Fun Run

As I mentioned yesterday the team has the weekend off but when I went out to water them this morning I got those sad brown puppy eyes and so started a 1/2 hour of fun run around the yard. It was much quieter now that our pig has been sold as the dogs have nothing to bark at. They had a lovely time rolling in the snow, exploring all the nooks and crannies, chasing the kids around and of course marking their territory. They received lot's of pets from the girls and I and were happy to go back to their houses a little refreshed and soon all lay down to chew on bones or nap in their houses.

Fun, Fun, Fun

I think the look on my face says it all..FUN, FUN, FUN. Love running in the snow although it would have been much nicer to be listening to the slush of sled runners, the jingle of snaps on collars and the soft panting of the dogs. Oh well soon hopefully. It was a beautiful morning to be out running with all the fresh, fluffy snow on all the trees, the dogs dipping to catch some in their mouths. It was -2 leaving the dog yard this morning and you could tell the dogs were impressed with this new development..much of the team barked on the outgoing trail till we hit the road. They seemed to be saying "Faster please it's a great day to be running"
Today I gave Lucy another chance in lead with Thunder since she needs the practice. She is good up there but just needs a few lessons from the master and good thing I had him up there and Ochocco in swing because my Lovely Lucy thought maybe she would go play with the neighbours dog. He always jumps around and barks at us as we run past but is too chicken to come out and challenge us. Lucy decided she had, had enough and was going to teach him a lesson. Good ole' Thunder just kept on trucking past and Ochocco pushed her from behind "Get going" she barked and I think I heard her mutter "Darn Pups". Beside Och in swing we had Shadow who thought it was very cool to be so close to the front for a change. Jitterbug, Jazz and Fox Trot were the team dogs with Sibbon and Prophet, again, bringing up the rear. I wonder what these two would do if I ever put them in lead ? We made our way around the first field to the spot where I have to stop the team and look for traffic before we cross the road when all of a sudden Thunder was running loose. The tug line loop had wore right through the harness....I knew that carrying an extra harness was a good idea..although I could have just tied it in a knot in a pinch. Harnessed back up and no traffic did I see we crossed the road and were on our way up the trail.

Road Crossing

Running Through the snow on my favorite "little" piece of trail.

Running through the fields this morning with all that fresh snow you could see so well where deer had been pawing and I saw a few elk watching me from afar at one point. Here we stopped for what would've been a water break but with all the snow I didn't have to pack the water today. The team stopped for a break

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Lucy loves to roll in the snow

Hanging On To Fall

A Few Chokechrry's..do you think they are still good for Jelly

Today was a great day and the team will now have 2 days off to rest so they will be ready for a 9 mile run on Monday and Miss Fox Trot will finally get a turn in lead.

......See You On The Trail......

Feeding Time

Just thought I would give you a little insight into feeding time. The dogs get a soup in the morning which consists mostly of water with a little meat and kibble mixed in for taste. In the evening their soup is pretty much this exact same thing just mixed thicker..more meat, more kibble and less water. This is the beginning of supper..this is ground beef parts and fat, there is also some leftover soup from morning in there because I had a couple fussy eaters this morning.



The end Product with the kibble and water mixed in.


Waiting for supper.
Look at the snow we got today






Mmmmmm..so good They will be ready to run tomorrow.

Photo Shoot

The beautiful sunrise this morning














The team had the day off today and that left me free to go to my "other" dog yard and give a helping hand. Today was photo shoot day and as most days in a dog yard the dogs are quite relaxed and quiet when they know they aren't going running and it's not feeding time. They lay in their houses, they play with their bowls and they howl at the noisy coyote neighbours who are kicking up some sort of fuss. Here's some pictures from today.

Brothers

Sometimes a bowl is the most fun toy




Eyes

Whatcha' doing funny lady.

I am Happy in my house Thanks

Howlin'

.....See You On The Trail.....

