Sunrise Run

Kona and I loaded up and hit the trails just in time to catch the tail-end of sunrise. It's a scene like this that makes me glad that I'm a natural lark.

I was motivated by my lack of motivation yesterday and was determined to get my heart racing. I lingered for the first few minutes to take in the morning. Kona wasn't too up for lingering, but I still let her know how cool her fur looked against the rust-colored hillside.

We rolled up and down a couple hills before we made a long descent that opens up a view of the freeway. During the summer, Kona was hesitant on this stretch of trail, but she was too occupied by scents to care today. I tried to pose her next to someone's rock creation, but she found something down the hill to be much more important.
When we reached our turn around point, we left the freeway view and took in the spring-like hills. I tried not to think about making it to the top.
After a few more loops on different trails, we made our way back to the car. I felt like I got my legs working better today, but running with Kona always means a few stops and detours. She has been very into this shrub the past few times we've been here. I stopped to let her practice her hunting.

On the Training Front
As part of Kona's Canine Good Citizen test, she has to make it through a three minute supervised separation. I'm with our trainer that this is a goofy test as most dog owners would never hand their dog off to a complete stranger and walk away. We're working on it as a sit-stay, as Kona isn't keen on having a stranger grab her leash. I'm hoping that if she's working, she'll be less worried about who's nearby.

I'm practicing an extended sit-stay with food in front of her. She stays very well, but will break her stay when I'm out of sight for too long. But, she's very good at not leaving food, so having her stay in front of a pile of treats is actually easier for her.