Janine's Urban Sled Dogs

New Year, New Dog, New Attitude

2011-10-18T20:55:00.000-05:00

Things don't always work out the way you thought they would. We didn't stay in the best shape this summer. My hopes of getting involved with a search and rescue team have gone nowhere. I haven't spent the time I wanted to training my new puppy Lilo to do tracking and scent work.

However, Lilo and the rest of the pack have already proved to be great fun out to the trails together. Winter will be wonderful this year for dog sledding and I'm not giving up on my new goals for search and rescue work.

Selling Out

2011-02-10T19:03:00.002-06:00

I'm going to sell out on being the small sled dog team from the city. I will claim I was forced into it.

Even though guys like John Beargrease hauled mail across miles of ungroomed trails with just three dogs, I can't enter a mid-distance sled race with a light weight sled and the same number of dogs. I can struggle to prove we can do it as my young dogs become old dogs or I can just breakdown and get another one.

I've broken. It was a rough year.

Additionally, since Flurry was just a puppy I've wanted to get involved in search and rescue. While Nemo has great potential to be trained in any activity, he's not a young man and the training to make it to be active in search and rescue wouldn't leave him with a lot of working years. And the girls are even older.

A puppy, a mutt, a new opportunity to make me successful in two passions has won against my insistence that the little guy (or little team) can kick butt on the sled trail.

I'm left with mixed feelings about the new puppy excitement soon to enter my life, the nervousness of having even more dog responsibilities, and the disappointment of giving up on the small team that has gotten me so far.

Blizzard Tries to Scare Me

2010-12-21T16:01:00.000-06:00

Blizzard has been trouble. The other day during a run she must have pulled something or gotten a cramp. She was whining and stretching for a few minutes on the trail. When I went to give her a ride back home on the rig she ran along side instead pretending nothing had happened.

Then I discovered two small lumps on the underside of her ribs. I suspected fat cell tumors, but of course you have to check these things out to make sure. So I got to make a vet trip to confirm.

Now with proof in hand that she is just fine, let the focus of this season be on running and not health concerns.

Paparazzi!

2010-12-19T15:13:00.000-06:00

We hit the trails today for a 13 mile trip out in the Kettle Moraine Northern Unit. The dogs ran well and got their picture taken just a few times while we where out. We had fun and the dogs are all now sleeping on the sofa. My little three dog team still has what it takes to put in some miles.

We have a lot of training to do still. Our next big event is the Sweetwater Challenge at the end of January. I'm hoping to try for a 25 mile run one of the two days, but we'll see how it goes this month with training.

Great Season!

2010-12-07T05:56:00.001-06:00

This year has been great. So far the dogs have earned us two plaques, a trophy, and a ribbon. The worst we have done is 4th place. I'm very happy with my dogs.

For the next month or two I'll be focusing in on some distance training. The girls need to work on pulling consistently and they all need to work on increasing our miles.

I'm confident that despite the fact that my girls had lymes at one point, they are in great health and have what it takes to rule the trails. I tried to make excuses early this year and avoided entering them in races and focused on Canicross with Nemo. However, recent activities and practice runs have shown that they were born to run and are ready to go.

My goal this year is to get up to 30 to 35 mile runs. That's going to be a lot of time on the trails and I'm hoping to enjoy every minute of it.

This year all I have to say is, "6 dog teams, watch out! There's a 3 dog team on the trail."

Training Days

2010-01-21T19:44:00.000-06:00

So let's admit that Nemo can be a bit of a jerk around other dogs (sometimes). By the way I'm excited to be going to MI where we'll be seeing Nemo's arch-nemesis. I'll let you know how that goes.

Anyway, I've signed Nemo up for Dog Manners Class. The rest of the class going to attempt to master things sit, down, wait, and other exciting dog tricks. I'm in this to master sit, down, wait, and other exciting dog tricks while not eating the dog next to us.

Is it wrong of me to hope he hates at least one of the dogs in class? If he doesn't where's the challenge in that?

At the end of the course, we will have the option to try the Canine Good Citizen Test. Do you think we can pass? There are two test that might be difficult – walking on a loose leash and being polite around another dog.

In general Nemo is the type that is very trainable. I'm hopeful that this class will force me to give my neglected dog number three some training time. I feel like the first two just got more individual attention when it came to training than Nemo has gotten in the last year. I also plan on doing some review with the other two dogs, but I have to say I really can't complain about my dogs and their behavior.

The training class we are taking is 100% positive rewards, which will be different for me. I am a fan of positive rewards, but I also know that I once had to train a hyper, ill mannered, stubborn Siberian Husky puppy that didn't eat, didn't want your silly human affection, and left positive rewards hard to find. She responded better to more of a dog whisper type of approach. Not that he nor I don't use any reward-based methods, but there is some correction of unwanted behaviors and more of a set yourself up as top dog approach. I've had a lot of success with this and manage to walk 3 dogs at once and get complements from strangers passing by on how well behaved they are.

Luckily Nemo loves food and human affection/approval, so a rewards-based methods will work great on him at least for most of the training. We'll see how we do with the dog to dog interaction.

Snowboarding Dogs and Breaking Boot Camp Rules

2010-01-12T21:42:00.000-06:00

So after work I stopped by a used sporting goods store, found a used snowboard, bought boots, and returned home to spend the evening training dogs.

I started by walking with Blizzard in harness. We broke rule number one from mushing boot camp. I didn't slow down. I'm starting with her on working on just making sure there is constant resistance on her harness. If there is too much resistance or we aren't moving fast enough she just kind of slows down to a stop. I goal with her is to keep moving and increase resistance over time.

Nemo got a walk in harness too. He is working on staying on the right side of the trail (in this case right side of the sidewalk). Every chance he gets he is back to the left. I have lots of work to do with him.

Flurry did a nice job yesterday on her walk and I figured she would be a safe dog to try snowboarding with. We walked down to the park when I jumped on the snowboard and proceeded to go really sssllllloooowwwwlllllyyyy down the trail when we were moving. Perhaps Flurry is a bit too safe of a choice. I'm think about trying Nemo, but might go out with Flurry one more time to give her another chance to try and kill me.

Overall it was a nice night...given I am starting a cold I probably should have spent more time in the house this evening, but I had a great night outside for 3 hours playing around with the dogs.

Sled Dogs and Pet Dogs

2010-01-11T21:16:00.000-06:00

Sled dogs win races; pet dogs win red lanterns.
Sled dogs sleep outside; pet dogs take over your bed and your furnature.
Sled dogs think 8 below is warm; pet dogs think heat and central air are necessary for survival.
Sled dogs pull all the time; pet dogs heel at your side.
We race against sled dogs; we are pet dogs.

We won our first red lantern this weekend. My pet dogs ran ok.

Nemo is very left pawed and continues to run all the way to the left side of the trail (or off the left side of the trail). The prescription for correction on this is walking him on the right, including some walks in harness.

Flurry and Blizzard have walked too many walks in a heel position. They learned not to pull and are sticking to it. They're pulling is off and on in harness and when it is on it's not that hard. I'm tempted to stop walking them without a harness on for the rest of the season or longer.

Neighborhood Musher Watch

2009-10-25T19:08:00.001-05:00

We are beginning to draw a bit of attention in the neighborhood. By now with me and a dog running past 3 times every other day we are being noticed by more and more people.