Training Run #18

Just a short note about training run #18 - Another great 8 mile run today although I think I left my brain at home..it seemed as if I was a little backwards today as every time I called out a command to the team the wrong word came out. I would think to myself "I think today we will go Gee here" then I would call out to the dogs "Haw"...Crap.. Can dogs understand the word Sorry...well I am sure my team has got if figured out now as they heard it enough today. About half way through the run my brain returned from it's holiday and the dogs stopped looking back at me confused and wondering what the heck the two legged person was doing..at least I know that they will listen to me even if I am not totally on my game every day. YEESH. Lucy and Thunder lead us the whole way with Jazz and Fox Trot in swing, Ochocco, Jitterbug and Sibbon were my hard working team dogs with Shadow and Prophet bringing up wheel. It was a fine run but still on the warm side -1 when we left the yard with wet snow slowly falling. Friday will be our last 8 mile run , Monday morning we will start running 9 miles after the team has the weekend off, and I am considering going up the road to my neighbours place for coffee it is a solid 8 miles but all on the road definitely would be different for the team to have to be patient and wait for me...HMMMMM...I'll let you know. That's about it for today.

.....See You On The Trail.....

Free Runners

The team had the day off but when I walked out to the dog yard to soup them this morning they were all giving me "the look". Eight sets of pleading puppy dog eyes all asking the same question; "We have been working very hard for you and we love to pull the quad but can't we have a little fun?" Well being a recreational musher I am at liberty to do anything I wish with my dogs. We don't have to put in a certain amount of miles or only run on certain days so without any hesitation I let everyone off their chains and we went on a walk together. Nine dogs, nine wagging tails and a happy musher watching the team run and play together. There were many games of tag, catch the rustle in the bush and what's that smell and 45 minutes later everyone was refreshed and happy. I figured this could only do more good than anything as it warmed up the dogs muscles and let them really stretch their legs especially after yesterdays run in the frozen, cultivated field. Only one little problem I didn't grab the camera...I will definitely remember it next time. Siboon reminded me quickly to watch out for him as he promptly plowed into the backs of my legs knocking me over...have you ever had nine dogs licking your face at once..it made me laugh but YUCK...all in all it was a great way to start the day with my friends =D

.....See You On The Trail.....

Training Run # 17

Today we broke 100 miles...we are at 105 to be exact and that feels pretty darn good. The dogs seem to be doing well and everyone still has their feet under them. It was a balmy +2 leaving the dog yard this morning and I hate to say it but I wish it would cool down..the team does much better in cooler weather. Well that's about it from us today Here are a few videos I shot today on the way home...I am lucky to have these as I dropped my camera and it landed on the foot board of the quad (I thought oh thank goodness) and then it slid through a hole (Oh poop) but luckily landed right in between the tires so it didn't get run over...Whew....

.....See You On The Trail.....

Running Home

Turning Into The Driveway

Running Into The Dog Yard

YUMMY

The team had the day off today and for the first time in a long time the kids and I had no prior commitments today. We relaxed and lazed around for most of the morning and then it became BAKING DAY..The girls made the cake (with a little guidance from me) and Gage helped me make the cookies. Of course the enjoyed licking bowls and spoons ... They figured I needed to post a picture of our beautiful baking so here it is....The Fruits Of Our Labour..YUMMY.

Waking The Neighbours

4:17 am

-What's That I Hear -

The wind is howlin and rain is hitting my window, it's blowing hard and coming from the West. Oh great, I think, I have 2 dog houses that the lids refuse to stay on in the wind. I say to myself "Self why din't you put a screw in those lids months ago"...of course self just shrugs. So up out of my nice warm bed throw on some clothes and the headlamp and treck out to the dog yard...Perfect...everyone is snugged right in and all the lids are on..GRRRR....well I am out here now so I turn a few houses so the wind isn't whistling right into the door and back to bed I go.

7:00 am - The alarm is ringing I lay there listening...still windy but is there rain..nope...my daughter is already up and getting dressed "C'mon mom" she says "Let's go run the dogs" and this is how Training Run #16 starts.

Waking The Neighbours.

On Today's Team in Lead we have Thunder and Jitterbug (this was her 2nd run in the "leader in training position and she is doing splendid), our swing dogs are Lucy and Fox Trot, team dogs are Ochocco (by herself of course), Shadow and Jazz and my Mr. Faithfuls, Siboon and Prophet in Wheel.

