Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Took a few dogs skijoring today. I hooked Misty (SCL) up with Chanel and we did the 2.7 mile course at Creamer's field. Chanel is a very driven and fast dog. Misty can keep up for awhile but then starts to slack just a little bit. She doesn't have the top end speed for a top of the line sprint team, but with all my dogs getting older she is going to fit in just fine until she finds a new home. For the most part, she did great today and joy just fills my heart when I see other people petting her at the truck and she is wagging her tail and happy.
Monday, November 29, 2004
Took a team of 6 speedy dogs to Musher's Hall today. I had heard they had groomed the trails so decided to check it out. Thanks to my sweetie, Don Kiely for meeting me there and helping to get my off the start line and loading back up when I was done. The team consisted of:
Borax Jazz
Robin Blackberry (SCL)
Crowe Zorba
Blackberry and Robin had run the skijor race yesterday but they are both in good shape that I knew 4.5 miles wouldn't be a problem. We shot away from the truck at an alarming speed with me on the drag and the dogs extremely excited to be pulling a sled. The trail had been groomed but I certainly don't recommend it for sprint teams. It is very very bumpy, some places enough to rattle my teeth and my arms ached from hanging on!! Also, there were quite a few tussocks that tossed my sled around. I stayed on the drag because this team just wanted to go FAST and I didn't want to hurt a dog.
All the dogs did great. Blackberry, for being small, is a big contributor to the speed and pulling power of the team. She is just a little muscle charging down the trail.
We made it back safe and sound, but I wouldn't take another fast team out of there until there is more work on the trail.
Thanks again to Don for all his help and scooping poop.
Borax Jazz
Robin Blackberry (SCL)
Crowe Zorba
Blackberry and Robin had run the skijor race yesterday but they are both in good shape that I knew 4.5 miles wouldn't be a problem. We shot away from the truck at an alarming speed with me on the drag and the dogs extremely excited to be pulling a sled. The trail had been groomed but I certainly don't recommend it for sprint teams. It is very very bumpy, some places enough to rattle my teeth and my arms ached from hanging on!! Also, there were quite a few tussocks that tossed my sled around. I stayed on the drag because this team just wanted to go FAST and I didn't want to hurt a dog.
All the dogs did great. Blackberry, for being small, is a big contributor to the speed and pulling power of the team. She is just a little muscle charging down the trail.
We made it back safe and sound, but I wouldn't take another fast team out of there until there is more work on the trail.
Thanks again to Don for all his help and scooping poop.
Sunday, November 28, 2004
The 2nd ASPA fun race of the season was today. I ran 2 different classes with my 2 foster dogs, but with different ones of my dogs this week.
First race was for 3.6 miles. I ran Robin and Blackberry (SCL). Another win for Blackberry! It was a fairly large class so I was tickled to showcase Blackberry by winning. She was a bit distracted at times, but I think she was a bit tired from being up all night trying scare off a moose. She is very sensitive to the moose being around and she was spinning on her chain a lot. We passed several teams, all very clean passes. She continues to be a driven and pretty focused skijor dog.
The 2nd team consisted of Chanel and Misty (SCL). She is still a bit freaked out by being handled but is getting so much better. She is actually jumping up on people at the truck for pets. We did the 1.4 mile course and she did great. We had a couple of passes and although she hesitates just a little bit, she drives hard once we are passed. We won that division also with an average speed of over 17 mph. I was very proud of both of my SCL dogs.
After the races thanks to Sara Elzey and Don Kiely, I managed to get most of the rest of my dogs run. Sara took off with a 3 dog team for 3.6 miles. I hooked up Pippi and Casper (both dogs that came from the shelter) for 2.7 miles.