One trick to being an urban musher is you get to have an audience. You are being watched. If your dogs are flying, people are saying, "wow". If they aren't pulling everyone knows. If your frustrated, they'll know that too.

Most people will never see a dog team in their life time. I'm leaving an impression about mushing in the minds of everyone who sees us cruising down the streets or rolling around the trails in the parks.

The kids down the street already were told, "no" about getting a scooter for their dog. Their dad mentioned something about being sure they would end up on the expressway.

My parents laughed the other day when they saw one of their neighborhood kids go by with their dog and a scooter. It seems I left an impression when I was living there as well.

Audience or no audience today was a good day. Nemo took me for a 3 mile tour in the park and the BFs pulled together and managed to keep the scooter moving better than they have been.

We just got new harnesses on Saturday, so they each have a better fitting harness than the last set. I hope the dogs appreciated this today.

I'm also making the leap from driving a RAV4 to actually getting a truck. I got tired of always cleaning out the dog fur and Nemo was slowing working on tasting each part of the car. A truck with a cap will be in my driveway within the next week or two.

Is mushing taking over my life?

Caution: Concrete is not soft

2009-10-20T19:33:00.000-05:00

My "each dog runs alone" day started off with a bang.

I hooked up Nemo first. He's over his skittishness and now just wants to play games with me so I have to keep taking him out front. We final managed to stay lined-out. I said LET'S GO and we went speeding down the sidewalk, until we came across a squirrel. Nemo took a quick left leaving me without enough time to stop the scooter. When it hit the end of the line it came to a quick stop, but I had too much momentum and kept going right onto the sidewalk.

The sidewalk reinforced Mushing Boot Camp lesson one - GO SLOW!

Nemo and I finished off a great run and I moved on to Blizzard. Blizzard was SLOW. I was glad to come home to switch to Flurry who was also on the slow side, but compared to Blizzard we were moving along.

Two Shifts for Nemo

2009-10-18T12:00:00.000-05:00

I forgot one important thing yesterday. Never leave Blizzard alone!

I did remember this lesson really this morning and decided to run Blizzard and Nemo together first. I couldn't get that dumb Blizzard to pull no matter how slow I made Nemo run. So when I left her alone during Nemo and Flurry's run I pretend that maybe she would be tired out and not cause any damage in the house. One of my blinds paid the price for my silly thinking.

Blizzard has always been the dog to slack off on a run to later jump a fence and take an adventure of her own. She is so going to learn to pull her weight! Maybe if she actually pulled she get worn out. I'm going to try not letting her run with anyone else to take up her slack. Solo runs for Blizzard.

Nemo was a champ he ran 5 miles total today and pulled for all 5. Flurry pulled some, but wasn't much help particularly near the end of the run when Nemo could have used some help. Flurry is going to do a little solo work herself on our next run.

So on Tuesday it looks like I am going to be going out for three runs.

Fall Training Continues

2009-10-17T11:24:00.000-05:00

I've been running a every other day schedule of training with the weather cooperating nicely with temps at 45 degrees tops in the evenings when I get home.

Nemo is running great, but after Mushing Boot Camp he seems nervous to line-out. Was Mushing Boot Camp too tough on my Mr. Sensitive? I'm not sure how I should handling this nervousness or fear. I'm guessing like a dog with fears of thunderstorms babying this behavior will not correct it and could make it worse. I'll admit now that I feel bad to see him with his tail between his legs and his sad puppy dog eyes looking up at me like line-out is actually a punishment for something he did wrong.

However, once I say let's go and we hit the sidewalks heading toward the park, he is happy as a clam and he's tail perks right up. That's the tail I want to see even at hook up time. How do I get that back?

Flurry and Blizzard (the BFs) are in slow motion. I'm keeping the speeds down at all times so they have to pull and since they aren't moving (cause they aren't pulling) they keep stopping and sniffing. I'm getting off the scooter over and over to pull them away from a tree and back on to the trail. It is frustrating to repeat this action over and over. I've caught myself getting angry with the frustration and have to fight it off to stay positive and reinforce the good moments when they have tension on the line and we are actually moving.

I watched some videos from last year and a few from a few years back. When we first started all the BFs wanted to do was run fast. That worked for a while. Even last year there were times when all lines were tight and I was enjoying the ride. I also remember times last year when the BFs weren't pulling much at all. It didn't happen over night - it happened over 4 years. This last year having Nemo, the mad puller, on the team may have even made it easier from the BFs to let their lines go slack.

Today was a tough day of feeling like we have made no progress since Mushing Boot Camp. I don't put any of this on the dogs and much of my frustration might not even be related to mushing, but instead to a tough week at work.

Tomorrow is another day. I'm going to try something a bit different. Flurry seems like she's been pulling more than Blizzard, so I'd like to get her away from Blizzard for a run so she can go a bit faster. I plan to run two short trips one with Nemo and Flurry and the other with Nemo and Blizzard.

Nemo might do better with line-out with Flurry who has been great at this by his side. I can run them at Flurry's pace - Nemo shouldn't mind the slower trip and it will keep him focused on pulling (don't want him to turn into the BFs in a few years).

The second run with Nemo should mean he's a bit more tired and should run fine with my slowpoke Blizzard. Perhaps with Nemo to compete with Blizzard won't spend so much time with her nose in bushes.

New Year New Strategy

2009-10-12T19:32:00.002-05:00

This year we've taken a new approach. We started the season with a trip to Baldwin, MI for Mushing Boot Camp. Our two biggest lessons learned included:

1. Rushing to hook all the dogs up only makes them more excited...Therefore, Nemo would have always turned around to chew the lines or started fights with the girls if I didn't change my behaviors at hook up time. Nemo is working on "line-out", but has become a bit skittish of standing out there by himself. However, Flurry really seems to be getting the idea on "line-out".

2. Rushing and pushing to go faster doesn't teach dogs to pull harder. In fact it has done a fine job of teaching Blizzard and Flurry to avoid too much resistance on the line. So I'm working on slowing things down with the girls and laying down the expectations that they need to pull even when the going gets tough, because I'm not going to bail them out all the time.

So now we are working on practicing the things we have learned. My runs with the girls maybe slow for a while, but it will be worth it later out on the trails. I'm going to enjoy a winter of hooking the dogs up without fights or problems and great runs with all three dogs pulling.

Sweetwater

2009-01-27T18:38:00.002-06:00

Day 1

We hit the trail 11th out of 19 teams. We added Kenton to our team, who is up for adoption from Adopt a Husky. He ran in wheel with Flurry the whole weekend. In front of us were a few of our friends and their teams, so we had something to chase. There were two loops to the trail we were running on. The first we referred to as the “little loop” it was 5 miles of the 12.5 we had to complete. The “little loop” as it turned out was also the hilliest part.

On the way to the little loop there was a spot where we had to do head-on passing. Lucky us, we got to pass two teams on the way out. Both didn't go smoothly, but there were no tangles or fights so we were lucky.

We got passed by two faster teams, but that was ok because it gave us something to chase until we caught up to our friend Karen. Karen liked that, because she got to chase us for a while. We then came across our other friend Rainer who had gotten dragged and ended up pulling a muscle (so he was going to be heading back).

We got stuck at a turn where Nemo wanted to go straight instead of go “gee”. Karen passed us, so we followed her. We caught up to another team at which time I passed Karen and the other team. I was expecting Karen to be right behind us, but she needed up needing to help the other team and was delayed in catching up to us.

