Our second sled run today was pretty eventful. We all handled the trail pretty well but this was our day of loose dogs. Before we had a chance to even load the dogs Nita's Sookii and Bella escaped the dog yard pen and were off. They came back shortly but they made us search a bit before they decided to fine their way back.Once at the trail head Gaea took off for the second time (she is on restriction now until she learns how not to take the trail alone) and was promptly out of sight. We harnessed up dogs and she eventually showed back up again. Then, just as everything was looking to remain calm Sookii chewed completely through the collar of her harness and was off like a flash taking Bella on another romp to adventure without us!
I decided to take the same trail out thinking that Sookii wanted to show Bella the adventure she had on our last sled run and before long we caught up with them. Sookii was promptly put back in the team and Bella ran loose for a while until I got tired of her going from the front to back of my team. It wouldn't have been so bad if Bonnie wasn't so distracted by her. She didn't know whether to stop and play or chase and catch her.
And as if that wasn't enough, when we came home Nita's Skookum also was loose (we tied him out before we left) and waiting for us in the driveway. At least he didn't run off!!
Other than that our run was pretty fun and I delighted in yet another dose of patience generously given by the few troublesome dogs we had to work with today. It is amazing how far Ive come in dealing with difficult situations. Having patient people to run with like Miriam and Nita made it so much easier to laugh everything off and have a darn good time!
The trails were still rutted out from summer four wheelers in places and there were a few swamp dips that surprised us. The grass has grown tall on a lot of the field trails so it was tough to see our way. Juno did perfect though and remembered last seasons track easily.
Miriam had a great observation that a good lead dog is better than a GPS any day. I agree 100%! Watching Juno weave through the four foot tall grass finding our trail when I couldn't even see where the trail could be, even from my elevated view on the sled, made me grateful once again for our little white girl. What a jewel she has been to us and to the dogs she trains.I expect Hermes to reach this level of confidence as well. Hes got it deep down and still looks longingly down new trails we have broken out last season remembering exactly where they are. It wont be long until his continued maturity shines through just as Juno's has.
Nita did great handling the sled today and I only dumped Miriam once but the team responded very well once again. We had a hard time stopping in some places that were bumpier than others but we all made it back in one piece and had a grand adventure!
Thani really surprised me today... what a lover he is! When we were over half finished with the trail I gave the dogs a quick break and let Miriam stand on the sled break while I checked on the dogs. Thani was really working hard and when I walked up to check on him in swing he buried his head in my chest and moaned (Boreas does this too) a big sigh. He was working so hard and glad to be out there as we both shared the wonderful feeling of joy at being tiring out, relaxed and enjoying the high that intense exercise can bring to athletic beings such as ourselves.
Total miles: 9.0
Main team: 8 dogs, Miriam in the sled bag
Second team: 6 dogs, a bit of added weight to Nita's sled bag
Posts
