Day 3 of 39

April 17, 2015-

Some facts about the American Foxhound.....

Generally, the height of the breed is 1ft 9 inches to 2 ft 1 inch tall at the shoulder
and they generally weigh between 40 to 60 pounds......

I stand 25 inches tall at the shoulder, so I tend to be the larger of the size and I weigh about 45 pounds.....

the lifespan of the breed ranges from 12 to 13 years, so Pam you have a good 8 to 9 years left with me at least! So Pam get some earplugs, LOL!

My official birthday was the beginning of this month, April 5....but Pam has all of us sharing her birthday on August 25! (Does that mean I have two birthdays each year?!?!??! Double the presents up Pam!)

The breed is adaptable to different situations, training is fairly easy (keep in mind the stubbornness of the breed, this is where I differ from the breed, SHUT UP PAM I am not stubborn!) They are a very friendly breed, I for one need to say hello to every other dog and person I know and lick them and love them to pieces!

And as I mentioned the NEED for exercise is HIGH!.....If Pam doesn't take me out for a run, I get MAD at her.......

Pam said I MUST include one fact, for runners and all, once the breed picks up on a new scent, they can get MAJORLY DISTRACTED from whatever they were doing before so if there are rabbits, or foxes, or deer in the area and are close by WATCH OUT this breed can pull you towards the scent (or if you aren't cooperating enough they can escape their collar or harness! YES, I have done this to Pam before.....fortunately I found a shortcut to the bagel place while on my escape!

Today, we got to run in the rain....we ran an easy 5 miles to get ready and stay loose for tomorrows long run of 20 miles.....tomorrow we will be running the St James 5 mile run as well.....won't you join us?!?!?! the money raised at this race goes towards the local burn unit....and I gotta say the tshirt for this race is Pam's favorite......we'll post a photo of it tomorrow!

I will talk more about the primary breed of the American Foxhound and our training tomorrow so tune in.......

 

Oh, I do want to mention our fundraiser....you can help us help out (did I just go all Jerry Maguire on you all there?!?!?).....anyway click on these links and you can buy our book- in fact, we will start instead of just the month of May- we will extend it from April 15 to May 24th and with every book sold we will donate a portion of the proceeds to Kent Animal Shelter......

 

 

 Hard copy version:

http://www.amazon.com/Get-Your-Leash-Healthy-Companion/dp/1500897957/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421014514&sr=1-1&keywords=get+your+leash+on

 

EBook Version:

http://lulu.com/spotlight/getyourleashon

 

 

 To make a donation to Kent Animal Shelter go to out Crowdrise fundraiser page here:

 

https://www.crowdrise.com/DoggoneRescueMarathon/fundraiser/pamelaschmidlin

 

Have a tail waggin' day and I'll see you tomorrow,

Scout and Pam

Blog Two of 39

April 16, 2015-

More about the American Foxhound breed (my primary breed)......The breed dates back to the 1700's and were bred from English and French Foxhounds by, I cannot tell a lie, George Washington. The English Foxhounds arrived in America in 1650 with the English Settlers. It is noted that the breed was used in seeking out native people, this is been said to be a rumor.

Back in 1700, George Washington first bred the breed by combining the English and French Foxhounds which had their own set of unique characteristics. Although they were used to seek out animals and have a STRONG sense of smell, Washington a breed that had a stronger sense of smell than the current breeds and incredible speed and stamina. Therefore the American Foxhound is leaner, lighter, and faster than the English and French breeds. They do make great companions and have HIGH energy levels. Their very sensitive nose can lead to a very stubborn dog. Their special bark consists of a loud, deep bark followed by a high pitched howl, the bark is so harmonious that it has appeared in songs!

 

I will talk more about the primary breed of the American Foxhound tomorrow so tune in.......

 

Oh, I do want to mention our fundraiser....you can help us help out (did I just go all Jerry Maguire on you all there?!?!?).....anyway click on these links and you can buy our book- in fact, we will start instead of just the month of May- we will extend it from April 15 to May 24th and with every book sold we will donate a portion of the proceeds to Kent Animal Shelter......

 

 

 Hard copy version:

http://www.amazon.com/Get-Your-Leash-Healthy-Companion/dp/1500897957/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421014514&sr=1-1&keywords=get+your+leash+on

 

EBook Version:

http://lulu.com/spotlight/getyourleashon

 

 

 To make a donation to Kent Animal Shelter go to out Crowdrise fundraiser page here:

 

https://www.crowdrise.com/DoggoneRescueMarathon/fundraiser/pamelaschmidlin

 

Have a tail waggin' day and I'll see you tomorrow,

Scout and Pam

Daily Blog Day 1 of 39

April 15, 2015-

Today Pam and I ran a nice and easy 8 miles and I was thinking I am going to start my blogs today to tell you a little bit about ME! And the breed I primarily am!