We made most of the rest of the 12.5 mile trek alone. We passed one more team when we got to a section that ran on an unplowed road. Then we were again alone.

We got to a turn near the end where Nemo again want to go the wrong way. I had to get off and point him in the right direction multiple times. Finally I had decided to pull the snow hook and lead the team the right direction. This backfired when they pulled me over and I luckily got a hold of the handle bar in time to get dragged through the deep snow. I finally got Nemo going the right way and we were off down the trail again.

Our lonely streak ended at the very end when one of the faster teams that was doing a bigger loop caught us from behind. They passed and we chased for a bit, but with only 4 dogs the hills are a bit slower for us than the bigger teams. Plus I lost my balance and ended up with one leg forward and the other under kneeling on the drag break. This gets your heart pumping.

We finish the run and had a good first day.

Day 2

On day two we went out 9th with a few less teams running. We started down the trail toward the “little loop”. Blizzard soon need to stop to poop, which caused Flurry and Kenton to run over the lines.

When we started running again, Kenton had his leg rapped in the line and when he couldn't get it loose he flopped down on his side on the trail. Nemo thinking Kenton was holding him back from his favorite activity of running, got mad and started a fight with him. I broke them up and got Nemo out front and went to make sure Kenton was untangle and unharmed. In the mean time Nemo came back to fight some more and I had to pull him off again. When I finally got the Nemo focused on running, Kenton decided he didn't want to go forward as he would have to get closer to mean little Nemo.

I finally convince all the dogs that we were going to run and like it. As we started moving, all I could think was this was going to be a long day as we weren't even a mile into it.

Blizzard ended up on the left side of Nemo some where along the line, which doesn't work well as Nemo runs right on the left edge of the trail leaving no room for Blizzard. The team behind us had more than enough time to catch us. We let them pass, but had to stop to flip Blizzard and Nemo.

Again we ended up leaving plenty of time for the next team to catch us. This team tried to pass us, but her leaders would not lead by us. We finally lead both teams down the trail. We got to the same turn we missed on day one and Nemo again wanted to go straight.

The team behind us decided to try passing again. It was an unsuccessful attempt. The next team behind us caught up while we were playing around so we let them go ahead thinking the other team could follow them. However, the other team didn't follow, but instead turned around back toward my leaders. We again ended up leading both teams down the trail.

We later caught up to the other two teams that had passed. We passed one on the road and the other when they stopped at a turn on the road. We got great practice passing and pulling away from the other teams. We needed that kind of practice.

We took our time down the road and the one team caught us again and we let them pass. Again we had something to chase. We ended up losing them a bit and finished up the run with nothing to chase up the final hills. A faster team caught us at the very last part of the trail, but they didn't pass as we were so close to the end. We lead into the finish.

We survived two days.

Home at last

After smiling the whole way home, remembering the good times we had, I decided we should go back next month and also enter another distance run this year. Once home, we took a 8.6 mile run on Monday to make our grand total 33.6 miles for the three day stretch.

Waiting for a Response

2009-01-22T19:22:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we went to the Pine River Run, put on by the Wisconsin Trailblazers Sled Dog Club. The dogs were slow and Flurry was NOT pulling. We had fun anyway.

A few new mushers showed up to do skijoring with their rottweilers. These are just the kind of people I would be encouraging to go out on the trails with their dogs. However, it appear the race officials spoke with them and at least one other team to suggest they might want to leave the race after the first day, because their were too slow. What a way to make new people feel welcome.

As a whole, I too haven't always felt “welcome” at Trailblazer events, but at least I was never turned way. Plus, I've made friends with a lot of people who attend their races. It's those people who can make you feel a lot more welcome.

I decided to write a letter to the president of Trailblazers about my concerns on behalf of small and new teams. I send it earlier this week and I am still waiting to hear back. I'm kind of unsure how to feel about their races right now, so I'm hopeful to hear back.

* * *

On a happier note, we are off to MI tomorrow to run 12.5 miles on Saturday and Sunday. It will be a fun weekend with a group of people who did an excellent job making my two dog team feel really welcome at a distance race last year. This is not normally the kind of event you would see a two dog team at, but they seem to be open to all kinds of teams, big or small, slow or fast.

I am excited to see some of these new friends again and introduce them to dog number 3.

This event is just for fun and practice, so I can't wait to get there.

Rock Stars

2009-01-12T18:13:00.003-06:00

We started our run like rock stars in their prime and finished like a rock star ends their career, alone and miserable.

We headed out to the trail head late enough on Sunday evening that I grabbed my headlamp just in case we had a slow run and were still on the trail when the sun went down.

When we arrived, I almost moved on to a different location as the lot was full of vehicles. I noticed that a large group of people snowshoeing were just coming off the trail, so the trail was probably not as busy as it looked.

I parked and let the dogs out. This drew instant attention. The snowshoe group coming off the trail flocked to us. Soon they were all around us offering assistance and asking all kinds of questions. We also had snowmobiles slowing down as they past to see what was up.

We were able to get someone to hold Nemo in line-out position while I hooked the other two up and got on the sled. I put Blizzard in lead with Nemo, but left the neckline off as Nemo would have surely cased a fight in front of this crowed. I didn't think that would go over well with the unsuspecting helper holding him. Nemo is just too impatient.

We took off without incident with lots of thanks from the crowd for entertaining their questions and allowing them to be apart of my taking off down the trail. As well I thanked them for their assistance, as I faded off down the trail.

Not a quarter mile down the trail we came across the group of snowmobiles who had passed us in the parking lot. They apparently stopped to watch us go by after seeing us getting ready. I waved and smiled as we flew past.

The first two-thirds of the run were great. It is always a fun trip when you're skidding sideways around turns cause you're going so fast the the dogs are all pulling. I was smiling the whole time.

The last third wasn't as spectacular. Nemo started veering off the trail to investigate smells in the woods. After I stopped to put the neckline on Blizzard, she didn't help the matter at all with her curiosity.

I eventually tired of the distractions and decided to demote Nemo and move Flurry up. Flurry decided to use her renewed authority to hunt up some horse crap to nibble on while trotting along. Yuck! Then she too lead us off the trail.

Since Nemo was at least pulling more in lead I moved him back up. We started moving along fast for a while until I saw why. There were two dogs ahead (on leash thank you very much responsible owners). There was one on either side of the trail so Blizzard and Nemo stopped to chat with the big one and Flurry greeted the little one. I did not greet them, but ran up to keep my team moving without any incidents.

Not too far from the end of the trail all three suddenly veered off to the left side of the trail and out popped Nemo with the prize they were all after in him mouth. Upon realizing this prize they all wanted was some kind of animal, I jumped from my sled and flew on top of Nemo as a dog fight was a probable next step over such a treasure.

In a blink of an eye, I ended up with Nemo pinned the ground between my legs and had the neckline off of Blizzard with her pushed back behind me out of the way. I then proceeded to pry what I learned was the back half of a old dead rabbit carcass out of Nemo's mouth. Yuck again! I had to get it out twice as the first time I got distracted by Blizzard approaching around my side. The second time I got it lose I flung it towards the woods to prevent anyone from getting it again.

I got everyone untangled and back on the trail moving. Thankfully the end of the trail wasn't far as I was exhausted from all the activity and running hills to keep us moving at a nice quick pace throughout the run. We made it back to the car before dark.

