Halloween!
With the help of Don Kiely (wow...thank you thank you....) we ran 3 teams of 6 off the 4 wheeler.

The first team had Misty and CrackerJack in wheel. I moved Misty up to swing about half way through. CrackerJack continues to have the drive and the enthusiasm....he just needs to be in a non-sprint team. He is well behaved on the line...doesn't chew or create any problems.
Misty continues to learn to try and stay over the line and on one side. She is like a ditzy puppy with a ton of drive and lots of happy antics. She is a great little sled dog. Loves to go and pulls hard. She still needs to understand how to get over the line when she steps over. That will come with more training. We let her loose at the very beginning and she got to run around and play with the other 5 dogs all in harness before we started to call them to the line. She came easily to be hooked up. I have just loved to watch her evolution, from a dog that you couldn't touch 6 months ago, to a dog that can be let loose and runs up to you to be hooked into the team.

The 3rd team had Blackberry in it. I didn't run Licorice today. He was coughing a bit and I didn't want to chance it if he is coming down with something!!
Blackberry was in swing. We took the different route today down St. Patrick's. All the teams were upped in their mileage today.
Blackberry did great as usual. Coming back I stopped and put her in lead with Borax. Cute! A cream colored 60 pound dog next to a 35 pound pure black dog! She did well on her first time in lead. A little confused, but we even had to pass a car head on and she did it with no problem. She got a little worried and I switched her back to swing. I'll work more with her in lead as she has a lot of drive and speed.

Thanks again to Don....even with all he has going on in his working life...he always has time for the gang. thanks!

Thursday Oct 28

Another great training day. Lisa Baraff came out again with her dog Hope (thank you thank you thank you!!) and we ran 3 teams of 6. Unfortunately they have plowed and graveled the road, but luckily not down to the dirt, so although the surface wasn't the best, it was still good training.
The first team had Misty and CrackerJack. Misty is becoming better and better about staying on her side of the line and not getting legs over the gangline. She was excellent today. CrackerJack loves to go and his gait is nice....he just isn't a sprint dog. I would love to find him a nice recreational home or mid distance racing team. He is a beautiful dog with a sweet personality who would fit in anywhere with other dogs.
We did around 5 miles today and everyone worked hard.

The 3rd team had BlackBerry in swing. We had a bit of a tough time starting out. This is my fastest, most high powered team and they are a bit crazy. BlackBerry slipped her collar within 2 seconds after her harness got caught up on the gate on the way out of the yard!!! Everyone was fine luckily and we got going again. We took a different route by heading down St. Patrick's instead of on up Henderson Road. St. Patrick's hasn't been plowed and it was great for the dogs. My leaders took the command nicely and we headed down, down, down. It is a fun road to 4 wheel train on, but a few blind corners make me very nervous. We saw no traffic on any of the 3 runs so everything went smoothly. BlackBerry once again, was awesome.

After Lisa left I loaded up Licorice and took him to Creamer's Field to meet a potential adopter. The fellow had brought his other dog and we hooked them all up. Licorice has never been around skis, has never run lead and is a fairly shy dog in new situations. We necklined the dogs together and they took off great. Not a problem for Licorice. He pulled hard and they were going at a nice clip. They got in a tangle near the end and that was the end of the run. I was very proud of Licorice as he went out like he had been doing this for some time.
The potential adopter I think wants him, but he will go home and sleep on it for a couple of days. It would be a great home as Licorice would be a house dog too!!
Carol

Hi,
I just thought that I would clarify some things in my training blogs.
My dogs are well conditioned all year. I free run them during the summer and they are used to running around and chasing each other at 25 mph. They are atheltes all year round not just during the racing season.
This is why I feel that I can take my dogs out early in the season and put some speed workouts on them. I don't always train FAST. I do a lot of different training depending on the dog's ability and what they are conditioned for. I often train my dogs as I train myself as a runner. There are days of long slower distance and there are days of short fast speed work.
I would never recommend taking a dog team out that hasn't been off their chains for months and immediately take them up to 18mph to get them into shape. This is asking for injuries and souring a dog.
I'm certainly NO professional dog musher. I'm a limited class musher that has a resonable amount of success in training cast off dogs and shelter dogs. I write what I do, but it is not necessarily what someone else might want to go out and try with their dogs. You have to be able to read your dog and know their capabilities.
Thanks.
Carol

Monday

2" of fresh snow overnight. Still on the 4- wheeler. Lisa Baraff come over today to help me train! Fun!! Big thanks to her and her dog Hope.
We ran 3 teams of 6. The first team had her shelter dog (from Kodiak) Hope in it (she did great by the way) and Misty. Misty is finally figuring out how to get over the lines herself. Once again she amazes me with her transformation when going to work. That dog loves pulling.

