Sunday, February 27, 2005
Saturday was another gorgeous day, so I thought it was time to take some more pictures and get them posted. Furlon has an adoption pending, but the other SCL dogs (in no particular order):
| Crackerjack | ||
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| Comet | ||
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| Baniff | ||
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| Katie | ||
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Sunday, February 20, 2005
New Faces
I've added a couple of new SCL dogs to the mix this last week - Baniff and Comet. They both came home from the shelter with me Thursday night and quickly settled themselves in with the rest of the dogs. Both are getting along fine, and they each have great (but different) personalities. Comet is an outgoing and playful young male with one of those trademark 'woo-woo's when he's excited and wants to play. Baniff is more mature, but loves attention, belly rubs and likes to snuggle up close with you. Both dogs are healthy, attentive and well behaved.
Friday night I ran a 6 dog team to see how the new dogs looked:
Scotty and Spanky (brothers) are a couple of leaders I picked up a few years ago when they were retired from a Quest musher's team. Hookup was a breeze - everyone was happy to go and there were no harness-bangers, screamers, growlers or chewers in the bunch. A nice calm start on a beautiful moonlit trail. Everyone was hard on their tugs going out of yard. Comet and Baniff both got a little curious about where they were after the first mile or so. Probably to be expected given that just 24 hours earlier they had been living out in back of the shelter with another bunch of strangers.
Now I know this may sound funny to some, but Katie was the first pleasant surprise - she took a dump on the fly without missing a beat. We crossed the road without a hitch and kept on going at a nice pace. By this point, Baniff was starting to dip some. It was a very warm night and I have no idea what kind of training she has had so far this year. Baniff is a nice, compact dog with a really nice, thick coat. I was hot just standing on the runners - I'm sure she was at least as hot.
Both Crackerjack and Comet were steady, no-nonsense workers. We took a soft, seldom used trail for a little diversion and I managed to dump the sled on a side hill. Usually when this happens, you're fighting both the soft snow and the team that wants to keep rolling. It's a matter of floundering around trying to get the sled back and upright on the trail, grabbing the snowhook with one hand while holding onto the sled for dear life with the other. Not this time. The dogs simply stopped and waited while I rectified the mess I made, then continued on down the trail when I called them up. How nice.
We ran a 6 mile loop, with maybe half a mile of slow, punchy trail. Crackerjack and Comet did great. Katie was still a little unpredictable, sometimes working hard and other just slacking, but she is getting much better. Baniff had a great time, but tended to do a lot of rubbernecking while checking out the scenery. All in all, it was a pleasant run with a nicely behaved bunch of dogs. We travelled at a decent clip and I could see a difference in both Comet and Baniff when they got back. This place was now their new dogyard, rather than just a waypoint where they were sitting in limbo, confused about an unknown future.
Friday night I ran a 6 dog team to see how the new dogs looked:
| Scotty | Spanky | |
| Crackerjack (SCL) | Baniff (SCL) | |
| Katie (SCL) | Comet (SCL) |
Scotty and Spanky (brothers) are a couple of leaders I picked up a few years ago when they were retired from a Quest musher's team. Hookup was a breeze - everyone was happy to go and there were no harness-bangers, screamers, growlers or chewers in the bunch. A nice calm start on a beautiful moonlit trail. Everyone was hard on their tugs going out of yard. Comet and Baniff both got a little curious about where they were after the first mile or so. Probably to be expected given that just 24 hours earlier they had been living out in back of the shelter with another bunch of strangers.
Now I know this may sound funny to some, but Katie was the first pleasant surprise - she took a dump on the fly without missing a beat. We crossed the road without a hitch and kept on going at a nice pace. By this point, Baniff was starting to dip some. It was a very warm night and I have no idea what kind of training she has had so far this year. Baniff is a nice, compact dog with a really nice, thick coat. I was hot just standing on the runners - I'm sure she was at least as hot.