Leaving The Yard

It was +2 C leaving the yard today and overcast but with a good wind from the east we took a different route today because they are FINALLY done the construction on our road. The dogs did fantastic even in the newly worked up and very muddy field. Aimee kept me company today and told me about all the stories she has been reading lately (she pours over books and on weekends can sometimes average 2-3 books a day if I let her) of course she always has lot's of questions about running dogs too...she is very excited for winter when she can take video from the sled basket. The dogs were incredibley excited this morning and I was cringing thinking about my neighbours probably cursing the lady with the noisy dogs. Jitterbug will now move back in the team as her 2 runs are up. I have decided to do it this way so that Thunder gets a break from training puppies. I give each Dancing Girls 2 runs up front and then move them out of lead and give Thunder a break from lead as well, for at least one run, then I might put him back in lead for the next one but with either Ochocco or Lucy..someone he doesn't have to push around. It seems to be working well.

Here is my favorite "little" piece of trail it was so pretty before all the leaves fell off the trees...I still like to run through there every run if I can. That's about it from the team and I, oh, and Aimee.

.....See You On The Trail.....

Trianing Run #15

6:30 seemed to come too early this morning but there is no time to hit the snooze button on training days. This morning was a very frosty -6 degrees Celsius which was great for the dogs and they seemed to do much better this morning. Nice tight tug lines and good straight lines the whole run. Everyone just seemed ready to work and enjoyed themselves. We travelled 8 miles with Ochocco and Thunder in lead for the first 2 that we spent on the road and once we turned into the hay field I switched leaders and Jitterbug got her chance to strut her stuff. She did very well she was confident but wanted to sight see a little too much but I'll cut her some slack as this was only her 2nd time up there. It was a great morning spent with my good friends.

.....See You On The Trail....

Road Runners

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Water Break

Playing Around

I know two posts in one day..AMAZING...Today I ran dogs with my friend who is training for the Wyoming Stage Stop...Here are Just a few little videos I took while we were out today. We had 15 dogs out today for a 10 mile run, my apologies for the wiggly video the trail was rough.

When sled dogs want to go not WHOA...Oops Sorry about the fingers but I had to grab the brake.

What friends talk about on long, chilly training runs

"Haw" and "Gee" Training

A Day In The Life Of A Leaps and Bounds Dog

Yesterday was a beautiful day for running the team. A cool -4 degrees Celsius, an 8 miles trail and this gorgeous sunrise. Fall training days begin at 6:30 am. I throw on some clothes and go out and soup the dogs right away, this dog soup consists of mostly water and a little meat and maybe some kibble or the last nights leftovers for taste...mmmmm so good. The munchkins get pushed out the door to catch the bus and I am right behind them getting things ready for the run. The quad gets pulled into the dog yard, the gate gets closed behind it and the gang line gets strung out. By now the dogs are beginning to kick up quite a fuss because they all know what happens next. FREEDOM. All the dogs are let off their chains for a few minutes of socializing before being harnessed. This helps them bond with each other and they can visit with a friend who may have been moved down a couple houses last time we ran. In my dog yard the dogs don't stay at the same house all the time I like to switch them up often so they learn to all get along together..unless the Dancing Girls are in heat everyone gets to visit with everyone else at some point. Harnessing happens quickly and all the dogs come to see me to be harnessed no one wants to be left behind. We hook up and I usually decide while I am doing this who will run where depending on where they ran the last time and which trail we are taking. Open the gate and AWAY WE GO. The team on this day was Ochocco and Thunder in lead, Lucy and Jitterbug (JBug to her fans) in swing, Shadow the pet in single team, Fox Trot and Jazz (who just came off two "leader in training"runs) and of course Siboon and Prophet in wheel.

This is my favorite little stretch of trail it's really short but I just love running through here I wish all my trails were like this.

Here we have the superstar of today's run Miss Ochocco. Ochocco is a great leader and has been showing me lately how good she can really be. She hasn't been very high on the totem pole around here because, quite frankly, she's a brat. She thinks she is queen bee and beats up on all the girls and this doesn't sit well with me. I really can only run her with Thunder or alone but today....well she just moved up the totem pole substantially. She has become the one dog I count on when running on the road because she is my "GEE" girl. Today we took a brand new trail and I was throwing out commands fairly often....responsive...she didn't even hesitate. Now all I can say is GOOD DOG =-)

Tomorrow we run again and it is Jitterbugs turn in the "leader in training position" although Ochocco and Thunder will take us down the road. I can't wait to see how things go....

.....See You On The Trail......