Don took out CrackerJack by himself. At first he didn't want to go. They came back to the start. So I took off and CrackerJack then was in chase mode. We put a lot of distance between us pretty quickly, but I could see that CrackerJack was doing well. Then Don said they came around the field to where there were lots of practicing bow hunters and life size cardboard deer standing around and CrackerJack decided he had enough. So Don had to pull him back to the start. I think he will do great in a 2 dog team where there is a dog with a lot of confidence that can get CrackerJack through those "bad' parts. Thanks so much to Don for taking him out.
First race was for 3.6 miles. I ran Robin and Blackberry (SCL). Another win for Blackberry! It was a fairly large class so I was tickled to showcase Blackberry by winning. She was a bit distracted at times, but I think she was a bit tired from being up all night trying scare off a moose. She is very sensitive to the moose being around and she was spinning on her chain a lot. We passed several teams, all very clean passes. She continues to be a driven and pretty focused skijor dog.
The 2nd team consisted of Chanel and Misty (SCL). She is still a bit freaked out by being handled but is getting so much better. She is actually jumping up on people at the truck for pets. We did the 1.4 mile course and she did great. We had a couple of passes and although she hesitates just a little bit, she drives hard once we are passed. We won that division also with an average speed of over 17 mph. I was very proud of both of my SCL dogs.
After the races thanks to Sara Elzey and Don Kiely, I managed to get most of the rest of my dogs run. Sara took off with a 3 dog team for 3.6 miles. I hooked up Pippi and Casper (both dogs that came from the shelter) for 2.7 miles.
Don took out CrackerJack by himself. At first he didn't want to go. They came back to the start. So I took off and CrackerJack then was in chase mode. We put a lot of distance between us pretty quickly, but I could see that CrackerJack was doing well. Then Don said they came around the field to where there were lots of practicing bow hunters and life size cardboard deer standing around and CrackerJack decided he had enough. So Don had to pull him back to the start. I think he will do great in a 2 dog team where there is a dog with a lot of confidence that can get CrackerJack through those "bad' parts. Thanks so much to Don for taking him out.
Sunday, November 21, 2004
The first of the ASPA skijor races was today. I decided to try out my SCL foster dogs to see how they would do in crowds of people and other dogs. It was a nice 15 above day with great trails.
I ran Galena and BlackBerry (SCL) in the 2 dog 2.7 mile race. We won!!!! Blackberry is totally driven. She puts her head down and GOES!! She was not as shy as I thought she would be with all the action going on. People grabbing her at the line and all the passing. We passed 4 teams on the way out and as we were close to the finish there is always a place where there can be some head on passing. Well, we passed 4 teams head on also! Blackberry didn't even break stride. She was flawless. It helped to have Galena beside her. Galena will pass anything and is a good command leader.
In my second race of the day (I had about a 10 minute turn around time for my 2nd team) I ran Robin and Misty (SCL) for 1.4 miles. Misty is pretty shy and I didn't want to take her longer for I wasn't sure how she would react with all the hub bub of people and dogs. She was a bit freaky at the start...too many people trying to grab at her. But the second we took of, she was a pro. We had a bad neckline tangle that I finally just had to stop and take off the neckline. I was a bit worried for I could see that we were going to pass at least 2 teams....Misty was hesitant (Robin will pass anything!!) but never balked and even without a neckline she ran right by 3 teams to the finish! I was very proud of her and we WON that class also! (although I think there were only 3 or 4 in that class).
I was very proud of both of these SCL dogs. They have come a very long way since I got them.
A big thanks to AJ Sutton, Tom McGrane and Sara Elzey for helping me at the line.
BIG thanks to Sara for running 2 more teams after the race (and I ran 2 also) to get a bunch of my dogs some good exercise for the day.
I ran Galena and BlackBerry (SCL) in the 2 dog 2.7 mile race. We won!!!! Blackberry is totally driven. She puts her head down and GOES!! She was not as shy as I thought she would be with all the action going on. People grabbing her at the line and all the passing. We passed 4 teams on the way out and as we were close to the finish there is always a place where there can be some head on passing. Well, we passed 4 teams head on also! Blackberry didn't even break stride. She was flawless. It helped to have Galena beside her. Galena will pass anything and is a good command leader.