As you can see from the photo on the right, I am primarily an American Fox Hound, yes, I am a good ole American MUTT. As the North Shore Animal League coined the term.....I am a Muttigree!

When Pam was looking for another dog she came across my profile online at Kent Animal Shelter, and it said "READY TO RUN!" this caught her eye! Little did she know just how ready I was. She knows about different breeds and all BUT with all the breeds out there, knowing every detail about every breed is tough! So as she did her research, she found that the breed is a great running partner for anyone.

The American Foxhound breed are found primarily in the Southern and Eastern United States. Of course, fox hunters travel by horse right- hhmmm....I guess keeping up with these larger and fast animals one needs to be able to run?!?!?!? Of course foxes are pretty quick themselves- hhmmm......Now I want to go run the trails and Scout out foxes! Watch out Pam, you will be hitting that 4 minute mile soon,  hehehehehe.......

Foxhounds are NOT homebodies and if given the chance we will roam! So keep that leash on me, as Pam found out once or twice, do not let me escape my harness or you will be chasing after me! And keep up with that obedience training, as we need to learn those basic commands and knowing to sit, stay, come when called can definitely save our lives in a moments notice! (I will get Pam to video some of our basic obedience training to share with you this during the next month and a half of daily blogs- yes, everyday we will bringing a new blog to you, so tune in every day and follow our blog to get them sent directly to you everyday!)

Fouxhounds are EXTREMELY ACTIVE- and need one to two hours a day of exercise. One should take them on long meandering walks with lots of sniffing time or take them on a run with them! (Even during a run our noses are working overtime so we may want to sniff everything around us, PLEASE let us sniff more often, and allow time during your runs to let us sniff.....although we can run at great speeds we do like to slow things down a little to "SCOUT" out things when we sense something in the area!  Therefore I am thankful Pam let's me be a dog on our runs, whew thankfully she is not a 4 minute miler yet, but I will get her there within time! Maybe for our July race! Hehehehehe.....

 

I will talk more about the primary breed of the American Foxhound tomorrow so tune in.......

 

Oh, I do want to mention our fundraiser....you can help us help out (did I just go all Jerry Maguire on you all there?!?!?).....anyway click on these links and you can buy our book- in fact, we will start instead of just the month of May- we will extend it from April 15 to May 24th and with every book sold we will donate a portion of the proceeds to Kent Animal Shelter......

 

 

 Hard copy version:

http://www.amazon.com/Get-Your-Leash-Healthy-Companion/dp/1500897957/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421014514&sr=1-1&keywords=get+your+leash+on

 

EBook Version:

http://lulu.com/spotlight/getyourleashon

 

 

 To make a donation to Kent Animal Shelter go to out Crowdrise fundraiser page here:

 

https://www.crowdrise.com/DoggoneRescueMarathon/fundraiser/pamelaschmidlin

 

Have a tail waggin' day and I'll see you tomorrow,

Scout and Pam

Rest Days.......

April. 13, 2015-

I was told by Pam that even REST days are important! Okay, I know they are but hey I just want to run......so today we went on a 3.50 mile walk with Benji. And to prove that this was not enough for me, I slipped out of my harness while Benji was taking his time and sniffing on one side of a fenceline. I couldn't wait! I just wanted to run! So I had Pam pulling Benji along to come and chase me and put me back on my harness. I had fun, running top speed in an open field, around the corner, etc. I felt bad I did this and also felt I made my point so I let Pam catch me fairly quickly! She did get upset with me and for the majority of the rest of the walk she held me on a short lead! When we got to a certain point she even held my collar because she knows I always try to pull her over to a certain area and try to get free......and since we were walking nice and easy on our rest day she knew she had to do so (she was right I wanted to go search for something, sshhh...Pam knows there is something there but she doesn't know exactly what I am searching for.......hehehehe......)

Anyway, we finally got to my favorite recarbing station- "Boulevard Bagels" and there I had a bagel twist and one bagel, Benji opted to forego the bagels for the day, I think he is really trying to lose those extra pounds! I truly am so proud of him! I would do the same but at this point I do not have to......

