some real exploring this winter.