Bridgman Park in North Vancouver

I went to Bridgman Park because John and Kate wanted to hike. I've been here a few times and I love it. I get to hike with them all the way to Twin Falls and it takes over two hours so I get an awesome walk. This time they got lost, so we ended up walking for four hours.. Kate said one of her toenails came off.. gross.. There's lots of dogs here.

There aren't too many parking spots here. Maybe space for about 30 cars but it's free! There's lots of other dogs here, and even some horses. There's some cyclists so watch out for. Oh, and watch out for the huge horse poos everywhere..

The hike starts out relatively easy. But it starts to get more difficult. I think you need to be wearing good shoes if you plan to walk all the way to Twin Falls. There's some steep areas, and some slippery cliff edge areas. But I've seen a few moms or dads with their baby in one of those knapsack looking things (Kate thinks it's called a Baby Bjorn or a Snugli), I guess they are very experienced hikers.

On the way to Twin Falls, there's a cool place to rest and even dip your feet. I like to stop here and cool off by sitting in the water.

That's me cooling off! Everyone was laughing at me cause I wouldn't get up for awhile. It was HOT that day!

Kate noticed this, she thought it looked like a dog with floppy ears.

At last, at Twin Falls. The view is breathtaking. At this point, I need to be on leash.

At this point, you can turn back and head back the way you came, or you can climb the steps, then turn left, and proceed to go back through a residential route.
(that's how Kate and John got lost).

Travelling with a dog

Soo, I'm pretty lucky, John thinks it's important I travel to experience new things. So sometimes I get to go on vacation. I've never been on a plane because Kate thinks it's too dangerous and not fair since I might have to spend a lot of time in a crate once at the destination.
I've been on the ferry a few times to go to the Sunshine Coast. John and Kate like to rent a cottage right on the ocean where I get to roam free. I love it there, because I get to swim and be outside off-leash the entire time!! I even got to go on a small boat and watch John fish. But it got too hot, so Kate made me a little fort so I can get shade, and watch the small fish used for bait swimming around in a bucket. There's one other small cabin on the property, but we've been here three times so far, and have had no problems with me running free. Right now they're looking for other properties in Sechelt they can rent for the weekend that are completely secluded.

I also get to go to Seattle a lot for the weekend. We always stay at La Quinta using the weekend impulse rates. So usually around 59.99, then Kate goes shopping at the premium outlets and Nordstrom Rack. I get to walk around the premium outlets, and if it's not hot, I wait in the car while they look for stuff in Nordstrom Rack. There's some awesome dog parks in Seattle that are completely gated. I'm going to post all the good ones next time!

My favorite place to go is the Oregon Coast. I love watching all the kites and running around the
beaches. Some of the beaches have tons of people and dogs, but some of them are very quiet and secluded. I like to stay in Lincoln at the Looking Glass Inn, and then driving further south (but not as far as Newport) and just go to one of the secluded beaches.

JP (the cat) never gets to come with us. I'm not sure why. I think maybe Kate and John need JP to watch the house.

I'm very excited because next week I get to go camping. In a tent! I've never done that before. Kate's afraid I'm going to bark a lot whenever I hear something strange and keep all the other people at the camp awake.

Off-leash dog parks in Vancouver, Off-leash parks in Richmond, Off-leash parks in North Vancouver

This is a Vancouver off-leash dog parks website. If you're checking the website, make sure you check the posted times as many off-leash dog parks are off-leash only during designated hours. These are my reviews and thoughts:

Vancouver
Fraser Marine off leash dog Park - this park is in Vancouver right across from MacDonald Beach. In fact, I can see my buddies across the Fraser River. There's free parking here, sand, beach, an okay walk for John and Kate, and even places to have a barbecue. But there are off-leash designated times here: 6-10 am and 5-10 pm, but I've been here at lunch time and see lots of dogs here off leash all hours. W 75th and Angus. The people here are usually pretty friendly too, not too many dog snobs. There are not that many dogs here though compared to MacDonald Beach. Sometimes I come here and see no other playmates. No bicyclists here to watch out for.

