Monday, December 17, 2007
Winter has settled in and it is another winter with very little snow so far. Luckily we have a wonderful venue at the North Star Golf Course that is groomed for skijoring so we have been going there several times a week to run the dogs. At the last skijor race I was noticing how many shelter dogs were there. It warmed my heart to see them all running and in really good homes. I ran a team with Jazz who is nearly 11 and Blackberry (SCL) who is just a driven maniac (yet is the calmest house dog that disappears in a cushy dog bed and rarely wants to go out!!) and Misty(SCL) who I used to think didn't have top speed but has come into her own this year and can drive hard and fast with all of my dogs! She too is a house dog yet doesn't mind going and laying in the snow chewing an old bone at 10 below. She has a thick white coat that is so soft.
Don skijored with Daikon, Casper (shelter rescue) and Chance (SCL) on Sunday. I loved looking down the list of dogs. The 1st place in the 3 dog skijor race (I was 2nd) had 3 shelter dogs! GO PUPS!
We have sent 4 SCL dogs to towns south of Anchorage where they are fitting into their new homes. Gage and Frisk (both SCL) joined Silver (SCL) in a sprint home.
We had Ammon and Shep here for almost 2 weeks and I got quite attached to them but it was nice to know they were going to a free running kennel and their first report of their run in a team came back glowing.
It is cold enough that all the dogs (well except for the 11-12 we have in the house) now are sleeping in the dog barn at night. They sure do like that. No one can convince me that a dog would prefer to sleep outside at 20 below rather than in a warmer environment. They all push for the door when we let them loose to run to the barn.
The rest of our SCL dogs are doing well. Kiche still doesn't want to be a sled dog but she loves other dogs and she always comes when we call her when she is loose. At first I used to walk her up to the barn on a leash but for the past couple of years it hasn't been a problem getting her to come to us or to go right to the barn. She has come a long way although she will always have that shy streak in her.
Chiclet is just a wonderful dog. She too doesn't want to be a sled dog but she is very affectionate, likes other dogs and is one of the dogs that is always in one of our "freedom"yards where dogs aren't chained up all day and night.
Chance of course is consistently skijoring. She is an excellent leader and a very driven dog.
Raja (shelter rescue) loves to run. But she is showing her age (which we aren't sure what it is!) and is thin and eats like a mouse. We will continue to run her as long as she is screaming to go and is healthy enough.
Most of our "spare" time is spent caring for the dogs. There is rarely a day goes by that every dog doesn't get at least an hour of free time in the yard. And even when we run them, they get to romp around the yard before we chain them back up. We only have 11 chained dogs right now but those change throughout the day as we keep groups in the freedom yards off the chains. My goal next summer is for 2 more freedom yards then everyone will be off a chain and the groups that get along well together can be in these pens. We do have to make sure to bring all the dogs back together though every day. One thing I wouldn't want is a bunch of sub-packs.
It is time consuming but oh so rewarding for both us and the dogs. The biggest chore is probably scooping poop in all the yards. And I'm obsessive about it. I find it interesting in the freedom pens. The dogs poop as far away from their houses as they can. This just reinforces my thoughts about dogs living on chains and the need to keep their spots extremely clean. These dogs don't want to live where they are going to the bathroom, but when they are on a chain they don't have a choice.
We are praying for more snow. Sledding is rough and the first sprint races have been postponed because there isn't enough snow to groom the trails! A terrible winter for sledding so far.
Happy holidays to all and may you hold your dogs closely in your heart as they will reward you with their love and devotion many times over.
Don skijored with Daikon, Casper (shelter rescue) and Chance (SCL) on Sunday. I loved looking down the list of dogs. The 1st place in the 3 dog skijor race (I was 2nd) had 3 shelter dogs! GO PUPS!
We have sent 4 SCL dogs to towns south of Anchorage where they are fitting into their new homes. Gage and Frisk (both SCL) joined Silver (SCL) in a sprint home.
We had Ammon and Shep here for almost 2 weeks and I got quite attached to them but it was nice to know they were going to a free running kennel and their first report of their run in a team came back glowing.
It is cold enough that all the dogs (well except for the 11-12 we have in the house) now are sleeping in the dog barn at night. They sure do like that. No one can convince me that a dog would prefer to sleep outside at 20 below rather than in a warmer environment. They all push for the door when we let them loose to run to the barn.
The rest of our SCL dogs are doing well. Kiche still doesn't want to be a sled dog but she loves other dogs and she always comes when we call her when she is loose. At first I used to walk her up to the barn on a leash but for the past couple of years it hasn't been a problem getting her to come to us or to go right to the barn. She has come a long way although she will always have that shy streak in her.
Chiclet is just a wonderful dog. She too doesn't want to be a sled dog but she is very affectionate, likes other dogs and is one of the dogs that is always in one of our "freedom"yards where dogs aren't chained up all day and night.
Chance of course is consistently skijoring. She is an excellent leader and a very driven dog.
Raja (shelter rescue) loves to run. But she is showing her age (which we aren't sure what it is!) and is thin and eats like a mouse. We will continue to run her as long as she is screaming to go and is healthy enough.
Most of our "spare" time is spent caring for the dogs. There is rarely a day goes by that every dog doesn't get at least an hour of free time in the yard. And even when we run them, they get to romp around the yard before we chain them back up. We only have 11 chained dogs right now but those change throughout the day as we keep groups in the freedom yards off the chains. My goal next summer is for 2 more freedom yards then everyone will be off a chain and the groups that get along well together can be in these pens. We do have to make sure to bring all the dogs back together though every day. One thing I wouldn't want is a bunch of sub-packs.
It is time consuming but oh so rewarding for both us and the dogs. The biggest chore is probably scooping poop in all the yards. And I'm obsessive about it. I find it interesting in the freedom pens. The dogs poop as far away from their houses as they can. This just reinforces my thoughts about dogs living on chains and the need to keep their spots extremely clean. These dogs don't want to live where they are going to the bathroom, but when they are on a chain they don't have a choice.
We are praying for more snow. Sledding is rough and the first sprint races have been postponed because there isn't enough snow to groom the trails! A terrible winter for sledding so far.
Happy holidays to all and may you hold your dogs closely in your heart as they will reward you with their love and devotion many times over.
