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EP:3 Dog Adventures, Hiking With Your Dog

Dog hiking in Sedona and wearing a purple dog shirt

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Audio Transcript of Episode

00;00;00;02 - 00;00;25;22
Jennifer
Spring is here. And with the perfect temperatures of not too cold and not too hot, and with the daytime hours getting longer and longer, it's the perfect time to take our pups on a hike. Hiking with dogs can be a great way to spend quality time with them, exploring nature and getting a little exercise for ourselves.

00;00;25;25 - 00;00;33;23
Steve
Welcome to Fetch the Sun, the podcast for dogs and humans who love adventure. We're here to help you make the most of your outdoor experiences with your furry friend.

00;00;33;25 - 00;00;41;02
Jennifer
From choosing the right gear and preparing for your adventure to expert advice on how to train your pup safely, we'll cover it all.

00;00;41;05 - 00;01;05;06
Steve
Plus, we'll be discussing our current animal rescue efforts along the way. So join us as we explore this exciting journey together. Now let's get ready to set out on our next amazing Catch the Sun Adventure. All right. Welcome back to this episode of Fetch the Sun. Hey, just a quick note before we get started. I want to let all our San Diego listeners know about an amazing dog event happening this weekend on Saturday, May 20th.

00;01;05;07 - 00;01;25;11
Steve
Second Chance Bear is going to be hosting the third Annual PUP Palooza Dog Festival in Carmel Mountain. Not only can you sample their amazing lineup a bruise, but there's going to be some amazing grains served up from a few local food vendors to include Fetch the Suns favorite Luna's lumpia. There's going to also be so many local vendors there as well as adoptable pups from the animal pad.

00;01;25;13 - 00;01;39;02
Steve
The event's going to take place at 15378 Avenue of Science in San Diego. It's right off the 15 and it's going to be from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.. This is a free event and will drop the link to their site in the show notes.

00;01;39;04 - 00;01;54;10
Jennifer
To start off this month's podcast, I'm pleased to announce that for the month of May and June 2023, that's a sign we'll be donating 10% of all sales of our matching dog and owner apparel to the San Diego Humane Society. And we have a very special guest today.

00;01;54;12 - 00;02;02;26
Steve
That's right. We're now joined by Nina Thompson, the director of public relations at the San Diego Humane Society. Hey, Nina, how are you?

00;02;02;28 - 00;02;06;14
Nina
Hey, Steve and Jennifer. I'm great. How are you?

00;02;06;17 - 00;02;09;21
Steve
Great. Great. Thanks for joining us today.

00;02;09;23 - 00;02;17;25
Nina
Thank you so much for having me. And thank you for all the support you're providing to San Diego Humane Society. We're so incredibly grateful.

00;02;17;28 - 00;02;21;01
Steve
Of course, we we love the San Diego Humane Society.

00;02;21;02 - 00;02;33;26
Jennifer
Yeah. Thanks for all you guys do, too. So we've actually been to the San Diego Humane Society a few times. We got our cat there, Reveille almost. His birthday's coming up, so he's almost two now.

00;02;33;29 - 00;02;35;05
Steve
Almost two years ago.

00;02;35;10 - 00;02;36;14
Jennifer
Yeah.

00;02;36;16 - 00;02;39;25
Nina
So thank you for adopting. That's so important.

00;02;39;28 - 00;02;44;23
Jennifer
Of course. Of course. Our daughter might have had some influence in adopting that kitty.

00;02;44;26 - 00;02;50;23
Steve
We have two older cats, and she was kind of bummed. She's like, I've never got to experience a kittens.

00;02;50;26 - 00;02;52;08
Nina
They're cute.

00;02;52;11 - 00;02;53;03
Bill
Yeah.

00;02;53;05 - 00;02;59;18
Jennifer
So, yeah, I know you guys have dogs and cats and rabbits. What other kind of animals do you guys rescue there?

00;02;59;20 - 00;03;25;23
Nina
We have everything from the smallest pets to fish and turtles and hamsters and mice and guinea pigs all the way up to actual pigs and horses and goats and anything in between. Reptiles. Like you said, dogs, cats, rabbits. And we're really full right now. We have more than 700 pets available for adoption and about 300 of those are dogs.

00;03;25;23 - 00;03;31;00
Nina
So a lot of pets looking for a second chance and looking to find a home.

00;03;31;02 - 00;03;35;09
Steve
Wow. How many animals come through your doors each year?

00;03;35;11 - 00;03;58;21
Nina
So every year we take in about 40,000, a little bit more. 40,000 animals come through our doors every single year. And they all have different stories and come from different places or walks of life. Some are stray pets who come off the streets because they're lost. Others are owner surrenders. They could also be part of a cruelty investigation.

00;03;58;21 - 00;04;07;11
Nina
And there's so many different reasons for a pet ending up at San Diego Humane Society, but about 43,000 last year.

00;04;07;13 - 00;04;08;07
Steve
Wow.

00;04;08;09 - 00;04;09;20
Jennifer
That's that's a lot that.

00;04;09;22 - 00;04;10;02
Steve
This is.

00;04;10;04 - 00;04;10;26
Nina
A lot.

00;04;10;28 - 00;04;23;15
Steve
We're familiar with your game, street location and some of your others. But I mean, you guys are all over the San Diego County. Can you just let us know what other campuses you have other than your main campus on Main Street?

00;04;23;17 - 00;04;53;05
Nina
Yeah, of course. We have a campus in Elkhorn, Escondido and Oceanside for Companion Animals. And then we also have the Ramona Wildlife Center out in Ramona, and that is part of our Project Wildlife program, where we rehabilitates and rescue orphaned, endangered wildlife. But for that companion pet beside the campuses that you can come and visit and browse adoptable pets, it's Elkhorn, Escondido, Oceanside, and then our main campus in San Diego.

00;04;53;07 - 00;05;07;29
Jennifer
Okay. Wow. So you were talking about how you guys rebuilt wildlife through Project Wildlife. What kind of services do you guys provide to the animals that companion animals that come through your doors?

00;05;08;01 - 00;05;30;12
Nina
So it's a wide range of services because some pets come to us and they're healthy and just looking for a second chance, a new home. So they may turn around and just need the shelter and care and exercise. Let's say it's a dog, You know, they need their daily exercise. They need feeding, they need grooming, that sort of thing.

00;05;30;12 - 00;05;49;28
Nina
So that could be the path for one pet. But it could also be an animal who comes to us with cancer. And we'll treat them with chemo. Or they could have been hit by a car and we'll do orthopedic surgery on them. Or they may have a behavior concern and need to go through our behavior center and spend time with our specialists there.