Almost Home

Another Run Done....Gangline and Harnesses Hung Up Ready For Another Day

Dog Days Of Summer

This summer was very hot and dry and the dogs don't get to do a whole lot during the summer months. For me it was a time to really get to know the dogs and for them to get to know me. Not that I didn't know all their names I had walked the Dancing Girls all fall and had worked with all the dogs at some point but they had moved to B.C in December and hadn't returned until late March/Early April. Once my dog yard had 3 loads of sand, all the posts were pounded and the chains ready we hauled in 8 houses and I painted them to match our house and then came the dogs.

In a few weeks we were able to get the wire all up around the whole kennel and I was releived to have this extra safety measure in case someone got loose. We live pretty close to a very busy road and I have had a dog killed on this road before. Now I could close the gates and let the dogs loose in the kennel to run around and get to know each other as well. We also started taking them out on "Free Runs". What this means is we let all the dogs loose and take them for a walk. Sometimes it was for only a 10 or 15 minutes and lot's of times it was for an hour or more. This gives the dogs some exercise and helps them bond with me and with each other. They get to play and explore and learn to come back to me to get a nice pet and it's just fun for everyone. My daughter loved these walks and always came with me everytime. We learned quickly to watch out for Siboon though because he loved to run at full tilt and he never watched where he was going and we were liable to get knocked over if we didn't watch out for him. These walks did alot of good in making the dogs feel happy and they looked forward to them everyday, I can tell you if you think puppy eyes from one dog is bad try watching eight dogs give you puppy eyes when you don't have time to take them on a free run. Most times I ended up taking them even if it was 10 o'clock at night. It was good for me too very stress releiving to get out in the cooler summer evening and watch 9 dogs run around and have fun.

A Fun Game Of Tag

RunThe Team and Me

On Our Way

I am new at this blogging thing but i wanted a place to post all my adventures with my 9 alaskan huskies. I guess I will start with a little background. I have always been interested in dog sledding for as long as I can remember and had a few oppurtunitys (very few) to be close to the sport. Mostly this involved visting my kindergraten teacher and her very full dog yard full of sprint dogs. As I grew older a movie called Toby McTeague made it's debut on TV.... besides having a crush on the lead actor watching the dogs in harness was my favorite...I dont' know how many times I watched this recorded version on the ole VCR but I think I probably wore out the tape. In November of 1996 I had the oppurtunity to work for a neighbour who was training his dogs for the Iditarod....a dream come true. I had just a few mishaps in the 2 years that I was a dog handler. Like the brakes going on the qaud during a fall training run with 16 very excited huskies...I still think I was very lucky to make it through that incident without any hurt dogs or a hurt me....but I loved every minute of my job the best part was when it was just me a them in the quiet of winter someone would get to howling and the rest join in...It's a spectacular sound when 50 dogs all get to howling together. I travelled to Alaska twice for Iditarod 1997 and 1998. For those of you who don't know about the Iditarod it is a 1150 mile sled dog race across Alaska. You can't beleive the amount of excitement between dogs, handlers, mushers and fans. The atmosphere at the ceremonial start is incredible. I was able in 1998 to fly the trail and stay in different checkpoints along the way it is an experience I will never forget. Seeing Alaska this way meeting all different people in the villages as well as mushers and their dogs was just amazing. Now fast forward 11 years...I meet a musher training for Iditarod and offer to help him by walking his 13 puppies in the fall of 2008...walking puppies soon turns into going with him for rides on the quad during training runs to making neck lines and tug lines, cleaning the dog yard (or more formally known as "Scooping Poop") and there is alot of scooping to be done and an assortment of other chores that always need done when you have dogs. On one of these fall training runs I mention that I have always wanted a team of my own..6 to be exact and this becomes a running joke of sorts that turns into a serious conversation with my husband. The graph paper soon comes out and my dog yard is drawn up to spec. April rolls around and the dogs return from Iditarod and sled dog tours and the conversation soon turns to my dog yard plans. We stand at the dog yard gate as my team is being pointed out and then a BIG decision...I already have 5 and now I am supposed to pick 1 out of 3 of the girl puppies I walked and fell in love with the previous fall...well that's not going to happen and I end up with 8. I throw in my 93 lb pet dog for good measure and I have my team of nine...they move home to a newly constructed dog yard and I am the happiest girl in the world.