The 3rd team had Licorice and BlackBerry. I tried to see how fast Blackberry could go...but coming back down the hill we were doing 20+ mph and that dog's tug was still tight. Licorice also is very fast...I didn't keep them at this speed for very long but most of the time we were probably doing around 18. The surface is good and all my dogs are used to crazily running for they are let loose a lot during the summer in their fenced acre.

Didn't run CrackerJack today as several dogs had to sit out (I just didn't feel like running a 4th team).

After the runs we let Hope, Izzi (Don Kiely's dog) and Misty loose to run around and play. They put in an extra few miles running madly through the trees and around the dog houses.

Thanks again to Lisa and Hope for joining us today. Always safer and more fun to have a 2nd person along.

Carol

Saturday Oct. 23

Another beautiful day to train...almost enough snow to take out a sled! But still on the 4 wheeler. Thanks again to Don Kiely. I can't believe that I used to do this all by myself. Sure helps to have someone always here The runs go a lot quicker with 2 people harnessing and hooking up.
We ran 3 teams of 6. The first team had Misty and CrackerJack in it. CrackerJack is definitely not a sprint dog. He is a hard worker but just can't keep the speed of a sprint team. He loves to go and would be a great addition for a rec team or a slower distance team. He ran in wheel today.
Misty is great. She has a lot of drive and speed. She is a very hard worker who didn't get tangled in the lines today. She's learning! It is such a delight to see how she changes from a shy, timid dog to an outgoing bouncy girl when I bring out the harnesses.

The 2nd team was 6 of my dogs. They all did good.

The 3rd team had Licorice and BlackBerry. I put both of these foster dogs in with my fastest 4 boys. And WHEW...we were cooking. All the dog's line were tight especially coming back down the long hill whenI had the speed up as fast as I felt comfortable with their training so far. These dogs are fast!!! Blackberry is just a tiny thing. 35 pounds and wears a black tug harness (smallest). But that girl can go! I just have a grin on my face watching all the foster dogs and knowing how they came to me and what they are doing now. Licorice was in wheel and even with his large size he can really stretch out.

Thanks again to Don.

Carol

Wednesday October 20
Another training day. The fabulous Don Kiely once again volunteered to help train the dogs, dealing with lots of tangles, screaming dogs, and a grumpy me!!!
We ran 3 teams of 6. The first team had the screaming leaders Loon and Raisin. They are pretty fast, but by screaming I mean they DO scream! Loudly out of a great excitement of running and leading a team. I need to get Don some earplugs.
Misty and CrackerJack were in this team. Misty is a very driven sled dog. She comes out of her shell when it is hook up time. Amazing to watch her transformation. She hasn't quite figured out keeping on one side of the line though. She would often get a front or a back leg (or both!) over the gangline and not know how to get back over. That will come with time. She does a lot of dancing around when we are stopped as she is pulling and jerking to go. She loves this!
She was in swing today next to Don's dog Izzi and I have to thank Izzi too for dealing with Misty's antics.
CrackerJack was in wheel. He is not super speedy going up hil but is able to stretch out and pull hard on the flats and downhill. His strength will come with time.

The 2nd team had Blackberry in swing. There were several times I had the speed up pretty fast and still her tug was tight. I'm amazed at the fluidity with which she runs and the quickness that she has already. I'm anxious to see how fast she can really go one of these days!