 

I do want to add these are the BEST BAGELS in town, they are not just saying this.....about 1 or 2 weeks ago there were no bagels for me thrown in the dumpster (yes, I have Pam dumpster dive for me- she only dives into things when they are on the top but so worth it).....but there was a kid standing by the back door with a bagel in his hand and I pulled Pam over and stole it from him, I must say the kid was 3 or 4 and just standing there and watching me and coming closer and closer, he was unsupervised, I mean the parents of him were asking for it! I mean HELLO parents if I need to be leashed why not leash your kid if only for safety reasons!

 

On our walk, we did walk through the Nesconset Park- no dogpark today BUT through the paved walkways.......then we headed home.......

 

Pam was a little nervous walking up the driveway as with two dogs she would have been pulled in each direction and dragged for sometime....walking up she held us both close and had us head straight up. The reason being was that she spotted not one but two bunny rabbits on each side of the hill, she was telling the rabbits to stay still and let us pass guiding us straight past. Once we got up the hill she opened the gate and let us go......

 

It was a nice "rest" day for me......but I cannot wait to run tomorrow!

 

Until Tuesday,

Keep your leash on and take your dog for a walk,

Scout and Pam

 

Oh- I want to mention as you take your dog for a walk.......check this out.....you can raise money for Kent Animal Shelter as well......check this out!

 

http://www.wooftrax.com/

 

 

 

Spring has sprung!

April 12, 2015-

Spring has definitely sprung! This weekend was proof of that.....on Saturday Pam changed around a few runs to be able to go volunteer at a local race- the Doug Woods XC 5k race in Northport. So we set out on our run early in the morning, at 5 am on Saturday morning......Yes, we got to see the sun rise with our run! We ran past a friends house from the Northport Running Club and Pam tried to get me to howl to wake her up but as Pam said before the run I had to be quiet because it was so early! So she ended up howling in front of the house to try to get me to howl instead (Pam is quieter than I when she howls!) Basically only I heard her!......But if someone was outside they could have had laugh!

Today, we set out for our long run.......We set off a little bit later at about 6:50am and we took each step with a little vim and vigor, enjoying each and every step. We passed by the bagel shop at about 2 miles so I can carb up with a bagel!......Then we continued on........we ran through Nesconset then
headed up to St James where we found ALL the surrounding fire departments to be gathering for some reason in Nesconset. When we got to the St James FD, Pam stopped for a bathroom break, then we continued on to the start of the St James 5 mile course- when we got to the start we were at 6 miles, exactly! So we ran the course hitting the hills, going up Corwood Road (a 1/2 mile UPHILL, CURVY road!) and then we continued on for 1/2 mile then turned around and headed back the other way on the course, headed down Corwood Rd, we came across a fabulous fellow runner who is definitely improving and an award winning Long Island runner in her group, April Matarasso Rosequist, she was showing off her winter legs in her shorts- her legs were thankful for the Vitamin D they soaked in from the sun though, she was running with a friend of hers! (I wanted to run over to her mid step and give her kiss but Pam held me back so no one got hurt, I did howl hello though!) About 1/2 mile past that point, we ran into a SUPER Terrific Long Island runner who wins countless races across Long Island overall......Kathleen Callahan Fodor, once again I was held back from giving kisses to her as well, so no one was hurt.......BUT I said Hello (Pam, cannot talk over me so I have to say Hello for the both of us! HEHEHEHE.......)

Once we got back to the St James FD we were at 15 miles, so Pam stopped once again to use the bathroom before continuing on.....she told me she wished she was a dog so that she could just go on the run and have her human pickup after her! (YES, Pam always picks up after me (and the rest of my pack!)

Next week, we will be running another 20 miles on Saturday.......and we will be running the same course, of course we will be running the St James 5 mile race (as a run not racing it- Pam likes this race for the tshirt- hey, it's St James (part of Smithtown), you see part of the course (the gates on the shirt are part of the actual course), and it's great because the fire house dog is running on the shirt!.....What better shirt for Pam who's Twitter handle is theDogRunner, I mean hello she runs with the big dogs right!?!?!??!?!

 

I have to mention the book we coauthored with the rest of the pack, "Get Your Leash On!" available on Amazon......During the month of July a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Kent Animal Shelter, in the next week the ebook version will be back up as well as another version! So check it out!

http://www.amazon.com/Get-Your-Leash-Healthy-Companion/dp/1500897957/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421014514&sr=1-1&keywords=get+your+leash+on

 

My blogs will be everyday in May as well, so tune in everyday in May to check out my exciting training adventures, more photos and videos are on their way, I will get Pam to bring her camera out with us!.....You may see Benji in some of the blogs as well, as he has been joining us lately,  Monty maybe joining us for a run or two as well!......