00;05;49;28 - 00;06;26;06
Nina
So there's so many different ways that an animal comes to San Diego Humane Society and interacts with our staff. The one thing that's incredibly important to us is that every single animal who's healthy and who's treatable will be treated. So we will not give up on them for time or space. We are dedicated to staying at zero euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals, which is a milestone we've kept since 2015, thanks to the coalition the San Diego Animal Welfare Coalition here in San Diego.

00;06;26;06 - 00;06;41;14
Nina
So there's very many different ways that an animal could come through our doors and also exit through our doors. But so it all depends on what kind of condition they are in, but we're there for them.

00;06;41;16 - 00;06;45;12
Jennifer
Oh, wow. That's incredible. Really changing their lives for the positive. Yeah.

00;06;45;12 - 00;06;50;03
Steve
It's an amazing veterinarian capability you guys have there.

00;06;50;06 - 00;07;14;07
Nina
We do. We have the Center for Shelter Medicine at our San Diego campus, and that is an incredible facility. We have 40 veterinarians who do all kinds of veterinary care. Shelter medicine is very different from veterinary medicine, where you bring your companion pet and you tell the veterinarian what you've experienced and what you see that your pet has been going through.

00;07;14;07 - 00;07;34;21
Nina
Whereas our vets often have to guess. There's no idea that came through the clinic. So it's a really incredible facility where they do everything from dental work to just basic basic nail trims, but also very advanced care.

00;07;34;23 - 00;07;35;08
Jennifer
Oh, that's.

00;07;35;08 - 00;07;36;24
Steve
Great. Amazing.

00;07;36;26 - 00;07;53;27
Jennifer
So in the past, I've actually volunteered at the Humane Society there, and it is a great experience. Can you maybe tell our listeners how they can get involved with the animal rescue in their communities and about the specific volunteer opportunities there at the Humane Society?

00;07;53;29 - 00;08;16;07
Nina
Yeah, I mean, volunteer volunteers are a huge part of our organization. We couldn't do the work that we do if it wasn't for the support of the community, volunteering their time. There are so many different ways to volunteer. If you want to be hands on with an animal, you can volunteer in that way. You can get trained and be, for example, a dog walker.

00;08;16;07 - 00;08;41;23
Nina
You would start probably with husbandry and get trained just for everyone's safety. But you can also volunteer by helping us with administrative work or with our facilities team or by just even if you're not an official volunteer with San Diego Humane Society, if you're sharing our messages on your social media, you are supporting us in a way by volunteering your time and your effort.

00;08;41;23 - 00;09;08;01
Nina
So there is many different ways. One way that's particularly important right now is fostering, because our shelter is so stretched thin with resources in terms of space and staff, we are at 142% capacity just for dogs. So that means that there are many more dogs than kennels. And the way we can make our way through that is through foster homes.

00;09;08;01 - 00;09;21;13
Nina
And so to have somebody open up their home time, love space for even just two weeks makes a huge difference. And that is something that we're actively recruiting right now.

00;09;21;16 - 00;09;24;25
Steve
All right. We'll try and spread the word on that, too, from our end.

00;09;24;28 - 00;09;26;09
Nina
Thank you.

00;09;26;12 - 00;09;36;02
Steve
You know, I know you're busy and you have to get going soon, but is there anything else you'd like to share about the San Diego Humane Society or Animal Rescue in general before you go?

00;09;36;05 - 00;10;05;01
Nina
Right now, every shelter, every rescue is probably stretched thin and souls. So anything, any small step that people can take in May right now is going to have an impact. Even if you can't adopt, maybe you can foster, even if you can't do that, maybe you could donate. You can just $5 will make a huge difference. So there are so many different ways that the community can help either San Diego Humane Society or other shelters in your region.

00;10;05;08 - 00;10;15;08
Nina
Just step up and do just a little bit because we need our community in order to help these animals get the second chance that they deserve.

00;10;15;11 - 00;10;16;11
Steve
Absolutely.

00;10;16;13 - 00;10;28;20
Jennifer
I know even our kids in the past, it's starting to warm up here in San Diego. So they've had little lemonade stands and they've donated some money from their lemonade stands to you guys. Even so, that's wonderful.

00;10;28;20 - 00;10;49;23
Nina
And that's really what we're looking for everybody in the community to do something or spread the word, spread the word, spread the message. Even if you just share a profile about a dog or cat or a hamster who's looking for a home, maybe one of your friends sees that on your social media, and then you've done something to help any animal which is so important.

00;10;49;26 - 00;10;54;13
Jennifer
Oh yeah. Well, again, thank you so much for all you guys do there.

00;10;54;15 - 00;11;01;19
Steve
And for joining us. Nina, this is awesome. Really glad we could connect and get you on our podcast.

00;11;01;21 - 00;11;14;03
Nina
Thank you so much for having me and thank you again for your support. We couldn't do it without groups like you or your organizations and companies like you where it's so important to us. So we really appreciate you.

00;11;14;05 - 00;11;28;18
Steve
All, you know? Likewise. Thank you for everything you guys are doing too, for animals. And it's that's huge. All right. Hey, before we jump into the topic of this podcast, Hiking, we just want to introduce Bill Taylor. Hey, Bill, thanks for coming and thanks for being on the show.

00;11;28;23 - 00;11;34;16
Bill
Oh, thanks for having me over. Steve, we read you and I are very, very happy to be here and be doing this.

00;11;34;17 - 00;11;41;14
Steve
Oh, yeah. I didn't introduce you to El Rito. Blanco is here to hydrate. He's high five. Oh, hi.

00;11;41;19 - 00;11;49;29
Jennifer
Thanks for all for coming. El Rito Blanco is a local kind of celebrity here for his hiking adventures in and around San Diego.

00;11;50;05 - 00;12;03;29
Steve
Yeah, and you could check him out. Check out all the awesome photos he has on his adventure on his Facebook page. Will be posting that in the show notes should be a direct link on that. You can click and see all the stuff there. El Rito Blanco is getting into lots.

00;12;03;29 - 00;12;05;23
Bill
Of hiking trips. Lots of camping trips.

00;12;05;27 - 00;12;09;18
Steve
Yeah. I just saw your last one to Sedona. Yes. Pretty awesome.

00;12;09;20 - 00;12;11;29
Bill
Yeah, we went there with my dad. It was a good four days.

00;12;12;02 - 00;12;14;21
Jennifer
Yeah. Some gorgeous pictures there. It looked like a lot of fun.

00;12;14;22 - 00;12;16;23
Steve
Yeah. Yeah. You guys had some good weather, too, huh?