Back in the parking lot, alone and miserable from the last mile or so, I was just getting to the car and getting the back door open when the eminent threat of a loose dog came over us. As I heard the owner calling behind the dog to no avail, I realized I was about to be the sole human among a four dog encounter and all I had was a grip on the neckline of the front two dogs to keep the peace. As the dog ran toward us I quickly clipped two dogs to the car just before the dog made it to us.

The owner of course stopped trying to get his dog and left me to handle all four. The initial greeting was fine until Nemo got a bit overzealous and I had to pull him back. The owner of the dog finally got back to his car and called his dog. Some people!

The dogs had some water while I packed up the sled and we made it safely home that night. Despite the crazy activities of the end of our run, we had a great time and the dogs did a wonderful job.

We had two fun runs this weekend and even saw some other people heading out to sled with their ten dogs. However today, after a whole day of sitting at work my joints are tired and stiff. I really need to stay more active on the Mondays after these busy weekends. At least the dogs are still tired out.

The Not So Crazy Dog Lady

2009-01-06T17:45:00.011-06:00

Down here in the city, some might call me the crazy dog lady. However, over the weekend I went up north to dog sled with some mushers. I am sane compared to these people. I had the fewest dogs and the next person up from me has at least six.

Nine musher rented out a house up north this weekend (with one working toilet) and went out running dogs two days in a row. The trails were nice and I must say I liked oh shit hill. On the first day I did two 5 mile loops and on the second day I did another 5 miles.

Nemo ran lead by himself the first run. Then I paired him up with Flurry in the lead, which didn't work out quite as planned. Both Nemo and Flurry want to run on the left edge of the trail. Nemo spent most of the run leaning in on Flurry every time she tried to move him over. She wasn't very successful as every time she tried to get in next to him, she sunk into the deep snow which slowed her down and didn't give her much leverage against the heavier Nemo.

On day two, I started with Nemo in lead again. However in the middle of the run I moved Blizzard up to the front with him. Blizzard loved this. She started running along trying to playfully grab Nemo by the neck, but Nemo the running machine could not be distracted. She enjoyed the speed of running with Nemo and kept up nicely.

On my next run I think I'll run Nemo and Blizzard together again as Blizzard secretly knows her commands she just usually lets Flurry do all the thinking. This might be a good opportunity for Blizzard to show if she could be a better leader or give me some time to teach Nemo the commands.

Over all the weekend up north was fun and I again questioned why I would want to have too many more dogs. I still enjoy the individual time I get with just a few dogs and wonder how exhausting it would be to try to keep up with that if I had six or more dogs. I might some day be convinced to get a fourth, but I don't think I would want to go beyond that. But sled dogs are an addiction; I beat you can't get just one.

New Year Run

2009-01-02T06:07:00.004-06:00

For January 1^st we decided to take another run out on the trail we ran the other day. Nemo the command-less lead dog lead us out again.

This run was a bit different than the last run, just two days before. Nemo made every turn without confusion except for one which he had to think about for a minute before he lead us the correct way. Either the little guy memorized the trail after only one run or he could still smell our scent from last time. I think I'll test this by waiting a good while before going back and see how he does.

The trail had a bit of fresh snow, but it was still icy and fast underneath. I nearly ran into trees again. And Nemo kept hearing, seeing or smelling things off in the woods. So I got to stop us from heading into the woods a couple of times and he even came back at me to head back down the trail the opposite way twice. If he hadn't done such a great job pulling and navigating the rest of the time I would demote him to wheel again.

Near the end of the trail we picked up our pace as the dogs could smell and then hear that wonderful lab we came across last time on this trail. This time lab lady had the dog tied to a tree along the trail and she was no where to be found. The dogs all barked or howled with excitement, but I didn't see the lady. I whistled and all the dogs stopped. I heard nothing.

I decided to inch our way over to the edge of the trail where there was enough snow to kind of use the snow hook. I got it in and went up to the dogs and grabbed Nemo's harness. I went back and pulled the snow hook and grabbed Blizzard and Flurry by the neckline. By this time the lady appeared and pulled her dog off to the side. Also with her was a man and two kids who where sledding down the hill on the trail.

I didn't want to tangle with her dog, who was still strapped to the tree just on the edge of the trail. So I walked the dogs past the dog and family and did an interesting maneuver on the hill to let the dogs go, jump on the sled and get my foot on the break quickly because it was a steep and big hill. I pulled it off and we again made it safely back to the parking lot.

Keep your cool!

2008-12-31T07:57:00.004-06:00

What an adventure today! We went out west to find some snow to sled on. Driving past snowless hills and bear fields I felt a little silly most of the drive. Then finally I saw enough snow in treed areas, just a bit further north from that point and I called the location perfect.

We hooked up and went flying around on an icy trail with only a few sections of bear ground.

I put Nemo in lead again even though I knew on this trail we would need to make a lot of turns. We managed to make all the turns we needed to although for a couple of turns I need to stop and the girls eventually pulled Nemo over the right direction. You aren't supposed to have your wheel dogs doing the steering, but it worked out.

I had a great time although I need to use the break a lot and didn't get to relax much as I was at risk of hitting trees in a lot of the turns on this curvy, hill trail. It was a great ride and I would love to go back again now that we got a bit of fresh snow last night.

The trail map said it was 8 miles and my GPS read 6, so I either did the 8 miles or I missed a turn. I can't really tell as it was kind of cloudy and with all the trees over the trail I may not have gotten a good signal for the whole ride.

In the last stretch I came around a corner to find a lady and her dog. We stopped as the dog was off leash. The lady then took at least a minute or two to frantically try to put on some sort of harness so the dog could be leashed. Nice lady! No collar; mistake number one. The dog was an excited lab who must have put on a few pounds since the harness was adjusted. All the while my three are waiting and watching with excitement.

I was very impressed with the woman's dog handling skills when she lost control of her emotions, because it was taking her too long to put the small harness on the big dog, who was excited to see three more dogs. She yelled and slapped the dog saying “knock it off”. Great pet owner mistake number two.

She finally got him leashed and move just off the edge of the trail. It was my turn to move. Now my dogs have been staring at these two yahoos for a few minutes and I have to remain confident that the three of them will pass without stopping to check out the dog. We didn't make it passed without starting to veer toward the dog, so I jumped off and grabbed the line to pull them back on course as I said, “on by”. “On by” is Nemo's best command after “let's go”. So despite being nose to nose with the other dog and ready to get ourselves all tangled up, we started pulling away, as the woman yelled out in a panicked voice “get your dog” (mistake number three).

The panic in her voice was enough to make even me what to bite someone. The four dogs were all fine and not a single growl was made that I could hear and the woman panics. Luckily we were already pulling away when her response came out and I only had enough time to turn to look back. I admit we didn't act perfectly when we pasted her, but had her dog been on a leash to start the whole interaction could have gone differently.

That's when my car came into sight and we were safely off the trail. The dogs had water and treats while I packed everything back up. We stopped off to spend the afternoon at my parents' house where I watched a few movies on their new big screen TV. When I left it was snowing.

We made our way home safely despite the crazy drivers flying around slower traffic, the cars at the side of the road who must have been in some sort of accident, and the guy who was out of his car and thought it was would be ok to walk across the freeway to a car parked on the inside shoulder. Even after passing all that excitement cars still flew around other traffic driving way to fast for conditions.

What a busy day.