In my second race of the day (I had about a 10 minute turn around time for my 2nd team) I ran Robin and Misty (SCL) for 1.4 miles. Misty is pretty shy and I didn't want to take her longer for I wasn't sure how she would react with all the hub bub of people and dogs. She was a bit freaky at the start...too many people trying to grab at her. But the second we took of, she was a pro. We had a bad neckline tangle that I finally just had to stop and take off the neckline. I was a bit worried for I could see that we were going to pass at least 2 teams....Misty was hesitant (Robin will pass anything!!) but never balked and even without a neckline she ran right by 3 teams to the finish! I was very proud of her and we WON that class also! (although I think there were only 3 or 4 in that class).
I was very proud of both of these SCL dogs. They have come a very long way since I got them.
A big thanks to AJ Sutton, Tom McGrane and Sara Elzey for helping me at the line.
BIG thanks to Sara for running 2 more teams after the race (and I ran 2 also) to get a bunch of my dogs some good exercise for the day.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Ran 3 teams today down on the dikes beyond the airport. Really nice and flat and fairly smooth! Good for sprint dogs.
Team #1
Robin Chanel
Galena Daikon
Pippi Casper
No SCL dogs in this group, but Casper and Pippi were both adopted from the shelter (Pippi 4 years ago and Casper 2 years ago) Great front end directional work.
Team #2
Raisin Loon
Beans Misty (SCL)
Izzi Chert
Another good run with this team. Good directional work. Misty was good as usual. She is not a sprint dog but with little Loon in lead we aren't going at top end sprint speeds.
Both teams did 5-6 miles of flat. Misty rarely ever gets tangled anymore and when she does she is able to get herself out of it.
Team #3
Borax Jazz
Blackberry (SCL)
Crowe Zorba
I was a bit afraid to take these 5 dogs on this trail for I wasn't sure if I could get Borax (who is a really good leader but can be totally stubborn when he thinks he is right!) to do the double back at Peger Road. We took off FAST. I was on the drag. This team is power and speed. BlackBerry is always tight on her tug even though she isn't a lot of power.
I decided to try something different with this team and hawed them off the dike to the road, but there were lots of intersections and Borax did his stubborn "thing" and decided to turn us back around to head back to the truck. Yikes. I didn't trust hooking down and after numerous tries to get him or Jazz to come back around failed....he won this one. I rarely let that happen, but didn't want to lose the team if they popped the hook. So this team only went 4-4.5 miles. Blackberry was awesome. Just just keeps going and going. Lots of energy and drive.
Team #1
Robin Chanel
Galena Daikon
Pippi Casper
No SCL dogs in this group, but Casper and Pippi were both adopted from the shelter (Pippi 4 years ago and Casper 2 years ago) Great front end directional work.
Team #2
Raisin Loon
Beans Misty (SCL)
Izzi Chert
Another good run with this team. Good directional work. Misty was good as usual. She is not a sprint dog but with little Loon in lead we aren't going at top end sprint speeds.
Both teams did 5-6 miles of flat. Misty rarely ever gets tangled anymore and when she does she is able to get herself out of it.
Team #3
Borax Jazz
Blackberry (SCL)
Crowe Zorba
I was a bit afraid to take these 5 dogs on this trail for I wasn't sure if I could get Borax (who is a really good leader but can be totally stubborn when he thinks he is right!) to do the double back at Peger Road. We took off FAST. I was on the drag. This team is power and speed. BlackBerry is always tight on her tug even though she isn't a lot of power.
I decided to try something different with this team and hawed them off the dike to the road, but there were lots of intersections and Borax did his stubborn "thing" and decided to turn us back around to head back to the truck. Yikes. I didn't trust hooking down and after numerous tries to get him or Jazz to come back around failed....he won this one. I rarely let that happen, but didn't want to lose the team if they popped the hook. So this team only went 4-4.5 miles. Blackberry was awesome. Just just keeps going and going. Lots of energy and drive.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
A great skijoring day!