00;12;16;24 - 00;12;22;12
Bill
We did? Yeah. The rain had cleared up and a beautiful spring weather. Seven days and sunny nights.

00;12;22;12 - 00;12;27;03
Steve
Yeah, we. We love Sedona. We haven't been there in a few years, but definitely need a plan, a trip back.

00;12;27;05 - 00;12;33;15
Bill
Great place for dogs. The trails are all all dog friendly, and they can explore their heart's content.

00;12;33;18 - 00;12;35;15
Steve
What was the campground? You guys stated?

00;12;35;17 - 00;12;42;20
Bill
We were at Manzanita, which is a National Forest campground. It's Creekside and Oak Creek, and it's really it's a great, great spot.

00;12;42;27 - 00;12;51;03
Steve
Oh, yeah. Yeah. So Bill was actually a guest writer for our blog about a year ago. And I think that's that's the campground he wrote about. Yeah.

00;12;51;06 - 00;12;53;10
Bill
I think that's right. Yeah, that's right. Yeah.

00;12;53;10 - 00;12;58;18
Steve
Pretty cool place And definitely got a that's that's definitely on our list of places to check out.

00;12;58;20 - 00;13;09;27
Jennifer
So when it comes to hiking, there's so many benefits for you and your pup to the trails heading out on a hiking adventure with your four legged friend can help improve their overall health and quality of life.

00;13;10;00 - 00;13;31;05
Steve
Yeah, there really are tons of benefits. You know, first one being that it gives you both exercise. Taking your pup on a hike is an excellent way to get in some physical activity and exercise together. Getting out of the house and getting into that fresh air and exploring the outdoors is so refreshing and fun that hiking can help get that exercise in and you're not even going to realize you're getting exercise.

00;13;31;08 - 00;13;37;18
Steve
So it's really a great and fun way to work out and get your body into shape so you can both look and feel healthy.

00;13;37;20 - 00;13;59;01
Jennifer
So taking your pet to hiking is also a great bonding experience for both of you. There's new sites and smells that can provide mental stimulation enjoyment for your dog. It can create a sense of relaxation and calm in yourself. I know when I go out and hike, it really helps me kind of recenter and get back in touch with Mother Nature and and with myself and get my thoughts all together in my head.

00;13;59;03 - 00;14;02;12
Jennifer
And it's a really great experience for me.

00;14;02;14 - 00;14;23;08
Bill
Yeah, I'd say hiking is different for different people, but for me it's definitely a mental health exercise. I appreciate the physical exercise part of it, but for me, it's it's what kind of helps me keep everything else of my life together. And if I don't go for a few days, I get I get anxious for it. And I've got to think that it's the same for my dog.

00;14;23;08 - 00;14;40;26
Bill
He, you know, he loves the freedom of being out there, loves kind of not not having to interact with with all the things we deal with in the city, whether it's cars and and just random people on the sidewalk, things like that. And it's, I think, probably just as beneficial for dogs mental health as it is for people.

00;14;40;28 - 00;15;04;09
Bill
There have been studies done comparing bees and birds. Let's talk about the birds and the bees studies, comparing birds and bees that live in urban environments versus rural environments and the birds and the bees that live in cities have higher levels of oxidative stress and other aging markers than the ones that live in rural environments and out in nature.

00;15;04;12 - 00;15;14;02
Bill
And so even even for, you know, those animals, just the stress of being in a city is having negative effects on their wellbeing, physical well-being and their aging process.

00;15;14;09 - 00;15;16;27
Jennifer
Oh, well, that's really interesting. Yeah, well, yeah.

00;15;16;29 - 00;15;41;05
Steve
Yeah. Getting out there and getting into nature really, really lets you get out and just discover all sorts of interesting stuff. Like, I mean, you kind of take it for granted. You're driving on the road, you drive past this stuff every day, but when you get on those trails and you could see those plants and those rocks and you know, you may even catch a glimpse of some wildlife, it's really cool and it really kind of puts you back in touch with nature.

00;15;41;08 - 00;15;49;01
Steve
It's not too cheesy, but, you know, it's an adventure and it's a it's an escape from the mundane from your day to day.

00;15;49;03 - 00;16;13;10
Bill
Yeah, I think that's absolutely right. You you can't get a sense of what it's really like by either driving past it or, you know, watching a YouTube video, because when you're in it, then you're getting a lot of extra things. It's not just visual. You're getting you're getting the smells of what's around you. You're getting plant smells, you're getting the sounds, whether it's the wind going through trees and bushes, whether it's birds singing, all sorts of things that you don't get by by just looking at it at your car window.

00;16;13;14 - 00;16;20;18
Steve
Oh, man, you said the smells right. And I mean the smells for us. But, you know, just imagine what it's like for the dogs to smell those new smells.

00;16;20;18 - 00;16;37;19
Bill
Yeah. I mean, here in Southern California, you know, we have a lot of chaparral, and you walk through that after or after a rain and everything is just pumping out all of the aroma, the sage and everything else. And, you know, for dogs, they're at a whole different level. He has his nose, my dog radio, his nose is always on the ground.

00;16;37;21 - 00;17;03;08
Bill
And he is just checking out everything that's been there, whether it's, you know, coyotes that have used the trail or rabbits. And he's he's looking at the trails they went on off to the side. And I think it's important if you're hiking with the dog, if you want to give them the best experience to, you know, sometimes slow down to what I call dog speed, which is a lot slower than humans like to hike and the dog wants to meander and wants to sniff along the way.

00;17;03;08 - 00;17;22;03
Bill
And sometimes dogs feed is, you know, literally zero speed. And, you know, he'll stay at one bush sniffing it for 30 seconds. But even when he's walking it's it's kind of zigzagging back and forth on the trail and picking up all the different scents and just checking out everything. And maybe he'll hear a lizard in the bush and stop and and listen to that and see what he can see.

00;17;22;03 - 00;17;44;21
Bill
Or maybe there's a rabbit off, you know, 50, 50 feet off the trail that he's heard. I've been hiking in forests and he will just stop and and suddenly, like, focus out into the trees. And he's looking at something and and I look at I can't see a thing. And, you know, finally I get him to start walking and then 20 yards down the trail, deer will cross in front of us.

00;17;44;21 - 00;17;45;22
Bill
And he'd seen the deer.

00;17;45;23 - 00;17;46;10
Steve
Amazing.

00;17;46;10 - 00;18;03;05
Bill
Yeah. He'd, he'd be able to sense the deer were their way off where I couldn't see them. And then, you know, the deer compounding across the trail. I'm like, Oh, you're looking at deer. And that's happened more than once. It's happened here. It's happened in Arizona, it's happened up in Mammoth. And their senses are so much more tuned in, whether it's they're hearing or they're smelling.