Dumped on Christmas Eve

2008-12-25T06:45:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I drove through the snow storm, to got out sledding in the Kettle Moraine.

I put Nemo in the lead again (still doesn't know Gee or Haw). When I had everyone hooked up and the snowhook out Nemo was facing the wrong way playing tug of war with the gangline.

Our first turn was a haw, however Nemo was confident we should go straight. The next turn was a gee. Nemo want straight, so I stopped the sled, put the snow hook in and grabbed Nemo and pointed him in the right direction. We then proceeded down the trail I wanted us to take.

The trail was great. There where lots of hills and bends to keep me busy. On one downhill section I tipped the sled and the dogs dragged me down the hill a little ways.

Note that I hung on to the sled again. I was once told I wasn't a real musher because I hadn't lost my team yet. Which is confusing cause your not supposed to let go of the sled. Basically, I don't plan on becoming a real musher.

We made it back to the parking lot alive and meet the Trail Coordinator for the park. He is interested in dog sledding and commented on the number of teams that come out to use these particular trails. Hopefully some day we won't be the only team out and we can meet some more teams. It is always nice to have some other teams to practice passing with or to just have some fresh dog scent on the trails to follow.

We finished packing up the sled and headed home. That afternoon I went off to Christmas with one of my brothers. When I left I left three happy dogs loose in my house. For Christmas I got a house that wasn't torn-up, nothing peed on, and no dog fights. I was hopeful that, after seeing that Nemo didn't cause any problems after breaking out of his crate 4 times in the last few weeks, he was learning all the house rules.

Really I just wanted to get that crate out of my kitchen (there just isn't enough room), but I have noticed that everyone is getting along. They have started to learn how much to much with each other and have seemed to have found some sort of pack order that suits them all well. It will still be a while before I don't worry about them all, because they could always suprize me with something I never expected. That's why I just aways expect the unexpected when dealing with huskies.

Cold Run

2008-12-21T18:34:00.001-06:00

Today it was below zero with 40 mile/hour winds or something like that. We gathered up enough courage to go out sledding in the afternoon. We went out to some horse/snowmobile trails for a 7 mile run.

Nemo was cold waiting for me to get the sled ready and harnesses on everyone. He just doesn't have a good husky coat of fur. I'll have to get him a coat for this kind of weather, so he doesn't freeze before we run.

I put Nemo in lead again. We went a little crazy with excitement waiting for me to hook up the other two. It was easier keeping everyone untangled with him in the lead.

The run was good. Blizzard and Flurry were slacking a bit at times, but Nemo pulled like a mad man.

We made it back safe without any problems or freezing off any toes.

The Big Promotion

2008-12-19T18:32:00.002-06:00

What a busy day.

I had to shovel most of a foot of snowfall (the snow blower conveniently worked long enough for me to clear out the end of the driveway).

The dogs got to spend the day outside while I was shoveling and spent the rest of the time with me inside as a special treat, called a snow day.

We wanted to go out early and sled right down the street over to the park, but I waited too long and the plows cleaned up the streets. So we planned our run for the afternoon when I just drove us over to the park.

In hooking up, when I got to Nemo he was anxious to go as usually, so he was pulling on the lines and causing Blizzard and Flurry to wander about and turn around. Some kids had been watching us, so they came over. I had one hold up the line so Nemo couldn't grab it and the others entertained Blizzard and Flurry while I released us from the car and pull the snow hook (which I actually had enough snow to make use of).

We started off down the park roads which were still a little snow covered, plus I figured we would catch the bike trail, which wasn't plowed yet, when we got to the crossing. The road was too fun, so we kept going a little ways until we saw some cars coming. I yelled, "Gee" and Flurry pulled us up into the snow bank to get off the road. Then it all went down hill for my two lead dogs. We found trees to sniff, trees to pee on, we went on the other side of the pole, we didn't keep the line out, and all that fun stuff. They did do a nice turn around after we went down the steep bending trail down to the lake front (so it was all bad).

On the way back I got a bit tired of helping Nemo by walking or pushing the sled, cause the girls were slacking, so I gave him a promotion. I put the snow hook in and did some switching around (very carefully as to not leave Nemo next to one of the girls as that usually leads to a fight). The switching went smoothly and I pulled the snow hook.

We went flying down a hill and Nemo keep to the path we had taken on the way out. Nemo keep the line out, but stopped for two rest stops as jumping through the deep snow was wearing him out. I think I'll need to do some serious command training over my Christmas break because he did a nice job for not know a single command (other than "on by" which he seems to recognize).

He does have a tendency to want to go gee whenever confronted with two paths. I wanted him to go straight a couple times when we came across an intersecting trail, so I had to stop and get him pointed straight ahead cause each time he started heading gee.

Maybe I'll try teaching Blizzard the commands too, that way I can put any one of them in lead, if I needed to. Blizzard would probably be my last choice, since she is some times call "sure pees a lot".

Once we got back from sledding, I took Blizzard out to get her staples pulled from her ear. Now we are back and ready to relax on the sofa.

Santa Nemo

2008-12-18T19:00:00.002-06:00

Tonight Nemo and I went out to give Christmas cards to the neighbors. He was a good boy for all the neighbors.

All four of us (Blizzard, Flurry, Nemo and I) had a nice walk early this morning. Nemo actually walked part of the way without pulling on the leash. This is great since it has been kind of icy out there.

However, I still have sometimes where I am frustrated with dog number 3.

Good days and bad days

2008-12-14T16:23:00.002-06:00

One dog is a handful, two dogs have some benefits, three dogs is like a suspense story. I'm always waiting for the next explosion, mess, fight, escape, or mysterious event.

Yesterday was a good day for Nemo. No problems.

Today, he tried to start a fight with Blizzard. Later, I could tell he was thinking about starting one with Flurry who picked up a toy (which originally belonged to Flurry).

Nemo needs to be watched when toys are on the floor. Usually my two girls don't play with toys much, but they occasionally pick one up for a while. However, Nemo seems to think all the toys are his (it doesn't matter that they has all been chewed on by Blizzard or Flurry before).

He's not like my girls who will come up with an elaborate scheme to distract the other and steal the toy. He is more of a go right up and growl until they give it up or fight to the death kind of dog. I don't really like that attitude.

To top everything off the weather was warm and melted my snow, so I didn't get to go sledding or anything.

New Number Three

2008-12-13T17:26:00.005-06:00

Nemo

Nemo is my newest dog. I have had him for two weeks today.

Nemo is about 3 years old and was adopted from Adopt A Husky.

He has one blue eye and one brown and blue eye.

He loves to chew and snuggle.

So far he has escaped his crate, broke out of the yard, bit a four staple gash in Blizzard's ear, got 9th in a sled race, survived an attempted mass suicide orchestrated by Blizzard and the stove, got into a car accident (ok, not a real accident - a couple of kids ran their sled into my front bumper in a parking lot while I was putting the sled on the roof rack) and generally worked his way into our lives. He is anxious to see what excitement tomorrow will bring.

Life has been a little crazy the last couple of weeks.

Can't Depend on Snow - Our first race this year

2008-12-06T17:47:00.001-06:00

It all started with a wintry drive up to Fond Du Lac. We survived and made it to the race site without visiting any ditches like many of the cars we past (perhaps I am foreshadowing the events of the race -- read on and see what you think).

At the race we saw lots of people who we haven't see since last winter (or in some cases the winter before).