Took several dogs to Creamer's Field to skijor. Thanks to Jess Ryan who ran one of my teams and helped me get out my other 3. I ran Galena, Casper (a shelter dog I adopted a couple of years ago) and Misty (SCL). We started out in a fan hitch with only Misty and Casper necklined. But they got in a big tangle so I just took off the neckline. All 3 dogs did great. (we did about 3 miles) Misty will really push a dog off the left if she is on the right, so I tried to make sure she was on the left most of the time. We passed several people with dogs, a couple of skiers and playground ruckus at the school. Casper wanted to visit the dogs, but he responded well to "on by" and charged on. Misty ignored all the distractions. All 3 dogs were running hard and really enjoying the day. Misty was pretty friendly with Jess. No one lagged and I was impressed that without necklines they all stayed close together and worked well as a team.
Took several dogs to Creamer's Field to skijor. Thanks to Jess Ryan who ran one of my teams and helped me get out my other 3. I ran Galena, Casper (a shelter dog I adopted a couple of years ago) and Misty (SCL). We started out in a fan hitch with only Misty and Casper necklined. But they got in a big tangle so I just took off the neckline. All 3 dogs did great. (we did about 3 miles) Misty will really push a dog off the left if she is on the right, so I tried to make sure she was on the left most of the time. We passed several people with dogs, a couple of skiers and playground ruckus at the school. Casper wanted to visit the dogs, but he responded well to "on by" and charged on. Misty ignored all the distractions. All 3 dogs were running hard and really enjoying the day. Misty was pretty friendly with Jess. No one lagged and I was impressed that without necklines they all stayed close together and worked well as a team.
Monday, November 15, 2004
Awoke to a beautiful crisp morning and knew it would be a good day to run dogs.
Lisa Baraff came over with her dog Hope and we had 2 great runs. No SCL dogs in the first team, where her shelter rescued dog Hope ran. That team did very well.
The 2nd team was the 5 speedy guys and BlackBerry.
Borax Jazz
Robin BlackBerry (SCL)
Zorba Crowe
We went the furthest that we have gone this year. All the way up Henderson to where it meets Ester Dome Road. Very steep places on the way up.
All the dogs did great. BlackBerry is so amazing. She just never gets tired. She is incredibly driven, never looks around, and is very focused. When we got back home we let everyone loose including Hope and Misty (SCL). The 8 dogs had fun running around the yard and BlackBerry looked like she hadn't run any miles at all.
Thanks so much to Lisa!!!
Lisa Baraff came over with her dog Hope and we had 2 great runs. No SCL dogs in the first team, where her shelter rescued dog Hope ran. That team did very well.
The 2nd team was the 5 speedy guys and BlackBerry.
Borax Jazz
Robin BlackBerry (SCL)
Zorba Crowe
We went the furthest that we have gone this year. All the way up Henderson to where it meets Ester Dome Road. Very steep places on the way up.
All the dogs did great. BlackBerry is so amazing. She just never gets tired. She is incredibly driven, never looks around, and is very focused. When we got back home we let everyone loose including Hope and Misty (SCL). The 8 dogs had fun running around the yard and BlackBerry looked like she hadn't run any miles at all.
Thanks so much to Lisa!!!
Sunday, November 14, 2004
I took 8 dogs to the ADMA track today to see how the trails are.
A few teams where there ready to go out. Distance teams though.
But I started out with a small 4 dog team.
Loon Beans
Chert Misty (SCL)
The trails are basically in bad shape for sprinting. Very lumpy and narrow. We passed a team head on that was coming back up the outbound trail. I was told it was better going out than coming back. (although I think the inbound was better!!)
But we did 3.7 miles and came back the inbound. It is a shame that the trails haven't been groomed yet. There is enough snow, so hopefully they will start them soon.