00;18;03;07 - 00;18;21;06
Bill
Yeah, they're not really visual animals, but everything else is just for them a different level of awareness than than you have. And so if you slow down, the dogs feed. It's not just the dog that's going to get a better hike. You're going to get a better hike because you're going to be attuned to things that you won't get on your own.

00;18;21;09 - 00;18;22;10
Jennifer
You know, really great point.

00;18;22;11 - 00;18;44;17
Bill
I think, you know, I think it's worth remembering, you know, we we started living with dogs some 30,000 years ago for a couple of reasons. And one of them was, you know, dogs would go with us on hunts and, you know, humans might be out hunting for, let's say, deer, and they don't know that you're there. But if they have dogs with them, they're going to know where the deer are and pick.

00;18;44;17 - 00;18;47;27
Steve
Up their scent. Yeah. Before we pick up any other telltale signs.

00;18;47;28 - 00;19;06;08
Bill
Exactly. And so even today, you know, you're not hunting for deer, but it's still kind of cool to see stuff. And if you've got a dog with you, whether it's a coyote in tall grass or deer in the forest, you know, you'll you'll be able to see your dog react to it and just stare and focus in that area and draw your attention to it.

00;19;06;16 - 00;19;08;00
Bill
The things that you would have missed otherwise.

00;19;08;00 - 00;19;34;00
Steve
Yeah, absolutely. We go to Loss Penasquito Canyon a lot, which is a it's a pretty popular dog friendly hiking spot here in San Diego. Tons of rabbits there. Right. And we will know a rabbit is around us way before we see it, because we are Dog Lucy. She's a golden retriever, our cocker spaniel mix. She picks up on that and she will just start pulling in the direction of the rabbit and you're just like, You better hold on for dear life.

00;19;34;00 - 00;19;49;05
Bill
And the rabbit might be like, nestled down in the grass and you wouldn't even see it, right? So she's like, pointing it where it is, and then they all look. It's a rabbit. Yeah. I mean, I would have walked past a lot of animals that that radio saw and kind of drew my attention to them. Yeah. And he's nothing special, you know, Don't.

00;19;49;05 - 00;20;01;14
Bill
Don't be misled. He's not special. He's not some he's not some well-trained tracking dog. He's just got the same senses that, you know, every every dog has. Yeah. And if you let him use those senses, you know, you'll you'll get a lot more out of your head. You can see a lot more of nature, too.

00;20;01;15 - 00;20;05;11
Steve
He is special. He's a special pup. He's special in certain ways.

00;20;05;13 - 00;20;25;25
Jennifer
I think we're all guilty of kind of trying to rush through things in our daily schedules are so rush from day to day, you know, got to go shopping or, you know, get to work on time, get the kids to school or whatever. And and, you know, these these dogs remind us sometimes it's good to slow down and kind of take everything in always.

00;20;26;01 - 00;20;26;25
Bill
Yeah, very true.

00;20;26;25 - 00;20;48;00
Steve
And check out those plants. And now you mentioned the chaparral growing here and just this distinct smell. And I used to do a lot of surfing in Torrey Pines State Park area, tons of it growing there. So every time I smell that, it kind of brings me back to my youth. And yeah, those days of, you know, being at the beach and nice summer day and yeah.

00;20;48;03 - 00;20;51;13
Jennifer
Before embarking.

00;20;51;15 - 00;20;53;09
Steve
You know, you said in barking yes.

00;20;53;09 - 00;20;55;15
Jennifer
No pun was intended.

00;20;55;17 - 00;20;59;18
Steve
Are all good now you got Snoopy barking.

00;20;59;20 - 00;21;00;19
Bill
Or.

00;21;00;21 - 00;21;02;01
Steve
Sorry pursuit.

00;21;02;01 - 00;21;03;01
Bill
Growling at me. All right.

00;21;03;01 - 00;21;09;17
Jennifer
So before embarking on a hike, it's always important to make sure that you and your dog are prepared.

00;21;09;19 - 00;21;30;11
Steve
Making sure your dogs are well trained well, make sure that your hike safe and enjoyable. We always recommend using all positive training methods and starting with the basics such as sit, wait and calm. This will help navigating those trails much easier. And you know, there's some more advanced training out there too. Such as? He'll leave it in specially snake avoidance training.

00;21;30;11 - 00;21;50;07
Steve
That's also suggested with one of our dogs Lucy You know, since we adopted her at age two, she's always been reluctant to go near water. I mean, doggie baths can be difficult. She even pulls on walks to get away from sprinklers. But one of our favorite hiking spots has like a one inch deep trickle of water that we have to cross.

00;21;50;09 - 00;22;07;29
Steve
And Lucy would pull back so hard not wanting to cross it. So to get her comfortable crossing that stream, we use positive only training techniques. We gave her plenty of treats. We communicated with her in a calm manner and we even used one of our other dogs as a model, basically showing her that it was okay to walk in the water.

00;22;08;02 - 00;22;14;21
Steve
And you know, now, today she has zero hesitation at this point in our hike. She's just, okay, we're walking across. Let's go.

00;22;14;23 - 00;22;27;28
Jennifer
Having the right equipment makes all the difference on a hike. I personally prefer using a harness on hikes. That way, Lucy can help pull me up those hills, but using what is comfortable for you and your dog is what's most important.

00;22;28;03 - 00;22;47;22
Steve
You want to make sure that your dog has their ID tags on and make sure that those are secured in case they do become lost while out in the wild. Of course, bring enough water not only for you, but make sure you bring enough for your dog as well. And it's always a good idea to check what the weather is going to be doing on the day your hike, making sure it's not going to be too hot or too cold.

00;22;47;24 - 00;22;53;11
Steve
And, you know, if there's no escaping the heat, we do like to take breaks in the shade and we generally tend not to overdo it.

00;22;53;11 - 00;23;12;06
Jennifer
So some other good things to take with you are, of course, treats. You always want to reinforce good behavior while you're out doggy bags because you always want to leave nature the way you found it along the trails for other people to enjoy. And of course, the first aid kit, because you never know, you know, you want to be prepared.

00;23;12;09 - 00;23;22;02
Jennifer
I would also recommend like a running belt or a small backpack to carry everything because you have a lot of items to bring with you. So you want to you want to at least have something to carry all those items.

00;23;22;03 - 00;23;24;08
Steve
Or you could have kids and make them carry it too.

