HoundGrrls

To repeat what the other's have said, if trained, I'd bring at least one of your dogs and bring a friend when you can or join other cachers. I will add that I cache in Maryland all the time so if you wanted some more park/trail advice drop me a line. Happy hunting!

Thanks. I take it that your response and lack of other responses confirm that it is my poor computer which is ailing and not something funky w/ google earth. Thanks again.

But it is not true! I am trying to overlay the caches which I have done very sucessfully many times in the past. However I have been getting this message for the last month or so. "You have exceeded the allowed views for the day. Please try again tomorrow." The first time I got it I reinstalled which gave me the v 4 which so far I don't like as much as v 3 (esp. the route feature). A few times I have been able to allow get the overlay by pulling another copy of GeocachingNetworkKML.kml on but this band aid no longer works. Any suggestions? Thanks!

If so please email me. Thanks

Hi NG- You, and others, might want to read The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. It is at any decent sized library and your library may even have it in audio form. Stay safe.

On the other hand, my best advice is to get your new pup trained, but keep him on a leash. Nothing is worse than off leash dogs submitted to the excitement of a strange place, new people, other dogs, and wildlife. Invest in a variety of quality leashes and make sure you bring twice as much water as you think your dog will need. Agreed. Sure, off leash freedom is nice, but do you really want your little fella distracted by a bunny or something and chase it right into the path of a car, a larger or more dangerous animal, off a precipice or anything like that? Get a nice long retractable for the open spaces. The freedom of off-leash with the security of a lead when you need it. IMHO, letting your dog run free anywhere but on your own property is irresponsible at best, and potentially catastrophic at worst. *That* is what reliable means- able to call off prey etc. There are way too many dog trainers that settle for less, demean the intellect of dogs, and unnecessarily restrict the human-canine bond. Since this is no longer geo related we can take to the OT spot or anyone is free to email me about how to get a for real everyday and not so everyday situations recall (and heel, stay, and fetch too).

On the other hand, my best advice is to get your new pup trained, but keep him on a leash. Nothing is worse than off leash dogs submitted to the excitement of a strange place, new people, other dogs, and wildlife. Invest in a variety of quality leashes and make sure you bring twice as much water as you think your dog will need. There certainly lots of dog trainers in the US and abroad who won't train dogs to off leash reliability. It is unfortunate. Leashes break, slip, and are kind of a bother when doing any bushwacking. Happy Trails which ever way you all go with your training!

Off leash reliability! If you are getting a young pup (under 4 mos) then you can do some training of course but be prepared to redo the training once the teenage time kicks in. Find a trainer that will help you call your dog no matter the distraction. Email me if you want more info. Happy Hunting!

Just make it yourself. Tastes better when someone else makes it, plus I doubt I have the upper body strength!

Man... no fair, taunting me like that. I thought you were going to post where I could get poi other than Hawaii.

Good for you to put in some training time. If you get more interested in dog training -- real life squirels and all even -- for hounds and terriers is doable. Drop me a line any time. Many folks snake proof their dogs with aversion treatments. Something to consider too although if you are keeping them on 6 foot leashes walking pleasantly with you I am not sure that a snake biting either dog is any more likely than a snake biting your or a kid. Doggie "arm pits", between the front and back of the pads, collar area, and genital area are places ticks tend to hide. For people, on your head for those with enough hair and along the waist line where pants/shorts end is prime tick spot too. Although I do monthly topical I also spray mine with extra stuff when we go to heavy wooded areas. If ticks are really bad in your spot you might want to consider this too. Have fun!

the only thing I have to add is to analyze your dogs' level of real life obedience. Are they very reliable off leash? If yes, great. If not some caches are a real hastle with leashes and if you need to hold the dogs and hold or closely monitor the kids maybe it is all too much; choose an easier cache. The Westie has the advantage of being small enough to carry or put in a bag if pressed, but your RR needs to be more reliable since s/he is bigger. Also, not to put a damper on your spirit and certainly not to disaude you from caching with kids and dogs but to emphasis the helpfulness of canine obedience and along the lines of being forewarned is being forearmed - loose uncontrolled dogs might come up to you and your team, nosey dogs can get foxtails or other nasties up their noses and require serious vet care, doing tick checks on *all* team members is important for wooded caches in most of the U.S.

bring or borrow kids, dogs, or both. If you at least like dogs a little many shelters will love for you to take certain ones out for a nice long walk/hike. They are great to avoid detection! Most poeple won't give you another look or if they do you can do the "oh is your tennis ball over here" or "now where is that poop bag".