The little 4 dog team worked really hard. Soft and punchy snow made for slower going. The inbound trail went all over the place and we ended up coming back up the hill in a totally different way than the trails are normally groomed. But Loon and Beans followed my commands great. That is probably the slowest that I have ever come back up that hill though!
Misty did great. We passed 2 skiers that she didn't even look at. And also when we passed the 8 dog team head on there were no problems. She also let Tom McGrane pet her at the truck. She is becoming very brave and getting over her shyness. All the dogs were tired when we got back to the truck. Even for such a short distance it was fairly hard for them with the snow conditions and the bad trail.
I didn't take out the other 4 dogs. I came home and let everyone loose to run around for awhile.
A few teams where there ready to go out. Distance teams though.
But I started out with a small 4 dog team.
Loon Beans
Chert Misty (SCL)
The trails are basically in bad shape for sprinting. Very lumpy and narrow. We passed a team head on that was coming back up the outbound trail. I was told it was better going out than coming back. (although I think the inbound was better!!)
But we did 3.7 miles and came back the inbound. It is a shame that the trails haven't been groomed yet. There is enough snow, so hopefully they will start them soon.
The little 4 dog team worked really hard. Soft and punchy snow made for slower going. The inbound trail went all over the place and we ended up coming back up the hill in a totally different way than the trails are normally groomed. But Loon and Beans followed my commands great. That is probably the slowest that I have ever come back up that hill though!
Misty did great. We passed 2 skiers that she didn't even look at. And also when we passed the 8 dog team head on there were no problems. She also let Tom McGrane pet her at the truck. She is becoming very brave and getting over her shyness. All the dogs were tired when we got back to the truck. Even for such a short distance it was fairly hard for them with the snow conditions and the bad trail.
I didn't take out the other 4 dogs. I came home and let everyone loose to run around for awhile.
Friday, November 12, 2004
After Iris and I ran a team of shelter dogs, I took out a 5 dog team of mine on the sled.
Loon Raisin
Misty (SCL)
Casper Pippi
of these 5 dogs Casper and Pippi are mine that I adopted direct from the shelter and Misty is one of my SCL fosters.
What a great little team! Misty just does such a good job. She loves being a sled dog and is focused and driven. We did about 4 miles and all the dogs were happy, even in this heat wave of 30 above!!!
Loon Raisin
Misty (SCL)
Casper Pippi
of these 5 dogs Casper and Pippi are mine that I adopted direct from the shelter and Misty is one of my SCL fosters.
What a great little team! Misty just does such a good job. She loves being a sled dog and is focused and driven. We did about 4 miles and all the dogs were happy, even in this heat wave of 30 above!!!
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
BlackBerry runs again.
Took out 3 teams on the 4 wheeler today. Thanks Lisa Baraff!!!! And her friend from Kodiak Dave......always good to have the dogs meet new people and be handled by different folks.
Although Misty did'nt run today she got to be let loose and she actually let Lisa and Dave pet her. Great progress. She is so friendly with me but still quite timid around other people, so it was nice to see that she is further breaking out of her shell.
First team:
Raisin Loon
Hope CrackerJack (SCL)
Mille Topaz
CrackerJack did OK. He really kicks in on the way back down but on the way up is a bit outrun by the other dogs. We put him beside Hope and he really likes her. She is Lisa's dog.
3rd team:
Borax Jazz
BlackBerry
Crowe Chert
Even though BlackBerry ran yesterday I put her in my speedier team today. That dog just never gets tired. She is pretty high strung and even after skijoring yesterday and running madly around on her chain....her line was always tight. We let all the dogs loose afterwards, including Hope and Misty. The whole team had a blast chasing each other through the trees in the big fenced yard. I guess I should up the mileage soon as not one of the dogs was tired after their run.
Carol
Took out 3 teams on the 4 wheeler today. Thanks Lisa Baraff!!!! And her friend from Kodiak Dave......always good to have the dogs meet new people and be handled by different folks.