At the musher's meeting, we picked number 23 for our bib number, so we had to wait for 22 other teams to go out ahead of us. We made it to the starting chute and on to the trail without any dog fights (a first since Nemo joined us). We did have a hard time leaving the chute, cause Nemo was to anxious to go and started playing tug of war with the lines right before we were supposed to go.

On the trail we made quick work of catching and passing the team ahead of us (who appeared to be having problems staying on trail and avoid distractions). His dogs almost tangled up with mine, but I jumped off the sled and pulled us way from his approaching dogs.

As we went, we came across a loose dog headed back to the start. Then the team we past, past us. Next we past the musher who lost the dog.

Then Blizzard pooped.

Then Flurry pooped.

Then we caught back up to the team who we past and then past us. That team got distracted while going past someone standing by as trail help, so we past them. Then they past us again. We both past another team.

Then the team head of us got distracted (again) by two teams we were about to pass and I past them (and the other two teams). Then that team past us again.

I didn't pass them again because the whole game of pass was getting old, even though all three of my dogs did a great job passing the other teams the whole way (no tangles, no fights, just on by). Passing them again would just give them something to chase and they would try to pass again.

Finally we came in right on the heals of the other team at the finish line. Our time was about 15 about a half minutes, which put us in 9th place out of the 33 teams there.

We ended our adventures with a nice sunny drive home.

New toys and weather

2008-09-04T12:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a good day, once I got done at work. It started with the call that my new bike was ready to be picked up. That's right I have a new Trek 4300. I don't think the dogs are as excited as I am, but Blizzard doesn't yet realize I was going to put a lot of her training time in bikejoring. Last year she started to pick up on the commands, but she still depends on Flurry to know which way to go. Perhaps some individual attention might help with the commands and she feel pretty darn special too.

Since last years discovery of Lyme disease, Flurry doesn't seem like she as motivated to run. I'm thinking about trying some canicross with her during the fall training season. She won't have to pull as hard or run as fast, which might get her excited again. I do admit she did seem to like running longer distances at a slower pace last year. She just might not be a sprint racer.

Any way back to the new toys and weather. Before I took the new bike out for a test run last night, I decided to have the girls go for their first run of the season. The weather has dropped down to the 60s and I have been dying to run the scooter down to the parks here. It was a slow run, as it was still in the high 60s, but at least we got a run in.

When I got back, I put the dogs in our new kennel and took the bike out for a spin. Wow, it was a nice ride. I can't wait to get my next new toy, a BAY-o-net, so we can bikejor in style.

Wish me luck with all the exercise I'll be getting taking each dog out training separately.

New Training Grounds

2008-08-27T19:27:00.003-05:00

We finally have a new home. Flurry and Blizzard are loving the nice backyard. They have already picked some tomatoes out of the garden to eat. I keep trying to tell them to wait until they are red, but they can't wait and get them green.

We live right near lots of parks and some golf courses. I am hoping no one will mind if we sled on them in winter. I can have up to 3 dogs which means there is room for one more in the pack. We can walk to the lake and run on the beach (Blizzard and Flurry aren't big fans of waves). I don't think I'll get bored walking with all these parks.

Right now we are at my Grandma's house which is just a few blocks away. We are enjoying the new house and are getting excited to start our fall training.

Now what?

2008-03-29T09:11:00.000-05:00

The snow has been melting away, but last weekend we got two runs in. One right down the neighborhood streets, because we were in the middle of a 15 inch snow storm and the other I found a nice trail used by snowmobiles and horseback riders. I’ll be going back to that trail next year.

For now, I think my sledding days are done for a while, since there is more grass than snow surface areas outside. We will be switching over to long summer hikes and play days at the dog park (fenced in dog parks). I like to keep all three of us in shape over the summer so fall training doesn’t involve getting back in shape, it’s just a process of switching back over to winter activities.

To stay in shape myself, I have decided to participate in a bike ride to raise money for the MACC (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer, Inc.) Fund. If you would like to help fight pediatric cancer and keep a snow lover busy training for a warm weather sport, feel free to contribute on my personal fund raising page: http://www.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=264114&u=264114-209529680&e=1615042211

The 20 miles of Michigan

2008-03-11T12:07:00.000-05:00

This last weekend, my girls and I hit the road to head over to Michigan. We got meet a completely new group of mushers and got to run 10 miles a day on some beautiful trails.

We took the sled with us instead of skis, which we original planned on taking. It was a good idea to use the sled as the trails were difficult with a sled and would have been worse with skis. The trails was a nice hard backed surface, but not icy. We flew down the hills at top speeds through wooded sections. I had to stay alert and be ready with the brake to keep the sled on the trail and avoid trees.

We made the 10-mile trip in a little under 2 hours each day. Flurry seemed a little tired the last part of the run on the second day. Both dogs were ready to go and full of energy the second day. However, they did have a good time goofing off and sniffing trees on the second day.

Mid distance runs are so much more enjoyable than sprint races. I might have to see what other mid distance events I can go to next year.

City Life

2008-02-23T21:40:00.000-06:00

You’ve probably heard by now, but life isn’t fair. Neither is city life for a sled team.

I follow the rules of the city. I have only two dogs when I need four to compete in the sport I love. I clean up after my dogs. I don’t take them into the city parks (none of which allow dogs). I walk everyday on hard concrete past open parks full of soft grass. Just following the rules. The city has lots of rules. In return for following the rules, the city has very little to offer my dogs and I.

Near by is a state park, which “allows” dog sledding. However, the trail is never groomed and “never will be”. In a race, we can complete 4 miles in twenty to thirty minutes. In practice, we never even get close. Today it took us over an hour to do 3 miles. We spend every hour of practice at this park trudging through deep snow. The hikers and snowshoers the park is preserving this area for usually stick to about a mile loop on a 4-mile trail. Most of the trail remains untouched, because the few people that do venture beyond the 1-mile loop have no idea where the trail is. We do. We are out there every chance we get. We know that trail so well we can find it in the dark.

Would it really hurt the hikers and snowshoers if someone ran a snowmobile or something around occasionally to pack it down a bit? The snow will still be there, just as deep as before and will still blow over with drifts for them to frolic through.

We do have options. We can run on bike trails and risk crossing roads. We can also run on snowmobile trails and risk being hit by one flying around a bend. We could also buy our own land and make our own trails, but to find the land at an affordable price would mean leaving the city.

Maybe we should leave the city. The city is not warm and welcoming to dogs. It is even less so for mushers. I don’t fit in with city life. Let’s face it my idea of “green” transportation is a little different than the hybrid cars the city folk are talking about.

So why am I telling you all this? I have all the snow I could possibly want this year, but I still can’t get in enough practice to prepare for our next race.

Musher Gets Cold Feet

2008-02-17T10:34:00.000-06:00

I submitted an entry into my first mid-distance race. In March, the team and I will be skijoring 10 to 20 miles. To prepare for the event the three of us went out skiing yesterday. We put on a total of 13 miles, for the day.

A skijoring race presents a few problems for someone like myself:

I can’t ski down hills…which means we might have the worst time ever because I’ll be pealing myself up out of the snow a million times. This constant falling and getting back up will not win us any world records and may mean we take too long to finish.
As we discovered yesterday my ski boots suck. My feet were instantly wet and while my skiing activity kept my feet warm for most of the run, my feet were freezing by time we were done. I literally had cold feet.
I am a slow skier. If the dogs do not pull, we will not be getting anywhere fast.
If my dogs do pull, I may have the same problems I have when I go down hill.
It is raining now and my snow to practice on is at risk.