Fraserview Golf Course - only certain areas are designated off-leash areas. I'm not really a big fan of this park. There's hardly any other dogs here to socialize with, and like Kate says, there's a lot of jerks here. Oh, and if you're a small dog, you gotta be careful cause there's lots of coyotes here. Lots of free parking here. If you are good on a leash, your owners will probably enjoy some of the trails here, although, if they're into trails, they should go over to North Vancouver instead.

Vanier Park - I have lots of fun here, there's a beach, and it's a fun place to watch people flying kites. It's a fun place for John and Kate to people watch, but the people here aren't as friendly as most other parks. Oh, and you have to pay for parking. As long as you're in the beach area, you don't need to watch out for cyclists.David Lam Park - If you're a small toy dog, you'll fit right in here. There's hardly any big dogs, but there's a lot of "beautiful people" here. Oh, and there's lots of bicyclists and rollerbladers here so be careful. It's more of a place to see and be seen.. I don't like it here, because I have to stay on leash, and the toy dog owners freak out if I go anywhere close to them.. Also, I think it's mandatory girls are wearing Lululemon here. Oh, and it's mostly concrete and there's poop everywhere. (very small poops).

Richmond
MacDonald Beach - it's in Richmond close to the airport. And I can see my buddies across the river at Fraser Marine park. It's labelled number one on this map. There are no designated off-leash hours. There's beach, sand, grass, as well as a nice walk for John and Kate and plenty of free parking. There's some picnic benches, but it's not really the best place for a picnic cause once in a while, you'll get some hungry dog jumping on the table and grabbing your lunch. Everyone that comes to this park is friendly. Except one time, I saw a guy threaten to hit another owner's dog, that's the only exception. But that guy was probably crazy and I have not seen him there since. There's also public bathrooms that are maintained pretty well. And I don't need to watch out for bicylists or joggers. The only downside is, there's a lot of dog poop in the grass, so be careful where you walk. I often meet dogs from Seattle here.

Dyke Trail - look at number two on this map. I like this park, but there's not much swimming here, or at least it's hard to get to the water anyways. There's some bicyclists you need to watch out for, but it's an easy walk for John or Kate to do by themself. Just straight up and down. Kate has such a bad sense of direction, so she has no fear of getting lost here. Once in a while, there's dead seals washed up, and some of the dogs go nuts rubbing their backs all over them so if you like to do that, maybe you should stay on a leash, because you will stink for days or weeks. The people here are very warm and friendly. Lots of benches for you to sit on too.

North Vancouver
Ambleside Beach - Once you get here, you have to keep on driving to the furthest parking lot. There's tons of dogs here, big and small. But I was attacked here once by a Jack Russell, (he punctured my cheek) and when John took me to a vet, the vet asked if it happened at Ambleside. According to him, he's treated lots of dogs that got attacked at this park. And the vet was in Vancouver!! But we still come here a lot, because Kate likes to do her shopping at Whole Foods after the dog park. And there's always dogs here for me to play with. There's grass, and there's a sandy beach. And I don't know why, but there's a lot of dog haters that come to the off-leash dog areas. Grrrrr.

Me!

Hello there, My name is Django and I'm a shepherd mix. I was born November 2004 and was adopted by my parents John and Kate. They were only dating at the time, but now they're married. I wasn't invited to the wedding. I had to spend that weekend in a kennel. In fact, I've stayed in a few different kennels around town. More on that later.

Kate named me after one of her favorite musicians, Django Reinhardt.

My fur is black, and the temperatures in Vancouver today must have hit over 30. I go to daycare during the day. John used to work at home (Those were the days), but that didn't work out so now he has to go to an office. So John and Kate take turns taking me to daycare. I go to one in Richmond and one in Burnaby. I think I like the one in Burnaby better because I've been going there longer, and the dogs are a bit smaller. Oh, and the air conditioning isn't so bad either.

I think when I was born, I had some brothers and sisters, but I don't keep in touch with them anymore. I now have a new big brother. His name is JP, and he is a cat. I love him, but I don't know if he loves me, he's scratched me a few times for no reason. When I first came to live with John and Kate, JP scratched my nose and made it bleed. Now sometimes when I walk past him, he takes a swipe at me, so I learned to keep my distance. Sometimes when he's sleeping, I like to get close to him and sleep. He snores.