Although Misty did'nt run today she got to be let loose and she actually let Lisa and Dave pet her. Great progress. She is so friendly with me but still quite timid around other people, so it was nice to see that she is further breaking out of her shell.
First team:
Raisin Loon
Hope CrackerJack (SCL)
Mille Topaz
CrackerJack did OK. He really kicks in on the way back down but on the way up is a bit outrun by the other dogs. We put him beside Hope and he really likes her. She is Lisa's dog.
3rd team:
Borax Jazz
BlackBerry
Crowe Chert
Even though BlackBerry ran yesterday I put her in my speedier team today. That dog just never gets tired. She is pretty high strung and even after skijoring yesterday and running madly around on her chain....her line was always tight. We let all the dogs loose afterwards, including Hope and Misty. The whole team had a blast chasing each other through the trees in the big fenced yard. I guess I should up the mileage soon as not one of the dogs was tired after their run.
Carol
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Skijoring
Took Misty and BlackBerry to Creamer's Field today to broaden the girls horizon!!
First team:
Chanel Misty (SCL)
This was Misty's first time as a skijor dog. She was very timid being someplace new but when I started to harness her she instantly changed and got so excited. Chanel is such a professional dog and is often the one that I pick to run with a new recruit. I lined the 2 girls out and with little problem headed off down the trail. Misty is a natural. She did great. We ended up doing both fields, a little under 3 miles. Only once did she balk when I almost fell and my skiis slapped the ground a couple of times. She totally pulled back and both dogs ended up behind me. She looked very nervous but I just stood and let her check out my skiis and poles. Then I called them back up and off we went. Overall she was superb for her first time. We even had to pass a couple of people walking and although she was tentative, she went by fine.
Much thanks to Chanel for the intro for Misty.
Second team:
Loon BlackBerry (SCL)
This is the 2nd time that I have run these 2 in skijoring. The last time we did 1.4 miles. Today we did the 3 mile loop and they were totally "on." BlackBerry is very driven and puts her head down and goes! Never once did she look back or falter in any way. She is a great little skijor dog.
Carol
Took Misty and BlackBerry to Creamer's Field today to broaden the girls horizon!!
First team:
Chanel Misty (SCL)
This was Misty's first time as a skijor dog. She was very timid being someplace new but when I started to harness her she instantly changed and got so excited. Chanel is such a professional dog and is often the one that I pick to run with a new recruit. I lined the 2 girls out and with little problem headed off down the trail. Misty is a natural. She did great. We ended up doing both fields, a little under 3 miles. Only once did she balk when I almost fell and my skiis slapped the ground a couple of times. She totally pulled back and both dogs ended up behind me. She looked very nervous but I just stood and let her check out my skiis and poles. Then I called them back up and off we went. Overall she was superb for her first time. We even had to pass a couple of people walking and although she was tentative, she went by fine.
Much thanks to Chanel for the intro for Misty.
Second team:
Loon BlackBerry (SCL)
This is the 2nd time that I have run these 2 in skijoring. The last time we did 1.4 miles. Today we did the 3 mile loop and they were totally "on." BlackBerry is very driven and puts her head down and goes! Never once did she look back or falter in any way. She is a great little skijor dog.
Carol
Sunday, November 07, 2004
A wild ride!
Took a 6 dog team from my house today to the trails below me. They aren't sprint trails and are incredibly narrow but it is a fun and challenging ride. I drag a tire behind the sled to help smooth out the trail and to give me some weight!!
Daikon Raisin
Beans BlackBerry (SCL)
Millie CrackerJack (SCL)
Going out my trail, I head through the woods to a small road that had quite a berm this time as they recently plowed. Wheee. Sharp left down another dirt road for a short distance than into the trees on the trail. I really have to ride the sled to keep from running into trees...the trail is that narrow! We did about 4 miles and had a nice turn around over a pond and backtracking up to the trail to come back. What great leaders!!