00;23;24;14 - 00;23;26;00
Jennifer
Yeah, that sometimes.

00;23;26;02 - 00;23;44;15
Bill
So two things that I like to carry that aren't necessarily typical or might not be in people's minds. One of them is called Vet Wrap and it's a kind of a clingy tape that clings to itself. It doesn't it doesn't stick to the dog, but it clings to itself. So you can wrap up like a pie if there's a wound or anything like that.

00;23;44;17 - 00;24;01;22
Bill
And then the other thing that I carry and that I think is a good idea for people to carry if suddenly they have a larger dog, is some sort of a pouch or a harness that can carry the dog and that can then get strapped on to you. And so especially like it's not so much an issue for my dog because he's only about £8.

00;24;01;24 - 00;24;19;19
Bill
But if you have a larger dog that has an injury and can't walk, you've got to carry the dog out. They make basically harnesses that you can then strap on to your backpack or under your body in the front and carry your dog in that. And if you have to walk several miles, you're going to want that instead of just trying to carry a large dog in your arms for that that distance.

00;24;19;21 - 00;24;24;09
Jennifer
Yeah, that's a great idea. Actually. I never I didn't even know they made those. So that's actually. Really?

00;24;24;10 - 00;24;46;11
Steve
Yeah. To check those out. So if you've been following us for a while, you've read our blog before you, you'll notice that we always we've kind of put a warning in there to the say, you know, before taking on new physical activity. Always check with your veterinarian and and your own physician. Just, you know, make sure your body is is up to it and you're taking all the proper precautions.

00;24;46;13 - 00;25;08;26
Steve
Definitely with hiking, you know, you want to make sure you and your pupper healthy enough for the activity level. Some hikes can be extremely deceiving and a lot harder than they look. Most municipalities will have a website for that particular hiking trail or hiking area. Check it out. It'll tell you. It'll say, hey, this is a this is a difficult hike or it's an easy hike.

00;25;08;26 - 00;25;23;11
Steve
It's a day hike. It's, you know, it's X amount of miles. But definitely check that out before you go. We were in Hawaii a couple of years ago and we went on this this one trail. What was it called? Mwana Falls.

00;25;23;14 - 00;25;24;06
Jennifer
I think so.

00;25;24;06 - 00;25;41;18
Steve
I think it was. And, you know, there was all this hype about, oh, this is all it's a hard trail. It's a difficult trail. And we were just like, oh, whatever. They they just say that. And no kidding. When we get to the trailhead to start our hike, there is an ambulance there and a woman getting taken out on a stretcher.

00;25;41;18 - 00;25;48;20
Steve
And we didn't have the dogs with us, but we made the hike. And yeah, it was it was pretty treacherous. It was muddy. It was slippery.

00;25;48;24 - 00;25;55;16
Jennifer
Oh, yeah. Our kids were quite young, too, at the time. And we actually got a few skin needs along the way.

00;25;55;18 - 00;26;18;27
Steve
Yeah. So definitely, you know, before you get out there, know before you go check it out. And you know what I would recommend is start with the shorter, flatter hikes first. And if you want to get into that rocky terrain, that steep terrain, ease yourself into it. It'll it'll creep up on you. And, you know, if something were bad to happen, you kind of be stuck in.

00;26;18;29 - 00;26;21;03
Steve
So definitely work work up to it.

00;26;21;06 - 00;26;41;00
Bill
So with dogs, another thing to keep in mind is that heat affects them a lot differently than it does with people. They don't lose body heat through sweating like people do, and so they can overheat more quickly and the temperature can actually be a lot hotter down on the trail where they are. Then you're feeling, you know, four or five or six feet above the trail.

00;26;41;04 - 00;26;42;06
Steve
Oh, yeah, Yeah.

00;26;42;07 - 00;27;00;07
Bill
And you can you can kind of feel that by just putting your hand down near that near the trail. And then, you know, actually touching the trail, you can feel that on some sunny days. It's it's pretty warm to be on the trail. You know, we're wearing shoes. Many dogs don't my dog doesn't wear shoes and they're picking up a lot of heat that you're not picking up.

00;27;00;09 - 00;27;19;16
Bill
It's especially important for certain breeds, breeds that have short snouts like pugs and Frenchies. They have a very hard time losing, losing body heat because they're not they're not breathing the same way. And I see a lot of a lot of a lot of dogs like that in the summertime that really shouldn't be out on the days they're out because they're just overheating.

00;27;19;18 - 00;27;40;14
Bill
And I also from time to time see dogs that are larger breeds like pit bull mixes and lab mixes that are clearly not dogs that hike a lot and dogs that really like to snack a lot. You can say a little chunky. Oh, that I say that. Yeah, well, chunky. And, you know, sometimes those dogs are really suffering in the heat.

00;27;40;17 - 00;27;50;16
Bill
And, you know, the owner had good intentions like, oh, it's a beautiful day, let's go for a hike. But, you know, it's it's 80 and it's fine for the human, but for a lot of dogs, 80 is way too hot, man.

00;27;50;16 - 00;27;56;04
Steve
And that belly in that chest or so. Yeah. All that heat off the trail. Definitely a good point.

00;27;56;04 - 00;28;20;29
Bill
Yeah. Yeah. And if Rito had a choice of temperature, I think his favorite temperature is low sixties or even high fifties. You know, he just has a lot more energy and spring and just loves that crisp, cold air. And even when it gets into like the seventies, he's not he's not overheated, but he doesn't have the same the same bounce in his step and the same enthusiasm always so really cool cool weather for dogs is is appreciated by a lot of them.

00;28;20;29 - 00;28;35;02
Steve
Yeah, it's good. Good to check that weather before you go out, too. And you know, just keep in mind if you're going to go out and you plan to hike for a couple hours and you're going out at 10 a.m., it's only going to get hotter. So see what the forecast is and just plan accordingly.

00;28;35;08 - 00;28;47;07
Jennifer
Yeah, not only the heat. You know, I've seen that you guys go sometimes hiking out in the snow, so it's probably best to you to make sure you're prepared for a really cool temperatures if you're heading to the snow mountains.

00;28;47;14 - 00;29;06;07
Bill
Yeah, some dogs love the snow. You can guess which breeds, you know, obviously if anything like a husky. Right. So he'll he'll put up with being in the snow some but you know he doesn't like it when the snow is completely covering the trail, especially if the snow is deep enough that it's going to hit his belly. Yeah, he's he's okay if it's a little bit on his feet.

00;29;06;07 - 00;29;16;17
Bill
But just be aware of that. If you're going in the snow, you know, is your dog really one that's going to want to be in the snow or are they just, you know, putting up with it because they're they're attached to your leash?

