Mary Shields and Mush for Kids

Wow, a lot of time has passed and I'm just now getting caught up! This last week was challenging, we were going here, there in what seemed like a non-stop mode.

On Thursday it was rides with Mary Shields and a bunch of second graders out at Chena Lakes then Mush for Kids at Pioneer Park on Saturday, then the rental house to tend to on Sunday and finally fitting in work when and where I could. Whew, no wonder time is flying by... I hardly have time to enjoy myself!

The rides with Mary and at Mush for Kids was great. The turn out for both events was lower than I expected as far as musher turn out. Low numbers of mushers is always good, less confusion and the more people and teams I know the easier it is to work with them. There were many times Robert and I were out on the same trail together and that offered a nice calming energy since we had run together so many times before.

Kathy was with us as handler and did a super, super job! All our dogs know her, trust her and she knows them inside and out. I cant think of a better person to handle my dogs and Robert's. Everything goes so smoothly with her around. And with Robert there running his team we arrived as a self sustaining unit... a very nice set up for events like these.

Its funny to watch the folks in charge explain how things work, what we should watch out for and how careful they are to avoid team interactions. Ive been doing this so long that I let them talk out their fears, listen politely and let the actions of myself and my team speak for themselves. At each event we are called back to participate again and again. Before long the handlers and people in charge start to know my dogs by name... especially Juno! Shes a riot with her silly voice and bossy personality.

Around and around that track she took us barely missing a beat for each pass. Its impossible to know how many loops we make but Juno was spot on for each one. Where some dogs only wish to go once Juno will do it all day and love it, as long as she doesn't get too tired.

The pups blew me away at both events. The power the Buffalo Brothers have is jaw dropping. Those boys really dig in and they LOVE their heavy loads! I was wishing we could have had a longer sled to pile on more kids. Even with three kids in the sled the boys would pull it around like a feather. And that's with only five dogs! Well, four and half if you consider Juno's pint size...

Hermes had his shy moments but showed a lot of improvement throughout the day. He didn't do as many passes as his brothers but he held up really well with the crowds. When he started to freak out I let him go back to the truck and watch the fun from there. I think he was a bit torn, he wanted to do it but was too afraid to do it all day. I know with him watching from the truck his mind was working. Next year he will remember the routine and will be even better at participating.

Boreas, Thani and Calypso did great and did many turns around. Boreas was looking a tiny bit tired at the end of our first shift so I had him go back to the truck. Thani on the other hand was an energizer bunny and wouldn't quit! Gaea was the same way and did really great. Remus did well on the first couple passes but would have rather visited the other teams or turn back to me for attention.

I'm really not sure why the three out of four of my pups did so well when all the others didn't shine nearly as bright. Ichabod did one and half passes before packing it in, Reba was pretty good but unsure of the set up, Salmon reacted the same way. Olive was good in the team but got distracted with all the kids and she really wanted to say hi to everyone. Not the best thing for giving rides and needing the dogs to stay out front all the time.

Griffin came along for the ride but I didn't have him in the team. He probably could have done a few turns around but I didn't want to test him in that environment. Id rather do that at home when its more controlled.

Still, he enjoyed his ride into town and hanging out loose with me at the truck. The pups wandered a bit in the relaxed atmosphere (but stayed around their truck and drop area) and everyone loved watching my big boys lumber around. I even caught Boreas trying to sneak snacks from the people at the treat table!

At the end of the Chena Lakes rides the teams were treated to a big bag of donated pig ears and dog biscuits. At Mush for Kids they got left over hot dogs and more biscuits. The mushers came away with donated five gallon buckets (a mushers best friend!), bales of straw and so many wonderful memories. Those really were fantastic days with wonderful weather and trail conditions.

Unfortunately I was so busy with rides that I didn't get many photos but Robert got some great shots after our rides at the lakes. Here are my favorites:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_ozda/3420851097/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_ozda/3420570020/in/photostream/

After the Lakes rides Robert, Kathy and I took our teams out for a nice run to compliment the dogs on a wonderful days work. The photos posted here are from that day.

We had a nice pass by a dog walker with a barky little 'snack' that my team passed really well. Thani showed some teeth but restrained himself. And Robert and I were able to do a bit of passing here and there with Thani in wheel and a perfect place for me to easily reach him and work on his restraint. Its working really well and we had no bad incidences at Mush for Kids even when he was so close to other teams. Hes proving to be a fast and eager learner.