BlackBerry did great as usual. She is very driven and fast. I think all the dogs liked the silence of the sled and actually working and pulling!!
CrackerJack did great at this speed. He is a very hard worker and with the added weight of the tire and me on the drag to not get out of control he was in heaven. He followed me around after the run and was constantly wagging his tail. A happy sign.
Carol
Took a 6 dog team from my house today to the trails below me. They aren't sprint trails and are incredibly narrow but it is a fun and challenging ride. I drag a tire behind the sled to help smooth out the trail and to give me some weight!!
Daikon Raisin
Beans BlackBerry (SCL)
Millie CrackerJack (SCL)
Going out my trail, I head through the woods to a small road that had quite a berm this time as they recently plowed. Wheee. Sharp left down another dirt road for a short distance than into the trees on the trail. I really have to ride the sled to keep from running into trees...the trail is that narrow! We did about 4 miles and had a nice turn around over a pond and backtracking up to the trail to come back. What great leaders!!
BlackBerry did great as usual. She is very driven and fast. I think all the dogs liked the silence of the sled and actually working and pulling!!
CrackerJack did great at this speed. He is a very hard worker and with the added weight of the tire and me on the drag to not get out of control he was in heaven. He followed me around after the run and was constantly wagging his tail. A happy sign.
Carol
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Misty debuts as a lead dog!!!
Ran 3 teams of 4 off the 4 wheeler today. Unfortunately Don couldn't help today so I didn't want to take 6 dog teams because of a few blind corners on my route.
The first team is the team I want to showcase. Misty, one of my SCL dogs, ran lead with my little dog Loon. Also in the team were Topaz and Don's dog Izzi. I have always thought that Misty had the drive and the enthusiasm to run lead. And how her personality changes from an extremely shy dog to a confident working dog is always amazing.
So today I started out with her in lead. She did her usual climbing around over the lines and flipping around. I'm working on her understanding "line out."
She did GREAT. She really crowded Loon to the left (when she was on the right) but once I stopped and put her on the left side she was much happier. She had no qualms about being up front. She did want to play a bit with Loon at times, but Loon is such a focused dog that it didn't bother her and created no problems. Most of the time, Misty just had her head down and I could tell she was really enjoying her new position. I definitely have to work on line out with her....but for only being 1.5 years old she is doing great.
Carol
Ran 3 teams of 4 off the 4 wheeler today. Unfortunately Don couldn't help today so I didn't want to take 6 dog teams because of a few blind corners on my route.
The first team is the team I want to showcase. Misty, one of my SCL dogs, ran lead with my little dog Loon. Also in the team were Topaz and Don's dog Izzi. I have always thought that Misty had the drive and the enthusiasm to run lead. And how her personality changes from an extremely shy dog to a confident working dog is always amazing.
So today I started out with her in lead. She did her usual climbing around over the lines and flipping around. I'm working on her understanding "line out."
She did GREAT. She really crowded Loon to the left (when she was on the right) but once I stopped and put her on the left side she was much happier. She had no qualms about being up front. She did want to play a bit with Loon at times, but Loon is such a focused dog that it didn't bother her and created no problems. Most of the time, Misty just had her head down and I could tell she was really enjoying her new position. I definitely have to work on line out with her....but for only being 1.5 years old she is doing great.
Carol
Friday, November 05, 2004
CrackerJack Rocks!
Iris Wood and I ran 3 shelter dogs today and I got to put CrackerJack in that 7 dog team. (Iris had 2 great leaders that helped us out) He was in the swing position and definitely loved the slower speed than my sprint dogs like to go.
He was a very hard worker and truly enjoyed pulling a distance sled with Iris on the runners and myself sitting in the sled bag! He never trots. Just has a nice lope that looks so effortless at the slower speeds.
Carol
Iris Wood and I ran 3 shelter dogs today and I got to put CrackerJack in that 7 dog team. (Iris had 2 great leaders that helped us out) He was in the swing position and definitely loved the slower speed than my sprint dogs like to go.
He was a very hard worker and truly enjoyed pulling a distance sled with Iris on the runners and myself sitting in the sled bag! He never trots. Just has a nice lope that looks so effortless at the slower speeds.
Carol
Thursday, November 04, 2004
BlackBerry is a skijor dog!!
I took several dogs to Creamer's Field this afternoon and skijored. The trail is great considering the amount of snow. Quite "bumply" and "rumply" in many places but nice (except for the 2 big dips coming and going from the main field---Yikes!).
I paired up Loon and BlackBerry. Loon has never been a good "line-out" dog and with Blackberry to confuse things even more it was pretty comical. But we got hooked up and off we went. They did EXCELLENT!!! Blackberry took to it with gusto and no fear. We even had to pass a regular skier and she didn't even look at him. We did the 1.4 mile loop and had a lot of fun. She was driven the whole way.
I stopped at the vet's on the way back to weigh everyone. Blackberry weighs 34.5 pounds. Loon weighed in at 33.5. But we flew around the course as they are both pretty speedy little dogs.
Carol
I took several dogs to Creamer's Field this afternoon and skijored. The trail is great considering the amount of snow. Quite "bumply" and "rumply" in many places but nice (except for the 2 big dips coming and going from the main field---Yikes!).
I paired up Loon and BlackBerry. Loon has never been a good "line-out" dog and with Blackberry to confuse things even more it was pretty comical. But we got hooked up and off we went. They did EXCELLENT!!! Blackberry took to it with gusto and no fear. We even had to pass a regular skier and she didn't even look at him. We did the 1.4 mile loop and had a lot of fun. She was driven the whole way.
I stopped at the vet's on the way back to weigh everyone. Blackberry weighs 34.5 pounds. Loon weighed in at 33.5. But we flew around the course as they are both pretty speedy little dogs.
Carol
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Wednesday
After I took a 6 dog team on sled from my house yesterday (it was crazy fun but the trails below me are very narrow and it tested my sled riding capabilities kicking off trees and diving through dips that in past years have been frozen full of water and not the wild ride they are this year!) I went back to the 4 wheeler today to run 2 teams of 6. Thanks again to my sweetheart Don.....he really is much needed with my wild gang.
The first team had Misty and CrackerJack in it. I need to find a home for CrackerJack pretty quickly. My distance and speed are increasing and he just isn't a sprint dog. He loves to go and his tail is always wagging so he is a happy boy. Today I let him loose after we all got home and he came right to me for treats.
Misty did great. She is such a different dog in harness. She even goes right up to Don when she is running around free.
The 2nd team had Licorice and Blackberry in it. They both did great. Blackberry likes to run the best on the left side of the line. Licorice is going to his new home tonight. I will dearly miss him but he will be living the life of luxury. Skijoring and sharing a warm home with 3 other dogs.
Thanks again to Don and all my dogs for loving their jobs!
Carol
After I took a 6 dog team on sled from my house yesterday (it was crazy fun but the trails below me are very narrow and it tested my sled riding capabilities kicking off trees and diving through dips that in past years have been frozen full of water and not the wild ride they are this year!) I went back to the 4 wheeler today to run 2 teams of 6. Thanks again to my sweetheart Don.....he really is much needed with my wild gang.
The first team had Misty and CrackerJack in it. I need to find a home for CrackerJack pretty quickly. My distance and speed are increasing and he just isn't a sprint dog. He loves to go and his tail is always wagging so he is a happy boy. Today I let him loose after we all got home and he came right to me for treats.
Misty did great. She is such a different dog in harness. She even goes right up to Don when she is running around free.
The 2nd team had Licorice and Blackberry in it. They both did great. Blackberry likes to run the best on the left side of the line. Licorice is going to his new home tonight. I will dearly miss him but he will be living the life of luxury. Skijoring and sharing a warm home with 3 other dogs.
Thanks again to Don and all my dogs for loving their jobs!
Carol
