Trails Over Swimming, Every Time

Lucy still wants nothing to do with the water at the cabin, but she’s happiest on the hiking trails — and getting much better about not barking at fellow hikers.

Every cabin trip follows the same pattern: we walk down to the dock, Lucy inspects the water from a safe and dry distance, and then makes it very clear she’d rather be anywhere else. The trails, though? A completely different dog. Ears up, tail going, nose to the ground the second we hit the tree line.

This trip was a genuine milestone — we passed three other hiking groups on the trail, and Lucy managed a grand total of zero barking fits. A few hard stares, sure, and one very focused stand-off with a dog twice her size, but no barking. For a dog who used to announce every passerby like a five-alarm fire, that’s real progress.

Cabin trip notes

• The trails win, every single time
• Slow, steady exposure to other hikers is clearly working
• Water remains a hard no — and honestly, fair enough

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