Both Crackerjack and Comet were steady, no-nonsense workers. We took a soft, seldom used trail for a little diversion and I managed to dump the sled on a side hill. Usually when this happens, you're fighting both the soft snow and the team that wants to keep rolling. It's a matter of floundering around trying to get the sled back and upright on the trail, grabbing the snowhook with one hand while holding onto the sled for dear life with the other. Not this time. The dogs simply stopped and waited while I rectified the mess I made, then continued on down the trail when I called them up. How nice.
We ran a 6 mile loop, with maybe half a mile of slow, punchy trail. Crackerjack and Comet did great. Katie was still a little unpredictable, sometimes working hard and other just slacking, but she is getting much better. Baniff had a great time, but tended to do a lot of rubbernecking while checking out the scenery. All in all, it was a pleasant run with a nicely behaved bunch of dogs. We travelled at a decent clip and I could see a difference in both Comet and Baniff when they got back. This place was now their new dogyard, rather than just a waypoint where they were sitting in limbo, confused about an unknown future.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Time flies when it's 45 below
I've been a bad blogger. The last couple of weeks I've managed to get out with the dogs in between dips in the thermometer, but we haven't run since last Sunday night. We did have some beautiful runs under the full moon, though.
Since my last entry, Iris and I swapped Katie for Cheyenne. Katie's getting settled in, running with the 'elders' and learning the ropes. She's a sweet dog who has this neat ability to almost levitate - too bad the Olympics dropped the standing high jump long ago. She can get herself a good 3 feet off the ground without taking a step. She loves to run in harness, but needs work on focusing. I've only run her a half dozen times so far, but each time she's gotten a bit better. She's also gone from shy and stand-offish to offering licks and looking for belly rubs.
Crackerjack is doing pretty good. He's keeping up with the other dogs, but prefers trotting to loping. He's Mr. Popularity with the other dogs, somehow making friends with even the stodgiest old farts in the dog yard. I'm just constantly amazed how well he gets along with other dogs, and how he can get dogs to play with him. He's still hesitant about being handled, but tends to just take it in stride.
Furlon is really a nice addition to the team. He's been running as a team and wheel dog, and he just loves to go. He's steady, focused and honest. I've been letting him loose more and more in the yard, and he doesn't wander at all. His house and circle are his comfort zone and, while he'll visit the other dogs (occasionally trying out their houses for size), he's to the point where I don't worry about keeping an eye on him while dealing with other things.
So what do you on a 45 below night? Curl up on the couch and watch a movie - that's Katie on the couch and Crackerjack standing:
What? No Popcorn?
Teva and Angie's adopter sent this picture of her son out sledding with them last month. This same picture is up on the recently adopted page, but it's such a nice shot I wanted to share it again. Looking good -
Since my last entry, Iris and I swapped Katie for Cheyenne. Katie's getting settled in, running with the 'elders' and learning the ropes. She's a sweet dog who has this neat ability to almost levitate - too bad the Olympics dropped the standing high jump long ago. She can get herself a good 3 feet off the ground without taking a step. She loves to run in harness, but needs work on focusing. I've only run her a half dozen times so far, but each time she's gotten a bit better. She's also gone from shy and stand-offish to offering licks and looking for belly rubs.
Crackerjack is doing pretty good. He's keeping up with the other dogs, but prefers trotting to loping. He's Mr. Popularity with the other dogs, somehow making friends with even the stodgiest old farts in the dog yard. I'm just constantly amazed how well he gets along with other dogs, and how he can get dogs to play with him. He's still hesitant about being handled, but tends to just take it in stride.
Furlon is really a nice addition to the team. He's been running as a team and wheel dog, and he just loves to go. He's steady, focused and honest. I've been letting him loose more and more in the yard, and he doesn't wander at all. His house and circle are his comfort zone and, while he'll visit the other dogs (occasionally trying out their houses for size), he's to the point where I don't worry about keeping an eye on him while dealing with other things.
So what do you on a 45 below night? Curl up on the couch and watch a movie - that's Katie on the couch and Crackerjack standing:
What? No Popcorn?
Teva and Angie's adopter sent this picture of her son out sledding with them last month. This same picture is up on the recently adopted page, but it's such a nice shot I wanted to share it again. Looking good -
