We used to take the dogs on regular runs out in the desert. We would find a road where there was no traffic and let the dogs out to run along with the truck for miles. Due to an increasingly busy schedule, we stopped doing this a few years back. Fortunately, we’re not as busy anymore so I had the opportunity yesterday to take the dogs back on their much loved runs.
Scout is very fast and does not deviate from the road. Tila is not as fast and loves to explore off the road. This is a problem because we’re in the desert. Despite her previous history from suffering miserably from cactus needles, she does not learn to avoid them. Yesterday was no exception. Five minutes into the run, she deviated off the road and through a patch of la cholla cactus (also known as jumping cactus). The result was that she was covered in thorns, all over her face and body. And as I had nothing to remove them with, most of them ended up sticking to my hand as I tried to remove them.
Here’s a picture after having removed the worst of it (which was mostly around her face):
And here’s a video before the madness: