Darth Banana

I wonder how many other kids had this costume tonight.

Not many would be my guess.

Happy Halloween!

 First, a fucking awesome tree.

It looks like it's on fire when the sun it setting.


May those of you who trick-or-treat get much candy tonight!  Conker certainly did when we went down to Mini Pet Mart today.  He got not one, not two, not even three lamb treats but an entire handful!  The ladies there really like him and love to give "her" treats. 

We ended up buying a small bully stick which Conker carried back for me despite my ample pockets.  He is not quite thrilled about wearing a cute Halloween sweatershirt and I think he may have wanted to keep up his manly image by carrying his bully stick himself.

Doing lots of yard work

For some reason, I have almost zero motivation to do pretty much anything when other people are here.  Especially if Mom is around, but that happens with even my youngest brother.  Don't feel like doing anything.

Well, nobody is here, so guess what I did?  First I went outside and saw that the hose had been on for 24 hours... Nobody told me it was on, so I didn't go out and turn it off, so the pool was filled to capacity.  It would have simply overflown IF it could do that, but it can't.  The molding stuff around the edge isn't water tight so when the water got to that level it seeped into the ground.  So much water seeped into the surrounding dirt that the lower level of the yard was flooded!  I called and told Mom (she's in Portland) who was shocked that the hill between the upper and lower levels hadn't collapsed, and hopefully it won't later on.

Anyways...
I ripped up everything in the garden, re-built the wall Juneau had destroyed, filled all the dirt on three huge pieces of paper back into the small wall at the base of the hill and hacked up the remainder of some blackberry bushes.  now all I have to do is rake up some cedar pods I missed, mow the law and clean the kitchen.  Whoot.


Here is a bit of Conker to keep things interesting.

Oh yeah, and I heated the house with fire last night (in the fireplace) and me and the three dogs sacked out in front of it for most of the night.  Juneau reeeeeally loves to cuddle.  I woke up with her practically on top of me.

One year anniversary

Today is the one year anniversary of me aquiring Conker from a shelter in St. Louis.  Who'd have thought I'd be back living with Mom one year later...

Smug, mischievous, obnoxious critter.  Here's to many more with my crazy little dog.

Juneau remodels the garden.

Juneau thought that the garden's current state was in need of some repair, so she took it upon herself to remedy it.  She enlisted the help of Conker and occasionally Sasha, and together they fixed the garden into what they believe is a better state than before.

Juneau added a drainage ditch to the front wall as well as some steps and a slope to make it easier to get into the tomato plants.  She removed some of the tomato vines for better access to the new "den" created by the cleared out tomato plants.

Juneau is still not satisfied with her work and slips out every now and then to add an additional touch here and there to the remodel.


So, you might be wondering WHY Juneau decided to tear up the tomato plants and collapse two and a half feet of the garden wall.  Well, it's simple really.  There was a rat.  That happened to be stupid enough to make it's nest under the garden wall.  I've known about the rat for some time but had never seen it and thought the nest was abandoned, until today when Juneau chased it in and out then back into the tomato plants and it's now demolished nest. 
Mom wasn't too pleased with Juneau's work at first but when she learned that the reason behind this was a rat, she encouraged Juneau to finish the job.

She hasn't caught it.  Yet.

Finally went hiking!

Erk man, two weeks without a hike is bad.  Not gonna do that again, even if my feet are killing me.

Today we only did about 4 miles or so.  A little under 1 mile of it was at a slow jog, about 1/4 at a faster jog or run.  It was a nice hike that started out with a jacket and ended with a long sleeved shirt.  It was only 61 degrees today.  That's pretty cold in my book, but the chill weather does something to Conker that seems to turn his never-ending energy mode on. Somewhere along the trail we decided to play a chase game and derped around for a good 10 minutes or so.

Conker did much running at full speed towards then past me.

None of the pictures of this are good.

But some are kinda funny.

Conker was really excited when he figured out that we were going hiking instead of to some lame store.  We pulled into the parking lot and he couldn't wait to get out, and as soon as he was turned loose on the trails he began to sniff everything he could.  He ran allover the place shoving his nose into the leaves and getting burrs stuck to his fur, harness and bandanna. He wanted to run the entire time and would often stop to sniff something then run superfast to catch up to me, then stop and sniff again as I passed him.  He seemed to have a lot of fun today.

Slightly different

I added a bit of orange here and there.  Dunno if I'm gonna keep it yet.

Wheat is a no go.

I don't think I've done anything specifically on wheat, so here goes.

Lately I've been experimenting again.  Conker is the unfortunate guinea pig, and the subject was wheat.  I gave him some treats I was given that contained wheat, many different types of spaghetti and a couple other things that contain wheat (breads mostly).
I gave him very small amounts as if I were transitioning him to a new food.  I gave him probiotics and chikory root with the wheat products.  Nothing stopped what happened every time he was given wheat.

I am not mean enough to post a picture.

So, wheat is definitely a no go for Conker.  Even if he was given a tiny sliver of the wheat thing along with his normal food, problems occurred.  He definitely has some sort of intolerance for wheat and it's a very, very strong one.  He wants things real bad, and since wheat causes such huge problems for him, he can't have diddly squat.  I normally share things like oatmeal, rice dishes, quinoa and certain soups with him so he is somewhat used to getting some of my food.
Lately we have been having a lot of pasta.  I hate pasta, unless it's somewhat undercooked and thick or shaped like a shell or tube.  Poor Conker has been wanting said pasta very badly and almost stole some right off my fork.  He loves pasta and has to be tortured by the sight of me eating it, and the Girls getting any leftovers.  Unfortunately he doesn't understand that while he may love pasta, I don't love what happens when he eats it.

Conker Escapes

I thought I posted this already but I guess I didn't.

I have since remedied the problem with a thick piece of military webbing.

Conker no longer escapes.

Freshpet: Vital Slice and Serve

I recieved two 2lb rolls of Freshpet's Vital Slice and Serve in my sample box.  I got one Turkey roll and one Bison & Beef roll.

Vital rolls on the bottom.

Here's the technical stuffs.

Turkey Ingredients:
Turkey,Turkey Liver, Spinach, Blueberries, Cranberries, Pomegranate, Carrageenan, Natural Flavors, Broccoli, Inulin, Flaxseed Oil, Green Tea Extract.
Beef & Bison Ingredients:
Bison, Beef, Beef Liver, Spinach, Blueberries, Cranberries, Pomegranate, Carrageenan, Calcium Carbonate, Natural Flavors, Broccoli, Inulin, Flaxseed Oil, Green Tea Extract.

Vitamins:
Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid. 
Minerals:
Calcium Sulfate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Tricalcium Phosphate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite.

Turkey Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min)  6.0%
Crude Fat (min)  4.0%
Crude Fiber (max)  1.5%
Moisture (max)  78.0%

Beef & Bison Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (min)  8.5%
Crude Fat (min)  7.5%
Crude Fiber (max)  1.0%
Moisture (max)  76.0%

On the roll and website it states that a 21-40 pound dog should get 1/2 to 1 pound daily.  I gave Conker just over 1/4 of a pound for the first couple days since he also got a piece of turkey neck.  For the last bits of the roll he got 1/2 pound. 

Vital turkey roll.

Each roll lasted roughly 5 days.  I started with the turkey and added it to the Complete Meals for a one-day transition period.  It went smoothly with no problems, probably since the products are quite similar.
The worst part of the transition was a little incident that occurred when I was giving Conker a taste test of the Turkey recipe.   I gave him a piece by hand, the bowl was on the floor, and let him try it.  He liked it, so I gave him another piece.  After I saw how quickly he ate it I figured I should move him to my room so he wouldn't savage the Girls like he sometimes does with food he really likes.
Well, he didn't like my hand grabbing his bowl and instead of savaging the Girls' faces, he savaged my left index finger. He sliced it open in three places.
So if that doesn't give you an idea of how much Conker liked this food (enough to guard against me), then I don't really know what else to say about that.

Note:
This was entirely my fault.  I should have told him to leave the bowl and move it away with my foot first instead of just reaching for it with my hand.  Conker is very good about not guarding food from me but with newer stuff, especially stuff he really really likes, sometimes he slips up a bit.


Like the Complete Meals, Conker got a bit of a funk in his fur.  It wasn't very noticeable unless you pet him a lot or shoved your nose into his fur but the trade-off was again a lack of super rancid farts. He didn't lick his front paws as much as he did on the Complete Meals but he still did a bit more than normal.  It might have just been a lingering effect from the chicken in the Complete Meals or he could have also had some sort of problem with something in the rolls.  I don't know what caused it but since he doesn't eat Vital full-time I won't worry about it.

Like I said before, if it weren't for the lack of stores carrying the Vital line, it would probably be a regular or occasional part of Conker's diet.
I might use something in the Select line for times when Conker has to be watched by someone who wasn't comfortable feeding raw food.  The one store that carries it does have the beef kind, which is probably what I'd use with Conker.  It costs about $4.99 for 1 1/2 pounds and 14.99 for 6 pounds. 


So that's it for my Freshpet review!  I really liked this food so if you can get it in your area and don't mind spending a bit more for your dog's (or cat's) food or just want to give them something different on the weekend, I highly recommend you try Freshpet.

In case you missed them, here's Part 1 and Part 2 of the Freshpet review.

Lazy Day

It's partly cloudy, around 72 degrees and generally nice outside.  But today, we are relaxing inside.  Why?  Because I don't like "nice" weather. And Conker is being an ass to the neighbor dog so he gets to stay inside.


Yesterday Mom was complaining about the dog smell and I, like I normally do, informed her that Conker wasn't to blame.  He doesn't smell like anything, and if she wanted, she could stuff her nose into his soft scruff and inhale deeply just to be sure.  She loudly declined. 
And today I was getting annoyed with the little clouds of black dog hair that was floating across the floor as I walked around so I scooped some of it up and tossed it.  I normally don't do that, dog hair doesn't bug me.  But when it begins to follow me, it kinda does, so I get rid of it.  I brushed Juneau and Sasha a bit and will try to brush them at least every other day to help cut back on the fur but I doubt I'll stick to that for very long.  But, Sasha was in a small need of a brushing since tufts of fur were beginning to stick off her buttfluffs like they do when double-coated dogs are seasonally exploding.

Foot pain

So, about a week ago, I took Conker and Juneau on a walk.  Sometime during that walk I decided to jog a bit.  Well, Juneau completely misunderstood that jog meant go slow and she took off RUNNING!  She dragged me about 100 feet down the sidewalk before I was able to get her to stop and by then the tops of my feet were in a lot of pain.
That's right, the top of my feet.  Not the bottom, heel, ankle (what I originally thought was in pain), knee... tops of my feet.  It's a very weird place to experience that sort of pain.
Anyways, I think it's something like extensor tendonitis or whatever.  The pain is still there and does a really good job of preventing me from running, jogging or even walking quickly on my toes.  Which I used to do a lot of.  The toe-walking thing.
So if someone happens to try to rob me I won't be able to get away.  Since it'll be super fucking painful to attempt that.  I guess it's a good thing that I live somewhere with like, a 0% crime rate.

Other things I can't do are go down stairs (up is fine) and bend my feet a certain way.  Which is required to walk so even walking is mildly painful. 


I just hope it gets better soon, since I am not quite fond of doctors.  You know the dogs who, when taken to the vet, need to be muzzled and given a tranquilizer?  Yep, that's me.  Plus I tend to disagree with everything they say (even though they are most likely right) especially when it comes to dudes who just write a perscription to treat the symptoms instead of trying to find a way to treat the cause.

So, I haven't done much exercise lately, and I feel like crap.  I was just getting into a nice walking/jogging routine and then Juneau has to go do this to me.  Yay, now I'm gonna get lazy again.
At least I'm still able to "work out" a bit.  Lift weights and all that.  Maybe I'll get a membership at the gym and go do laps in the pool or something, since that doesn't really put any stress on your feet.


This means that interesting updates are probably going to be at a minimum until my feet feel better.  So, sorry if the blog gets boring for a bit.

Freshpet: Dognation Bones

Freshpet has a line of dog treats and chews called Dognation.  In my free sample box I revived a pouch of Dognation Bones.  They are "Crunchy Brown Rice with Real Chicken Center" bones.  Chews that mimic a real bone like a beef bone or something.

Bones are in the back on the right.

Ingredients:
Brown Rice Flour, Water, Vegetable Glycerin, Tapioca Starch, Whole Ground Oats, Gelatin, Chicken, Natural Chicken Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Apples, Parsley.

Nothing looks terrible here, and the only problem for me is the chicken content.  The chicken flavor is the only kind of Bones Freshpet makes right now, but as an occasional treat I don't think it will be a problem for Conker.

The "bone" is about 5 inches long.  The outside is the rice stuff, the inside the chicken part.  The chicken is kinda like marrow while the rice like actual bone.  It didn't last as long as a real bone though, but it did help clean a bit of the gunk off Conker's teeth that had built up a bit since he started eating Freshpet.
So I can see why these would be beneficial to your dog if you fed them Freshpet's food.  Like I said in part 1 of the review, the food has no benefit to the teeth, so giving your dog a "bone" every week or so will help keep the teeth healthy and clean.

For the first sample I let Conker have only half of the bone.  He really liked it and was not happy when I took the remaining half away, but I wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any problems on the back end.
Things were a bit soft and... odd looking, but the next time around everything was fine.
Conker really enjoyed chewing the bones.  The first time it took him about 20-30 minutes to get through half, then only 20 minutes for half, and the second bone I gave him he went through in 30 minutes.  I originally only wanted him to have half but he chewed it so quickly I didn't notice until it was gone.
So for Conker they aren't incredibly long lasting.

These, like all Freshpet's stuff, need to be refrigerated and they tell you that if your dog doesn't finish a bone in 2 hours to take it away and refrigerated it.  They also say to use up the bones in 14 days after opening.

Again I'm not sure if I can get these locally or what they're price is.  Once I find out I'll update this.



Anyways, that was part two of the review!  Here is Part 1 and Part 3.

No hike today.

I really wanted to, but if I did, the Jeep might not have made it back. 
It's fine, just really, really, and I mean really, low on gas.

So I've been lazing around in this freezing cold house eating chocolate chip cookies and bananas.  And listening to classical music, reading online comics and shit... Whoo, so much fun yo.
Conker is pretty bored too.  I've been hounding him like mad since all he's doing lately (as in, the past two weeks) is go outside and bark at like... nothing?  Other dogs, birds, people... Whatever.  It's really getting on my nerves.


Today sucks.  And we have a fuckton of leftover spaghetti... I really don't like leftover spaghetti, or spaghetti in general.  Especially angel hair spaghetti, which is what the leftovers is.

Freshpet: Vital Complete Meals

Some of you may know about the company called Freshpet who makes a food somewhere in between kibble and raw.  It's cooked, but it isn't dry and it's not canned.  More like... bologna.  For dogs, but better.

I sent in my resume for Freshpet's blogger program and appear to be one of the last ones chosen to try out the food in return for a review.  I went to their site and could not find the blogger program page, so I guess they are no longer taking in applicants.
Anyways, I am very glad I was given the chance to try out some of their foods and was quite surprised when I received an unexpected package on my porch a couple weeks ago.  Before I even opened the box Conker seemed to know it was for him.  He got super excited as I brought it inside and sliced open the tape.  He impatiently stuck his nose in before I could even see what was in there. This is what was inside the box.

All the food I received was from the Vital and Dognation lines.

Two bags of Complete Meals (one pictured)
One 2lb roll of Turkey Slice and Serve
One 2lb roll of Bison and Beef Slice and Serve
One pouch of Dognation Bones

Today I will talk about the Complete Meals.


I started off with the Complete Meals and I didn't transition Conker to the new food.  One day he got raw, the next he got Freshpet.  Well, I did give him a hunk of turkey neck and while things were a bit soft on the other end, there was nothing really bad worth noting so an instant switch is possible.  Even with a dog who's had issues with that sort of thing in the past, Conker did fine.

Ingredients:
Chicken, Chicken Liver, Cranberries, Beef, Salmon, Eggs, Spinach, Vinegar, Peas, Natural Flavors, Carrageenan, Salt, Caramel Color, Inulin, Pomegranate, Broccoli.
Vitamins:
Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid.
Minerals:
Calcium Sulfate, Dicalcium Phospate, Zinc Chelate, Potassium Chloride, Iron Proteinate, Tricalcium Phosphate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite.

Guaranteed Analysis: 
Crude Protein (min)     18.0%
Crude Fat (min)     9.0%
Crude Fiber (max)     1.5%
Moisture (max)     65.0%

This food does contain chicken but there's no potatoes.  And when those two are together, Conker has issues.  There are other proteins in it but they are in smaller amounts so I gambled a bit to see how Conker would do with the chicken.   

The bags contain 1.75 pounds of food and according to the directions, Conker is supposed to eat from 1 2/3rds cups to 2 1/2 cups of food each day.  I only gave him about one cup and he neither gained nor lost any weight but in order to be certain I'd have to feed it for longer than 1 1/2 weeks.  But as some pet owners know, the guidelines are just that.  They are not set-in-stone rules about how much you have to give your dog.

 This food smells really good.  So good in fact that I tried it.  Just a tiny bit, but I tried it nontheless.  It was much less flavorful that I thought it'd be but man did it smell good!  That's probably why Conker choked on it three times the first day he was given it.  He inhaled it faster than anything he's ever eaten before and it scared me real bad.  But after his initial act of stupid, he didn't eat as fast and didn't choke again so I guess he understood what not to do anymore.

So if that doesn't clue you in, Conker LOVED it.  Every morning if I didn't get up fast enough he'd leap off the bed and strut furiously around the room and toss his head in that odd Shiba fashion then stick his nose in my face and... Grunt at me.  He'll whine when he wants something but grunt when he feels like he needs it, like he's got an addiction that needs to be satisfied, and I'm the only one who can give him the cure.
Which is true, but still.  Having an addict that happens to be a dog is quite annoying.

So!  How did Conker do on this food?
Very well.  So well in fact that if it weren't for the price tag and the fact that the only store in GP that sells Freshpet doesn't carry Vital that it would be a regular part of his diet.  Because of that I can only estimate the price which I'm gonna say would be... something around 7.99 and up.  (The equivalent in the Select line costs $5.99 for 1.75 pounds and 8.99 for 3 pounds.)

See, Conker's got these horrid deathfarts on raw.  Every night around 4 in the morning he lets one rip.  And at random times during the day but that late night/early morning one is so regular that it's practically predictable.  No such late night/early morning monstrosity happened while Conker was on Freshpet.  He did fart a bit but it was nowhere near as bad as his normal farts.
Conker's energy levels were normal, he kept his weight, poop was good (almost better than raw, actually) and he liked it a lot.  He never refused a meal which he has done with several raw items and other foods.

The only adverse things I can say about it health-wise was that he did develop a slight "doggish" odor that he normally doesn't have but it wasn't unbearable (only noticeable if you stick your nose into his fur, which I do several times a day) and that there is absolutely no benefit to the teeth.  If your dog doesn't have teeth, or has really sensitive teeth, then this food is great.  It's easily eaten and since it's soft, it doesn't need to be chewed.
Note:
While Conker didn't show any huge signs of a chicken allergy/intolerance, he did begin to lick his front paws which he does not normally do.  Once he was switched back to raw he quit licking his feet so I guess it's gotta be the chicken that caused it. 