In the nicest possible tone- Why not teach your dog a reliable recall? Dogs over the age of 4 mos can begin the road to obedience (not sure the age of your pup). Once you have a good recall I'd suggest you watch for the following when selecting caching sights- ticks poison ivy/oak/sumac (not a big deal for dog but when they brush up against you, your clothes, etc. it is a problem for you) loose unattended/disobedient dogs (dog bites stink!) yucky water with bad chemicals in it -- sometimes in this area there are signs and so if you see the sign and call your dog back then it is ok but if not and w/o training them not to drink or even walk in the water you may end up with a sick dog hunters - hopefully your gun dog isn't gun shy but the other concern is being mistaken for a deer Finally- if you don't like grooming much watch for briars and such As far as animal control in FFX and PW counties if you demonstrate verbal control (i.e. a reliable recall) and use common sense about where and when you go the chance that you'd be fined is very low. Do you have a good dog trainer that will work with you to help with off-leash reliability? I don't know anyone in Dale City but I could tell you what you want to look for; just drop me a line (not here but email through bio). Life is better off-leash.

thanks for the post. I had that same problem too!

Any advice for me? I am looking for something like a tour led bird watching event, or a hike with a particularly interesting thing/things along the way which the guide will point out. Alternatively, less outdoorsy- a one day tour like "ghost tour" or "spy tour" or such. I have done a bunch of the ghost tours in the tri-state area and am looking for something different. I did a MD/DC/VA spy tour and that was really cool and would do something like that again; I am not all that concerned about the topic. Needs to be guided. Needs to be moderate if walking/hiking. Needs to be single day/night. Can be anywhere from State Line, PA to Wheeling, WV to Richmond, VA and anywhere in MD/DC. Thanks in advance.

* fur that doesn't collect alot of stuff * agile and active enough to go over and through and on and on (or small enough to carry if they get tired or tangled) * obedient enough (all depends on what you expect and how much time you want to dedicate to the task of training some breeds are easier than others but all are trainable) HoundGrrls

Dog training. Parks offer harder distractions than can be had at dog shows so my puppers are proofed when we enter the ring.

How about "I found it" w/ a pic like this and, in smaller writing some comment about not leaving food.

geocache or not dirt trails (game trails ok, fire path ok, lots and lots of mt bikes not ok) prefer loop 5 mile trip boldering ok lots and lots of people not ok can anyone help? Thanks

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/riskmap.htm I border red and black, yeah.

TCE- Even if you have no dog, you could call a vet. Also, the CDC webpage gives tick info. M

Dog book after dog book says you must not just flush tick or put down the drain as this does not kill it. I suppose they mean too that, if not dead, it could crawl back up the pipes and come back to get you. Have you found this to be true? Also, so, are you saying that you can feel ticks the next day on you? Eww. What about places you may not scrub, like hair line if not shampooing, etc.? They don't just fall off, right? Eww. I am liking winter a whole lot more. I know the places they like to go on dogs (near anus, "arm pits",behind ears, between toes, and under chin) but where should I look on me; of course I would not be naked running through the woods but who knows where those critters like to get to? Thanks M [edit: forgot arm pits. I often find a tick here.]

a dog is great. big dogs can block others vision of what you are fiddling with and even little dogs can loose balls in bushes, logs, stumps, etc. and/or you can always look for poop -- people will not want to watch. Have no dog but don't hate/fear them? Borrow one. If you have no friend or neighbor who might even give you a few bucks for the favor swap some animal rescue places will allow their volunteers to take Fido out for a good long walk.

I would need to direct you to either the phone number I provided or the Maryland Society.