00;29;16;19 - 00;29;38;23
Steve
Right. That's a good point. Yeah. All right. So like I mentioned earlier, most places you go hiking with your dog, you can check out your local municipalities website, get some information off of that. If you're in San Diego area, check out our website. We do a blog. We do cover a lot of hiking, dog friendly hiking locations in and around San Diego.

00;29;38;26 - 00;29;58;17
Steve
You can also check out websites like Bring Fido. They cover. They have really good coverage of dog friendly hiking trails. But when you're the important part is when you're doing that research. Also check out if you're likely to encounter any wildlife. Many of our trails here in Southern California have snakes, more specifically, rattlesnakes. We do have mountain lions.

00;29;58;17 - 00;30;23;07
Steve
We have coyotes, you know, So just be be aware of what you're going to encounter out there. There are some classes you and your dog can take, so we'll learn to avoid these snakes, other wildlife. We encounter our lizards and rabbits, which can often trigger a prey drive in dogs. So use caution that they don't get too excited and run after them and get loose.

00;30;23;07 - 00;30;45;20
Steve
So make sure you know your harness is on tight. You test that harness with walkies around the neighborhood before you get on that trail, because if you know it's something we don't like to talk about. But, you know, if your your dog does get loose on a trail, it could be dangerous for them. You know, also in the San Diego area, we've got deer, we've got birds of prey, we've got bobcats.

00;30;45;22 - 00;30;54;18
Steve
Like I said, we've got mountain lions. And so just be be prepared. Make sure you're able to control your dog if you do happen to encounter any of these wildlife.

00;30;54;25 - 00;31;14;03
Bill
Yeah, Coyotes are probably, I would say, the thing that you should be most concerned about. You know, we've been hiking a lot. We've seen a bobcat once, Never, never been lucky enough to see a mountain lion. But coyotes, you know, coyotes are everywhere in Southern California. And, you know, people will say, oh, you know, is that a trail that has coyotes or rattlesnakes?

00;31;14;05 - 00;31;32;25
Bill
Well, yeah. Are you in Southern California? Is that a trail then? Yes, it has coyotes and rattlesnakes. So, you know, there are no trails that are basically rattlesnake free. Even something like Torrey Pines, which is right on the ocean. And people think, oh, it's a beach walk. You know, that's not there's no rattlesnakes. There's rattlesnakes at Torrey Pines.

00;31;32;27 - 00;31;59;29
Bill
There's there's rattlesnakes all throughout Southern California and coyotes and the rattlesnakes, you know, just keep your eyes open and make sure if your dog is going to be, you know, sniffing bushes on the side of the trail that you're you're scoping ahead with with radio. You know, my eyes are always ten feet ahead of where he is. And I'm scouting both sides of the trail and the trail for for rattlesnakes during especially during peak season, which is, you know, kind of like March, April, May, they can be out year round.

00;31;59;29 - 00;32;21;03
Bill
There's no off season, but there is definitely a peak season. And during that time especially, I'm vigilant to make sure that he's not going to stumble across one accidentally, though, with his nose, he'd probably be aware of it before. I am. Yeah. And coyotes. Coyotes, same thing, you know, especially in the morning and towards towards sunset. They are out there.

00;32;21;03 - 00;32;36;05
Bill
They are hunting rabbits and chipmunks and squirrels and mice and you know, if you've got a dog that's a smaller dog like mine, boy, they would love to make a meal of that dog too. So, you know, be aware and, you know, keep keep your keep your eyes open.

00;32;36;07 - 00;32;53;08
Steve
Yeah, definitely. You know, just kind of as a general rule, we don't let our dogs when we're on or on a hike. We don't let our dogs go into high grasses or into very many bushes off the trail just for those snakes. And yeah, you know what you said, Bill, about those times that the coyotes come out and hike, you definitely want to be aware of those.

00;32;53;08 - 00;33;10;23
Steve
And, you know, an unfortunately the prime time for the coyotes are are the cooler parts of the day, especially here in Southern California. Right. You get those cool mornings in those cool evenings and, you know, just just be aware. And do you bring anything with you to make noise if if.

00;33;10;23 - 00;33;30;00
Bill
No, no. I mean, we've we've seen coyotes. We've never had ones that wanted to come close. They've always kept their distance. You know, they've seen me and kept their distance. But there are definitely occasions where coyotes, I think probably younger ones or ones that are having a hard time hunting have come in and attack dogs that are on a leash.

00;33;30;03 - 00;33;39;11
Bill
You know, with with there is there was an incident not that long ago up in North County San Diego, where a woman with a small dog had her dog attacked, you know, while the dog was leashed.

00;33;39;14 - 00;33;42;21
Jennifer
And even in neighborhoods that can happen. Yeah, just on the trail.

00;33;42;23 - 00;33;44;01
Bill
Yep, that's right. Yeah.

00;33;44;01 - 00;34;00;22
Steve
So for our listeners in Florida and Mississippi and Alabama, watch out for Gators, too. Yeah, I used to live out in Florida and heard many a story of alligators coming up in Snatch and Dogs, you know right right off the leash. So just something something to be careful of.

00;34;00;22 - 00;34;06;27
Bill
Yeah. Don't walk your dog by the water's edge in those states because, you know, you're just looking for a gator to come up and snatch it.

00;34;07;00 - 00;34;08;11
Steve
Right? Right.

00;34;08;13 - 00;34;37;22
Jennifer
So you think about all the wildlife that could be dangerous, but you probably don't really think about how maybe the vegetation could even be dangerous around you on a hike. It's really nice when you're on a hike to enjoy all the trees that are surrounding you and the beautiful wildflowers. But there could be some dangerous vegetation and lurking, such as like poison ivy or oak that can cause the people a rash and they can be very itchy and uncomfortable.

00;34;37;24 - 00;35;03;18
Jennifer
Something else that's common in our area, especially our fox tail stickers and these things are really a nuisance for dogs. They can get caught in between the dog's toes or in their ears even. We also a lot of birds in this area. Those can get caught in their fur. And and it's always best like if you're on a hiking trail to kind of stay on the trail as much as you can.

00;35;03;24 - 00;35;15;01
Jennifer
I know it's good for your dogs to explore and take in everything, but you want to do it in a safe way that they're not going to get stickers or birds or hurt while they're out on the hike.

00;35;15;04 - 00;35;43;29
Bill
And if you're in a desert area, cactus, cactus, thorns, and especially like joya balls, the joy balls will fall off the joy of plants. If you don't know that, Joya is it's it's a type of cactus that's just covered in in spines that have little fishhooks on the end that stick to you and don't come off. And they drop those little balls with the spines on them as a way to propagate those little balls can turn into nuclear and they just stick to whatever they hit.

00;35;43;29 - 00;35;59;00
Bill
So if they hit your shoe, the next thing you know it's on your shoe and then maybe your shoe brushes your ankle and then it stabbed into your ankle. And it's very easy for a dog to get those on their feet. And if your dog doesn't know what it is, it can even try to bite it off, which then it's going to be in their mouth.

00;35;59;03 - 00;36;05;15
Bill
So just be be on the lookout if you're in a desert area for all sorts of cactus, but especially chewables.

00;36;05;17 - 00;36;06;27
Jennifer
Oh, yeah.

00;36;06;29 - 00;36;08;05
Steve
Sounds painful.

00;36;08;07 - 00;36;19;19
Bill
Yeah. He picked one up in Joshua Tree by the campground where we were just about a month ago, and it was stuck, stuck out his front leg and.

00;36;19;21 - 00;36;20;25
Steve
How did you how did you get it.

00;36;20;25 - 00;36;43;13
Bill
Out? So if you know you're going to be in that area, it's smart to carry a comb because then you can use the comb the teeth to go between the Chia ball and the flesh and pull it out that way. If if you don't have that, you can try to use car keys to do the same thing. And if you're don't have either of those like I didn't at the time because we were at camp, I didn't have my keys with me then.

00;36;43;13 - 00;36;48;25
Bill
If you love your dog, you just grab the toilet ball and pull it out and then take it off your hand later. Yeah, that's what I.

00;36;48;25 - 00;36;49;24
Steve
Did.

00;36;49;27 - 00;36;51;24
Bill
It's. And they're painful.

00;36;51;26 - 00;36;52;26
Steve
You're a good dog, Dad.

00;36;52;27 - 00;36;55;07
Bill
Yeah, well, my dog's very spoiled, so.

00;36;55;07 - 00;37;10;00
Jennifer
Yeah, we always. We always check our dogs at the end of a hike to make sure they don't have any hidden foxholes or burrs on them, or even ticks, which are common in a lot of areas on hikes, because those are also pretty nasty.

00;37;10;02 - 00;37;29;20
Bill
Yeah. Ticks bad, bad on the dog, bad on you. The ones the ones in San Diego tend not to carry a lot of diseases that you have back East. But if you're listening to this and you live, you know, in the the eastern half of the U.S., then as you probably know, you've got a high incidence of Lyme disease and ticks and it's something to really be careful of.

00;37;29;22 - 00;37;49;02
Steve
Yeah. So, you know, I think we all know the way of lighting a match, blowing it out and then using the tip of the match to get a tick out. And that might not always be the best way for a dog to get it, get rid of a tick, most comfortable or safe build, you know, of any any way like what's your preferred method to get a tick.

00;37;49;02 - 00;38;20;02
Bill
Out so they make a tool. I think it's called the tick Twister, and it looks like a miniature crowbar. It's about two inches long. And at the end of it, it has it has two little prongs that you stick on either side of the tick. And then once you have that, you know, below that, between the tick and the skin with the prongs on either side of the head, you spin, you twist the tick, tick twister, you spin it between your fingers and you gently pull and and typically the tick will pull its head out and you can get the full the full tick and head out that way.

00;38;20;02 - 00;38;26;14
Bill
Oh, yeah. It's pretty good. Pretty good tool to keep in the backpack with your. Yeah, for sure. First aid kit and whatever else.

00;38;26;17 - 00;38;48;09
Jennifer
Another insect you want to think about while you're out. All the wildflowers can attract some bees. And sometimes some dogs can be kind of curious. They might want to try to catch them and kind of get a spicy raisin, as we call them. Yeah, and get a little bee sting. So you got to watch out for bees and make sure your dog doesn't get stung out of curiosity.

00;38;48;11 - 00;39;15;25
Bill
And then sometimes in the springtime, you'll get areas that have big mosquito blooms. And I never like to put any any kind of product like. Like Deep was off on my dog because they can lick their fur later. And I don't I don't think they should be eating that. But my dog usually hikes with a shirt. And so what I've done in areas that have high mosquito density is take off his shirt, spray that with the deep woods off, put the shirt back on, and that keeps the mosquitoes off of him.

00;39;15;28 - 00;39;16;19
Steve
Great idea.

00;39;16;22 - 00;39;17;13
Bill
Yeah.

00;39;17;16 - 00;39;23;24
Steve
And you know, you're using that deep woods offer you spraying that on a fetch the sun shirt.

00;39;23;26 - 00;39;26;12
Bill
Sometimes I am. Sometimes I am, yes.

00;39;26;18 - 00;39;31;08
Steve
So they like to hear. Yeah. So not only is he protected from mosquitoes, he's looking fabulous.

00;39;31;08 - 00;39;35;28
Bill
He's looking fabulous. He's he's wearing a fetch the sun shirt as we speak.

00;39;36;01 - 00;39;43;25
Steve
That's our old school. No rough ways. Yes. Pink. Yes. He pulls it off. He was good looking. Boy.

00;39;43;28 - 00;39;58;11
Bill
One more thing also about, the the poison oak that you mentioned. Dogs. You know, dogs. I don't know if people know this, but dogs can't get the poison oak. It really affects people, but it doesn't affect dogs. But what they can do is they can get it on their fur and they can give it to you later.

00;39;58;13 - 00;40;00;02
Steve
Oh, good point. Yeah.

00;40;00;04 - 00;40;03;20
Bill
And I've had that twice in the past year or so that.

00;40;03;23 - 00;40;04;17
Steve
You got it?

00;40;04;19 - 00;40;19;23
Bill
Yeah, I got it. That the radio has gone off a little bit. Probably pee and on a plant that was on the side of the trail, picked up a little poison oak and one time I got it up on my face that I am positive came from him. And the other time.

00;40;19;23 - 00;40;21;01
Steve
Why did you do that to your daddy?

00;40;21;01 - 00;40;37;18
Bill
Yeah, that's how he is. The other time was between two of my fingers, and when I pick him up, I'll put my hand under his chest and put his front leg between those two fingers. And that's exactly where I got it. And, you know, he's a small bit, but, boy, it was it was itching like crazy for about two weeks between these fingers.

00;40;37;18 - 00;40;39;14
Steve
Yeah, that's. It's tough.

00;40;39;14 - 00;40;44;00
Bill
Yeah. So they can give it to you. So be be aware of your dog is good.

00;40;44;00 - 00;40;50;18
Steve
Good point. You know, I never really considered that about it getting on their fur and spreading to us and especially the kids too, you know.