If only I have two more dogs, we could run it with a sled.

The good news is Flurry will be done with her antibiotics before the race and she should be back to 100%. I did not notice any stiff joints, sore legs, or favored paws, yesterday.

For now to prepare for the race I am going to try to water proof my boots (I’m not spending money on new equipment for my least preferred dog powered event). Hopefully my boots will finish drying out today and I can get to work at this task.

Second, I am going to stop walking with the dogs. I do not want them too used to our usual slow pace. Our walks have been great and they both really stick by me, but I want lean, mean, running machines for a mid distance even, so I do not have to work as hard the whole race. Therefore, instead of walking I will jog with them, if I can (this rain might make it too icy to jog).

Wish us luck!

Vet Visit May Mean New Threat to Four Dog Teams

2008-02-08T17:15:00.000-06:00

Disappointed with an eight place finish, musher Janine Sajdak, was determined there must be something wrong with her two dog team that they didn’t beat all 14 four dog teams at last weekend’s Christmas Mountain sled race. Noticing suspicious sore legs that vanished and reappeared on different legs at different times on her lead dog Flurry, she sought out the expert opinion of her team veterinary.

Doctor Mike indicated that Flurry's joints are in excellent condition, but that the four dog teams may have something to worry about. Due to an apparent exposure to Lyme disease, Flurry may have been performing at less than 100%. An antibiotic may be the secret weapon to launching the small but mighty team into a whole new class.

When reporters asked Janine about the incident she said, “This last week after the race she (Flurry) seemed to slow down more than normal and actually wanted to turn around and go back to the car on a run. So, I scheduled an appointment at the Vet to check this out. My suspicion was Lyme disease. It turns out I was right.”

It seems that mushers like Janine keep a close eye on any favored paw or sore shoulder within their teams. She reported that Flurry’s symptoms would come and go, never lasting very long, leaving her to believe the problems were imaginary at times.

While some might say that a diagnosis of an exposure to Lyme disease could be devastating, Doctor Mike clearly had only good things to say about Flurry’s health and physical condition. Janine has sent out a friendly warning to all four dog teams, “We should be back up to full force in no time, so beware and keep an eye out for the health and safety of your teams.”

To learn more about Lyme disease in pets go to http://www.lyme.org/otherdis/ld_pets.html

The last Christmas

2008-02-02T18:25:00.000-06:00

I am tired of racing two against four.

We ran at Christmas Mountain in Wisconsin Dells. It is apparently the last year they will be holding the event. That to bad as it was the first race I ever ran in.

Today, we place 8th out of 15 teams. Seven teams came in ahead of us and seven teams came in behind us…how is that for average? We were the only two-dog team, so really I think we kicked a lot of butts.

I am currently looking at houses where the municipal limits allow more than two dogs. I looked at a couple of places today that would allow up to four dogs and are conveniently located near a trail I could run the dogs on.

It would be nice to at least have three dogs.

PS. I didn't fall over today...I did do some really cool fish-tails around some corners.

Code Name: Crash

2007-12-04T21:03:00.000-06:00

You would think I could make it out for one trip on the sled this year without falling over. Tonight was not the night for that. I tipped it on a nice downhill section. The best part is that great hard crusty/icy snow under the fresh stuff. Boy does that fell real good when you flop down on it and get dragged across it.

The good news is the dogs had an easier time pulling the sled…that doesn’t mean they pulled it the whole time, but they could have if they wanted to.

Tromping Through the Snow

2007-12-03T21:17:00.000-06:00

Boy do I need a third dog. I tried sledding on Sunday, but the snow was just all wrong. It was icy/slushy and the runners just seemed to wedge right in making it really hard for only two dogs to pull. So I got lots of exercise on Sunday.

Tonight after work, I decided to investigate the trail conditions by doing a little snowshoeing. This snow sucks for that too. Blizzard and Flurry came along. I think my loud snowshoes on the crusty snow annoyed them. Well, I got my exercise tonight as well.

The good news is more snow is on its way this week. Hopefully it will be better snow…not this raining junk.

Racing Before the Snow

2007-12-01T15:32:00.000-06:00

Today was the Can’t Depend on Snow Sled Dog Race. It is a great race for fun and early session practice. Most teams are not what I would call serious racers, but are out to enjoy the sport and their dogs. The trail had patchy snow so some teams used sled and others used rigs.

Most teams reported having a hard time keeping their dogs on the trail and teams just keep making it harder as they made tracks all over the place. Blizzard and Flurry did a great job staying on the trail and pulled better than they have in the last year. Two teams I know got first and second place. Karen, who rides on a nice 3-wheel light weight rig with bike tires and breaks got first with one of her 4 dog teams. Jeff, who rides on a rig that looks like a kid’s big wheel bike - just a little bit bigger (and not plastic) got second. I got third with my two dogs on the scooter. I forget who was in 4th, but 5th was a Ed and his two dogs who I met the other weekend at the Dirty Dog Race.

After the race, it began to snow…which meant I got to drive home in it. By time I got home, there was enough snow on the ground to go sledding. I haven’t gone out yet, but I am thinking about it.

A Better Day

2007-11-25T17:09:00.000-06:00

I took Blizzard and Flurry out to a local mountain bike trail and found a friend to meet us there. My friend road his bike and I got a nice scooter ride. The dogs ran well. Some horses out on the trail distracted the dogs a few times. We got in 4.2 miles on the trail and had a 2 mile per hour better average speed than yesterday.

Afterwards we took a nice 2.2-mile hike around the same park, so I got my exercise as well. I also had to run up a few hills while scootering as the trail is in a hilly area.

The forecast is calling for snow early this week, so next weekend’s race might just be a sled race. If we get some snow, I hope to take the girls out for a short trip on Tuesday or Wednesday night, so they can get used to the sled again. Other than that, next week will be daily walks only so that they rest up their muscles before the race…it also helps them build up some pent-up energy they’ll be dying to burn off over the weekend.

To train or not to train?

2007-11-24T21:13:00.000-06:00

We did a 3-mile training run today. It was a slow 3 miles. I officially now believe I have trained my dogs how to not pull.

I spend 50 minutes every morning in the pitch black before sunrise (if I get out of bed, like the weather, and feel like doing it) walking the dogs 3 miles. I need the exercise, but my dogs are learning that pace and how not to pull all to well. The rest of my day is spent getting ready for work for about 45 minutes, 45 minutes catching and riding a bus to work (I have to do my part to prevent global warming; It’s not very conducive to dog sledding), work 8 hours, spend another 45 minutes catching and riding the bus, and come home with enough energy to eat dinner and find a nice spot to sit and relax.

I find myself with a dilemma. I can push myself to use that time after work for a better purpose (even thought it is now completely dark out then too). What should my focus be? I have put on over 15 pound in a year and a half working at a job that allows me to still all day and snack on all the junk my coworkers bring in. A year prior to starting this job a daily 3 mile walk helped me lose the extra 15 I put on during my college years, now I need to lose that weight again (lucky me) and the 3 miles just isn’t going to cut it. I also really want to do more training with my dogs, which doesn’t get ME enough exercise to lose a thing.