 

On that note,

See ya soon,

Scout and Pam

Just another training blog.....

April 7, 2015-

This past week we had a 16 mile run where we ran from our house to Nissequoque Hills, running the hills and back home. Of course, I gotta say Pam had a bit of trouble on Saturday as she really needed to go to the bathroom. And as we ran through a residential area, and of course me being with her, it was a do I knock on doors to see if she could use their bathroom or does she just keep going. At one point Pam told me: and I quote "I wish I was dog, heck I have bags to pick up after myself! Scout you guys are so lucky!" as I lifted my leg Pam said "do not rub it in!"

 

After we've been running our shorter 5 and 8 mile runs lately, we have been cooling down with a 1 mile walk which Benji joins us on from time to time.....We come up the driveway, Benji comes running over to the gate and off we go again.

 

I do want to suggest to Pam and all other runners, dog walkers, solo walkers, etc to follow some simple rules though so that we can all stay safe and sound and really enjoy our time out and about.

 

Here in NY at least, it is in the NYS driving manual that pedestrians walk, and run against traffic. Keeping to the left side of the road. There is a reason for this, let me explain: when we are facing traffic we have direct eye contact with any oncoming traffic. And therefore we can communicate effectively in the need of any emergencies. And if the need arise we can simply get out of the way, whereas if we walk or run in the same direction one would need to turn around and waste precious moments doing to have to communicate with others so which can mean the difference between life and death.

 

I must mention running with your dog, your dog should be on your left side of your person, as well being that you are taller than your dog and you are more apt to be seen first! And we should be putting our dogs safety into our concern. Running with your dog ahead of you is okay, but on your left side is optimal.

 

Also if you are running on the wrong side of the road and someone comes running on the correct side of the road, one person will need to run around and either run up on the curbside where it can be potentially dangerous due to possible uneven ground, or run in the middle of the road where cars can be and slowing the slowest car down can take some distance and things can happen. 

 

Basically when your running or walking out and about, think about safety....do not let this be a condition that will ruin a great outing!

 

Scout and Pam 

 

Unconditional Love of Running

April 2, 2015-

The Unconditional Love of Running taught to me by my best friends!

As many of you already know……my best and favorite running partners are my dogs. I came to love running for fun at an early age right on…..at the time (as I kid, I knew of the simple art of running, I never put a time on my running, I never tried to place in my age group, I never put any conditions on my running). Over the years yeah, I must admit I came to love placing in my age group, one time coming in third overall female, back in 2010 achieving the Most Improved Runner award in GLIRC (ok, most improved is a little different I think but I’ll get back to that one). Since then I took a step back and learned from my best friends, the late and great Skyler, Sandy, Candycane (my hilly Vermont runners as well- yes, we ran a hilly 10k all together- in fact the only group of 4 running the race!) and now Scout……Back to my point, I decided I wanted to run to improve myself inside and out, the only condition if this indeed counts as a condition, is to improve myself within no time limits, etc…..I just want to put one foot in front of the other and go. Not only that but I want to do so along with my best friends. Most recently that happens to be Scout. But every time I step out the door from this point on, I want to enjoy every step along my path. And to pay attention to the deer crossing our path, the rustle of the leaves under our feet/ paws, the snow falling in our eyes, the sun beating down on our face, the gentle breeze that cools our run, the sand that squishes between our toes as we run along the shore, chasing after the dog ahead of us together (whether at the Doggy Dash or on a training

run, letting my best friend say hi- yes, sniff the dog’s butt, talking to others nicely along the route, and just getting out there and taking every breathe with a smile, as some people haven’t always had the oppourtunity to do ( I am thinking of a true story on taterunning.com I just read). Taking photos along the way again of my journey and blogging about my day’s journey on one of my blogs on www.pamelaschmidlin.com or www.doggonehealthychoices.com.

To often in life we put conditions on everything we do, everyone, every animal, everything! And this causes STRESS in our lives! Think about it our animal companions are of course stressed as stress is a part of life but the amount of stress they hold compared to us, I mean we can learn something from them no?!!??......

So from this point on, I vow to try my best to live the lesson I was taught by all my animal companions: to love unconditionally! Now this is for myself as well as most humans a difficult task to accomplish on a daily basis but I will be giving it a shot. And that will include:

THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE OF RUNNING!

This is not to say that every so often I will not time my mile, or try to do a race in given time, I mean come on I am still human! But it does mean PURE SIMPLE ENJOYMENT of the sport will be back in my life from this point on!

By george I think Pam has finally got it!,
Scout and Pam