So again other than price and availability in my area, this food would be a normal part of Conker's diet.  The Complete Meals wouldn't be a huge portion due to the potential chicken allergy thing but the rolls I tried would be.  If you've got a dog that doesn't have any problems with chicken and you can find and afford Freshpet, I highly recommend you add it to your pet's diet, even if it's only an occasional thing. 

Juneau and Sasha did get to try the Complete Meals and they, like Conker, loved every bit of it.


Anyways, that is part one of the review.  Here are Part 2 and Part 3.

We hiked 10 miles today

And I'm exhausted.

But this guy isn't.

I bet he could go another 10 before he'd be as tired as me.

Weather Changes

So, today and yesterday were the first two rainy days of Fall.  Once it starts raining here it doesn't stop (one or two days don't count) until late spring.  So, Fall is here, and Winter is just around the corner.  It's cold enough to run the heat and one of these days I'm going to start a fire.  The kind you keep going all winter and use to heat the house instead of electricity.
Anyways, I'm looking forwards to the cooler temperatures but not the rain that accompanies it.  It's not raining right now but it's supposed to "T-shower" tomorrow basically all day.  And maybe some hail.


The trails were wet but not muddy and I hope they stay that way.  I know some parts will get muddy but not all of them at least.  And today Conker had his first close encounter with a horse.  Two horses actually, and he did superb and I didn't even have to tell him to leave them alone.

The scenery was gorgeous, as usual.  With the small amount of rain we've gotten stuff has already begun to green up again.  While it was mostly cloudy for most of the hike, the sun did peak out in a few places, one of them was when I took the above picture.  Because of that it turned out nice.

Along with the horses, we ran into a woman with her kid and German Shepherd Rottweiler mix named Ruger.  The dog was very friendly and amazingly, Conker didn't snark at all when Ruger trotted up to him.  Unlike most dogs, Ruger was very cool with meeting Conker.
The lady instantly recognized Conker as a Shiba and once I saw Conker wasn't going to snark with Ruger, I let him off the leash to play.  (I leash up Conker when I see people, horses or dogs) Conker and Ruger had a fu time running around for a bit as I talked to the lady.  I found out why Ruger was Shiba savvy.  He lived with not one but four Basenji's.  Four.  The woman didn't have any of them with her but she enjoyed talking with me and seeing how well behaved Conker was off-leash. 
That was a fun little encounter and I'm glad Conker didn't be a jerk to Ruger.


I almost lost one of my Vibrams (they were in my pack) on the trail and didn't realize it until I was done with the loop we went on, so I backtracked all the way back around the entire loop.  Guess where the shoe was?  About 100 feet from the beginning of the loop in the direction I didn't go.

Ruff Wear Approach Pack II and Web Master II Harness

Yes, they are both in one review.  Why?  Because I started with this:

The Ruff Wear Approach Pack II is no longer being made and has been updated with the newer Approach pack. It is still available online if you look in the right places.
The Approach II came in red and blue and is built on the older version of the Web Master Harness.


Now onto the actual review.

I found two of these packs at the Grange where I buy food for Juneau and Sasha.  At $50 a pop, that wasn't a bad price since the newer version of the packs retails at around $75.  However, these particular packs were on sale for $25!  If I'd thought about it sooner I would have bought them both but by the time I went in to pick them up only one was left.  Both were size XS and when I tried it on Conker it fit perfectly.
For only $25 I got myself one of the best brands of dog packs out there.

The Ruff Wear Approach Pack II is VERY solid.  I've been using it for about 2 1/2 months, not too long, but so far it's held up amazingly well against rocks, dirt, sand, trees, more rocks, other dogs and countless car rides.  It's been smashed, folded in half, stepped on and shut in a door (no dog was wearing it when that stuff happened) and it's still in the same shape as when I bought it.
The plastic snaps for the straps are good. The belly straps are a bit thin but they have fleece coverings for added comfort and they help protect the straps against rubbing on things.
The bags are made of rugged nylon and the zippers are very beefy with nice big pulls. 
There's a thin stripe of reflective material between the red upper and black lower parts of the bags.  It's not incredibly noticeable but when lights flash across it it does reflect enough to count.