The 3rd team had Licorice in a team with 5 of my fastest males. It was a wild team and Don was running back and forth trying to keep dogs on their own side and untwisting lines. It is always like this early in the season with my sprint dogs. After some training they calm down. But I'm also quite tolerant of jumping and screaming too.
Licorice did great. His gait is really smoothing out. We were going at a fast clip the whole time and his tug is always tight. He is not a crazy dog like some of mine and stands nicely in line ready to go. I didn't even stop and give this group a rest....even at the turn around they were screaming when we paused to turn. So we just went for it.

So, I'm incredibly happy with all my foster dogs. They are available for adoption at any time.
Thanks again to Don for dealing with me and the crazy dogs.
Carol

Saturday October 16
Thanks first to Don Kiely for once again being the greatest handler in the world and who actually loves to help out training dogs even when he ends up doing a lot of the poop scooping and has to deal with a couple of crazy lead dogs that not only scream in his ear but leap up and bonk him in the face!
We ran 3 teams on Saturday with the 4 wheeler. The 4 foster dogs were in different teams.
The first team of 6 dogs had CrackerJack and BlackBerry in swing. They both did great. I haven't gone as fast as Blackberry can go. She is just a little speed demon. She has a ton of drive and loves to go. (( She would also make a great pet dog. She is very devoted to one person (me at the moment!), loves being in the house, rides calmly in the car, and can be let loose and comes when I call her.))
Although she is very small and fine boned she has a huge heart.
CrackerJack is a very hard worker and loves to go. He yodels to go and has a lot of potential. He is not a super fast dog so will be best not in a sprint team.

The 2nd team had Misty in swing. She has turned into a little crazy maniac. That dog loves to go. Her manners need some work right now. She wants to go so bad that she stands on the gangline, stands on the dog beside her, jumps over the line.......but this is her first training year (she is only 1.5 years old) and her enthusiasm in endearing and she will learn what she needs to over the next month. She is a very hard worker and quite fast.

The 3rd team was a team of 8 with Licorice in wheel. He is always hard on the line. A very good worker. He is a big strong boy who will fit in a mid distance or a sprint team.

Carol

Wednesday
With the great help of Don Kiely we ran most all of my dogs (and his!) today. We put in all 4 foster dogs and they did great.
The first team was an 8 dog team. The foster dogs in that team were BlackBerry and Misty. I put them side by side in swing. They are both soooo good. They love to go and are very driven. They also have good speed and very nice gaits. Misty needs to learn how to be in the line at the start. She gets so excited that she is jumping around and gets a bit tangled. But that will come with time. It is just such a joy to see that she really loves this. After a few more runs I will try both BlackBerry and Misty in lead. I think they both have that potential as they love to run.
We had to pass another team that was getting hooked up and although it was bit scary for both forster dogs, they did good and we went on by.
BlackBerry will run a bit crooked if not going fast enough. She is just trying to pull so hard that she will bend out towards one side. I'll work on upping everybody in the speed department.

The last team was a 6 dog team all males. I put CrackerJack and Licorice in this one. They were in swing side by side. They are both such non-aggressive dogs and like each other. The speed was a bit fast for CrackerJack. He is not a 20+ mph dog but if I keep the speed down around 15-16 he pulls hard and has a nice gait. Licorice IS a 20+ mph dog. He is hard on the line and coming back down the hill, his tug was always tight.

So, all my dogs, including the foster dogs are contented and happy this afternoon.
Thanks again to Don and thanks to all my dogs who also keep me in awe of their love of their work and their true joy in life.

Friday October 8, 2004
Along with Iris Wood, I took 4 shelter dogs along with 15 of my dogs and ran 3 separate teams. I ran Licorice, CrackerJack and Misty too.
Licorice is a hard worker. He really loves to go. He is still a bit gangly but has an OK gait. He always lopes and is quite fast. He was always hard on his tug line. We only went a couple of miles but I will be upping the mileage now that I will train consistently.
CrackerJack did great. He is a loping dogs with a nice gait and serious work ethic. He is not a hyper dog, he just loves to go. I'm hoping that the more I train the less he will dig!!
Misty was awesome. She seems to have found her calling. Although she is still on the small side, she makes up for it in enthusiasm and drive. She has a lot of confidence being in a team and it was a joy to see her jumping on Iris and wagging her tail, as she is usually very shy and timid.
Happy Trails.
Carol