00;40;50;23 - 00;40;53;05
Bill
And it can grow, right Trailside. And you can have your dog going to.

00;40;53;09 - 00;40;55;05
Steve
Oh, yeah, we see it. We see it all the time.

00;40;55;05 - 00;41;02;16
Bill
Yeah. And they'll just brush right against it. And then, you know, it can be a day later that you're heading them and next thing you know you've got it.

00;41;02;19 - 00;41;23;01
Steve
And another thing you want to check out on those websites are if you know some of the local rules and regulations, you know, obviously you want to make sure is it dog friendly or not? Do they allow dogs at a certain time? I know some of our beaches here are, you know, around or after sunset you can bring your dog in on the.

00;41;23;04 - 00;41;41;26
Steve
But before that you're kind of you're not allowed are there a leash law in effect and you know that not only you know if you plan to keep your dog on a leash the whole time, that's fine. But you also kind of want to know if there are going to be other dogs around that don't have leashes on if your dog's reactive or whatnot.

00;41;41;29 - 00;41;43;25
Steve
So it's good to know.

00;41;43;28 - 00;41;57;10
Bill
Yeah. So in in like San Diego County, most of the city and county trails are leash required. But when you get off into National Forest land and the Bureau of Land Management areas that are out east towards the desert.

00;41;57;13 - 00;41;59;02
Steve
Yeah. Like Cleveland National Forest.

00;41;59;02 - 00;42;22;07
Bill
Yeah, Cleveland National Forest. So that includes like Laguna and Palomar, those areas then most of those areas, leashes are not required with dogs. And that's true with most national forest lands across the country. So we we love going to those, you know, because you can have your dog off leash. But if you're going to be there and your dog is reactive to other dogs, then be aware that you're going to come across dogs off leash.

00;42;22;10 - 00;42;25;05
Bill
And so that might not be your best option for a hike.

00;42;25;11 - 00;42;30;21
Steve
Yeah, that's that's good to know. So you're saying all national parks are national forests. National forests.

00;42;30;24 - 00;42;52;00
Bill
Yeah. So national parks are the opposite. Most most national parks don't allow dogs at all on the trails and the national parks like Yosemite for instance. You're restricted to being on paved walkways, but national forests, which is less developed, the national parks, they they mostly allow dogs to be off leash on the trails.

00;42;52;03 - 00;43;11;18
Steve
That's good to know because like I said, you know, if you're if your dog is dog reactive and it doesn't like having other dogs coming up, running up to it and bothering him or her, that's that's good to know. And you might actually want to avoid those trails or at least give that other dog owner a heads up as you approach to say, hey, can you, can you keep your dog there?

00;43;11;21 - 00;43;36;17
Steve
Yeah. And another thing on your research, you know, you kind of see what other dog owners are saying. Some of the sites will have a spot where people could leave reviews about the trail. You know, I mentioned that earlier, but bring Fido, they have an enormous database of just fun stuff to do with your dog. And, you know, you could check out, see if the trail you're researching is on their database and see what other dog owners are saying about it.

00;43;36;17 - 00;43;55;29
Steve
And, you know, it's a good way to get some good info on the trail as well as to find new spots. And, you know, read those reviews from the millions of users on there. All right. So as we bring this podcast episode to a close, I just want to say again, thank you so much to San Diego Humane Society and Nina for joining us.

00;43;56;01 - 00;44;11;05
Steve
And a big, big thank you to Rachel for coming over and bringing your human bill and talk about all your guys's adventures and give us amazing safety tips. Thank you so much for comment. It was great having you.

00;44;11;08 - 00;44;12;20
Bill
Both been our pleasure.

00;44;12;22 - 00;44;21;20
Steve
And hey, Bill, you know, before you go, I notice you do some stuff with Sierra Club. You take kids hiking. You want to you want to just talk a little bit about that?

00;44;21;27 - 00;44;45;13
Bill
Oh, sure, Steve. I run the San Diego chapter of the Sierra Club Inspiring Connections Outdoors program, which takes you from underserved communities out on nature adventures. Hiking, camping and snorkeling mainly is what we do. And we're all we're all volunteer here. We we run several trips a month. It's really great fun for the adults as well as the kids.

00;44;45;13 - 00;44;55;19
Bill
And radio goes on and pretty much of the hikes and camping trips, he's he's not much of a storyteller, but for the land based activities, he's he's there as well.

00;44;55;21 - 00;45;00;21
Steve
And we see all the photos you guys post it looks like you're having some some amazing times.

00;45;00;21 - 00;45;07;04
Bill
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, it's really it's it's fun and rewarding. We're always looking for new volunteers.

00;45;07;04 - 00;45;10;09
Steve
Yeah, that's good. I was going to ask, how do you how do you get involved.

00;45;10;12 - 00;45;22;06
Bill
So we can put a link in the the show notes, the more information about that. But yeah you can you can drop my email in the in the show notes if you want to. People can reach out to me that way.

00;45;22;07 - 00;45;25;00
Steve
Oh, awesome. Yeah, great, great. We'll do that.

00;45;25;02 - 00;45;27;10
Jennifer
Yeah. What a wonderful program it is.

00;45;27;12 - 00;45;33;02
Steve
Yeah. Well, hey, guys, thanks again. Thanks, Bill. Thanks for ATO. It was great having you.

00;45;33;04 - 00;45;53;27
Jennifer
With all of the preparation out of the way, now comes the time for the fun part actually going on a hike with your dog when out in nature. Be sure to take plenty of breaks for water and rest. Take time to explore together, sniff around and just enjoy each other's company. Please be sure to pick up after yourself and your pet to protect our environment for years to come.

00;45;53;29 - 00;46;14;25
Jennifer
Above all else, remember to be safe and have fun. A hike is a great way for you to bond and explore the great outdoors together. So get out there with your best friend, Take in the fresh air and enjoy every moment of it. If you happen to have your pets, the sun tails on the trail t shirts on, be sure to share some pictures with us and tag fetch the sun.

00;46;14;28 - 00;46;29;00
Steve
Because we love seeing all your fun adventures. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and tune in for our future Sun Channel wherever you get your podcasts from.

00;46;29;06 - 00;46;37;28
Jennifer
Until next time, let's keep those tales waggin.

00;46;38;00 - 00;46;56;18
Lydia
Be sure to check out Fetch the Suns apparel that's made for dogs and humans who love adventure. Go to fetch the sun dot com and use coupon code podcast ten to save 10% off your purchase. And right now all orders are being delivered within the United State qualify for free shipping.

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