The storage capacity of the bags is really good.  I loaded two cans of sardines, a Zuke's chew, about 20 treats, two rolls of poop bags, and a portable water bowl into the pack and still had plenty of room left.  In total this weighed about 2 pounds including the pack which weighs 11 ounces.  Conker did fine with the extra weight and for some reason it didn't slow him down one bit even though he shouldn't really be carrying that much in the first place.

My official verdict on this pack is:  If you can find it, BUY IT!  It's entirely worth the money, especially if you can get it on sale like I did.  It's an incredibly well made product and unlike the larger Palisades with it's removable bags and the Singletrak with it's close fit, the Approach and Approach II is available in XS and XXS for people with smaller dogs like mine.


Now onto the second part of the review.

Somehow my Approach II pack ended up like this:

Where are the bags?  Did they get ripped off?  Simple answer:  No.  Complicated one?  I took them off so I could make my own version of a Palisades pack.  Modification instructions for pack:  Version 1 and Version 2.

I find it to work incredibly well despite being an older model.  Even if I hadn't gotten it as a pack, it's worth the $25 for the harness alone.  Web Masters retail at $50 so again I got a killer deal on this thing, especially since I'm modding it.

Anyways, after some trials with it as a harness only I'm convinced I never want to buy another harness but those made by Ruff Wear.  This thing is really handy, especially when Conker is being a punk and I need to remove him from a situation before he starts a war.  It's also great for helping him get over strange obstacles and quickly getting him out of the way of a raging mountain biker.

The harness, so far, hasn't caused any fur loss or rubs Conker bad in any way.  He's still got his full range of motion and he still acts like a normal Shiba.  He can shake, run, roll, jump and swim in it without it interfering with his activity.  When adjusted properly, it fits very snug but not too snug and even when it was still a pack Conker could do most activities without being restrained. 

Like I said about the Approach II, if you can find this harness and find it at a cheap price, buy it!  It's well worth the money.  But if it comes down to the old version versus the newer one for the same price, I'd probably go with the newer one.


Edit: After having this pack and harness for quite some time now I felt like an update was in order.
The harness has held up extremely well to the abuse Conker puts it though.  He wears it almost daily and it has survived many nips from other dogs, fights with bushes and wars against trees.  It has gone through countless rolls in various substances (some not so good) and once dry, is cleaned by simply brushing it off or giving a good vigorous shake.
I don't need to adjust it very often, only when Conker gets stuck bad on something or he eats right before I put it on. Even after picking Conker up by the handle (which is ingenious on it's own) the straps do not come loose.
The harness has not rubbed any fur off Conker in any place, given him any hot spots or other discomforts.  His older hanress rubbed a bit so I am glad that the Web Master does not.

I still highly recommend you buy it if you can find it, but try to get it for less than the newer one.

VFF

Today we went back to Cathedral Hills and hiked a little over 5 miles. 
We got there a little after 12 and stuck to the outer trails.  Though I stopped several times to take a couple pictures, adjust my shoes and talk at Conker, we still made fairly good time.  Today is supposed to rain, dunno exactly when (weather site said 3 but it's past 3 now) but it did begin to drizzle a bit right as we were nearing the parking lot at 2:15.


The rest of this post is about my shoes, so skip if you want.

More Saturday Market Spoils

I walked down to the "growers" market today and had a quick look around. There were so many veggies, it was insane.  Anyways, I headed over to my favorite booth (the only one I've ever bought anything from) and picked up some more chews for Conker.

This time around they had a box of "half size" tendon chews for .50 cents a piece.  I normally get the $1 pieces and prefer to take the chew away when Conker's gone through half of it, so these worked out perfect.  I got 12 of them and since Conker gets them every other day they should last a while.

A couple people stared really hard and long at my shoes.  It was quite entertaining.


Oh yeah, almost forgot.   I've got a poison oak rash behind my left knee (again) and on two places on my lower right arm.  And like last time, I have no fricking clue how it got there.
Despite this I am still going hiking tomorrow.