They can't ALL be good runs, I guess.

Don't forget about our Name the Puppy Contest... email your suggestions to nameoursleddog@canada.com and win a prize if your name is chosen. Here's the puppy and her mom:



This was definitely not a run that I will want to look back on fondly. Even though it was the first run where I had Hunter with me, I would rather forget it, I think.

We got a new sled dog from one of Jenn's friends at work and her husband. The dog is very inexperienced and has never run with a team before. Since it was too warm for a long run and because I had Hunter, I thought it would be a great time to get the new dog out and see what she is like. Besides, not having run much this winter, she wouldn't be able to go far, anyway.

I packed Hunter up in her snowsuit and backpack and went out to the dogyard to start harnessing up the dogs. They were happy to see that we were going for a run and they all started to bark and howl. Harnessing wasn't a difficult job, but getting the dogs to the gangline and having them stay in one spot was. Ruby, my main leader, is busy with her puppy now so I don't have a dog that will hold the line tight while I bring other dogs to it. I had to put Amber up front because she has the most experience in lead, but she doesn't understand the command "line out" or "stay" so she kept turning back to see the dogs behind her.

That is when it happened. I had Ben in lead with Amber, in the hopes that his excitement would keep Amber looking down the trail, too. Behind him were Blitzi and Scroggy and behind them were Grizzly and I was on my way to get Bluegrass, the new dog. Amber decided to go visit the new dog and she turned back, which put Ben and Scroggy nose to nose. We had been warned that Ben and Scroggy don't like one another from the musher that loaned them to us. We had been careful and made sure not to run them side by side, but in this instance, facing each other was too much and they started to fight. So, with Hunter on my back, I had to seperate the fight, which didn't last long thankfully. I took each dog in turn and marched them back to their stakeouts where they will stay for the remainder of the year. Or at least until the musher comes back to town. We were considering buying Ben, but after today, he can go back. We will not tolerate fighters in our kennel.

Now I was down to four dogs. I decided to hook up Crystal, who is slow but willing to go. Now I had Amber in single lead, Crystal and Blitzi, Bluegrass and Grizzly. I pulled the hook and we were off down the trail. Things went okay for a while even though it was pretty evident that Bluegrass hasn't run in a team before. She kept going under the gangline, tripping on it, and running alongside Grizzly. This is nothing that can't be fixed with a little training though, and she did really well otherwise. Her line was tight the whole run and she was not as tired as I expected when we got back to the yard. I'll post a picture of her when I can better describe her personality.

It was a difficult run because Amber was getting distracted on the trail which is usually a sign that the job of lead -- and single lead at that -- is too stressful for her. I was glad that we were only on a short run. This is definitely a hint to work on leader training.

Here are some pictures of the run.

Sunset on McConnell Lake



Crossing the Field



I hope the next run is better.