I had hoped that having a week off of work could help me get jumpstarted on both, so I could find a balance between the two activities. However, this week has gone by like a shooting star leaving a tail a Thanksgiving leftovers behind. I have blown off opportunities to both get exercise for myself and time to train the dogs with TV, turkey, and shopping. There is only one day left before I must return to the workplace buffet of laziness and desserts. What will I do with it?

Caching We Will Go

2007-11-20T14:55:00.000-06:00

Today Blizzard and Flurry played trap-line dogs as we went down the trail geocaching (if you don’t know what this is go to www.geocaching.com). We logged 18.3 miles on the GPS. I stopped the girls along the trail a bunch of times to look for caches. They waited quietly along the trail while I looked under logs and in trees to find camouflage boxes, before continuing down the trail.

My favorite part of the trip what watching Blizzard and Flurry whip their heads back and forth watching a train go under the bike trail bridge. They were so excited about that train, they even ran to catch a glimpse at another one on the way back.

Week Off Activities

2007-11-19T20:36:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we got in a 7-mile hike together. The dogs loved me after that. Today, I had to take my car in for service and spent sometime with my niece and nephew, so we only got in the usual 3-mile walk for the day.

Tomorrow, even with the rain in the forecast I plan take the girls out with the scooter. They are overdue for some practice pulling. I would really like to go out for a few hours (nothing fast), but just hangout on the trail most of the day together. It wouldn’t get them ready for a race, but it sounds like a nice leisurely day off and it would still get them some exercise.

I'll see now the weather looks tomorrow and see what kind of trip I can get in.

Double and Trouble

2007-11-17T14:58:00.000-06:00

Double and Trouble…sometime referred to as Blizzard and Flurry got themselves in the Antigo Daily Journal. The Journal posted some pictures of the Dirty Dog Dryland Derby in Pearson Wisconsin. Damion Robb from Jamaican made the front page with his team. However, when you turn to page two they could help but include a picture of those smiling white huskies racing down the trail.

More recently, we did get out on the trail last weekend for a 3.5-mile run to add to the Dogs Across America Relay total. This next week we will be getting ourselves in shape while I have the week off from work. We have plans for a couple of long hikes (good exercise for me…who could lose a little “I’ve been snacking at work” weight) and some training runs on the scooter to help the dogs build up some muscle.

Today is my birthday, so I don’t want to spend all day on my computer, but before I go you might be wondering why I would refer to my dogs as Double and Trouble. For my birthday, all my dogs gave to me was a mess of garbage on the kitchen floor. They are so lucky I love them.

Catching Up!

2007-11-10T10:42:00.000-06:00

Ok, I am not too great at keeping a Blog. It has been a while since I last wrote, but there has not been very much to write about lately.

My dogs are doing well. Blizzard has mastered the art form of jumping 5 and 6 foot fences. She now spends much of her time in the yard on a leash. Flurry despite having full run of the yard still spends most of her time curled up next to Blizzard. If only we all had friends that loyal.

As you may have figured out, I still only have two dogs. I almost had a black lab that can’t sit still and runs faster than any lab I have seen. I tried run with her, but she has a low blood sugar problem and she could only make it more than a mile and half.

We have only done a few training runs this year. We did get up to Pearson, WI this year for the Dirty Dog Dryland Race. I think my dogs lack focus…unless they are focused on wrestling with each other. They did a lot of that the second day on the trail.

This weekend we are racking up some miles for the Dog Across America Relay. If you live in the US and don’t participate in this event yet, I recommend you do (http://www.dogsacrossamerica.org/).

We also have to get training for the You Can’t Depend on Snow race in December. My goal is to have the dogs pull the whole way without any bathroom breaks.

Wish me luck!

A Dog's Life

2007-03-06T18:18:00.000-06:00

So went up north last weekend for a race. We were clearly out numbered as other mushers walked by and wondered what race I was going to enter with only two dogs.

I borrowed a dog from some friends, so we could run in the four-dog race with three dogs.

My dogs goofed up the first mile of the race the first day by making a few potty stops and getting tangled. The second day we flew for the first two miles and then could not keep moving after passing another team. It's too much fun to run with other teams.

While only having two dogs to choose from for a race maybe a disadvantage, I was reminded of the benefits of only owning a few dogs. As we returned to the hotel after an evening walk, in the eyes of a lonely dogs peering out of it’s dog box, I saw the reflection of what Blizzard and Flurry have.

Blizzard and Flurry know me better than I know myself. They both get the benefits of my undivided attention. They get daily walks, enjoy many of my favorite past times with me (such as hiking, camping, backpacking and swimming) and even get to run free at the local dog park occasionally. They are both happy, healthy and come when called miraculously well for huskies.

Dog Tired

2007-02-04T20:48:00.000-06:00

Blizzard and Flurry are both sound asleep next to me on the sofa. I am ready to sleep myself.

We hit the trails today. The trail was blown-over, with some deep spots. I got my share of running in. My legs are tired and sore. It is a lot of work running in loose snow with big boots on.

The girls had a good time and even stopped to wrestle for a while. I joined in, too. What a sight in could have been, to see the three of us wrestling in the snow, had anyone else actually been outside today.

Back to work tomorrow…a chance to rest. My coworkers will be happy to see I survive the weekend without any frostbite.

Cold Winter Race

2007-02-04T08:07:00.000-06:00

I thought I would take a few minutes this cold winter morning of -9 degrees, to tell you about our race yesterday. Blizzard and Flurry are making a come back. They ran really well, pulling all the way. If I could have run up the hills faster, perhaps we could have done even better.

It was only a few degrees out, with a wind chill of -15 degrees (or something ridiculously cold compared to our average temperatures). Waiting for the race to start, my feet keep getting cold. Even in the starting chute, I pulled my thumbs into my mittens to try to warm them up quick. As we got the count down to go, I stuck them back out and ran the first mile thinking my thumbs were going to freeze off. After running up a hill or two, I was nice and warm.

We of course stopped for some bathroom breaks during the run; we can’t ruin that tradition. The winning team passed us at about a half mile away from the finish and we could see the team ahead of us at about that same time.

The good news is we placed just high enough to win a check, which paid for the entry fee and the gas to drive up to the event. It was a free day of fun for the dogs and I.

Running!

2007-01-28T18:02:00.000-06:00

To be a good sled dog driver you must have a friend willing to ride a bike, through the snow, in below freezing temperatures, out in front of two crazy huskies running full speed ahead.

That’s right, I had my dogs actually running today! Thanks Ben!

Dog Sledding or Sled Walking

2007-01-27T15:29:00.000-06:00

I am pretty sure, if I remember correctly, I got a scooter and then a sled so the dogs could get out and run. Running is NOT what these dogs are doing. They bounce off the walls (one of them literally) to go to sledding at the park, I hook them up and they suddenly go into mellow mode. They walk along through the park like they are out for a Sunday drive, weaving on and off the road as they check out the sights.

I love them to death. They are such a sweet pair of dogs, but sledding is one time I wish they would just burn off all their energy and go, go, go. My dog walking training has been way too effective and it is definitely impacting our speed in other activities.

If I were to enter the Iditarod with dogs like these, we would be laugh at as the only team to WALK out of Anchorage.

No more walking this week, we are going bikejoring. On the bike with pedaling ability and them in harness maybe I can get them in gear and running, like I know they would love to do.

Exhausted

2007-01-22T20:22:00.000-06:00

I keep taking the dogs for runs with the sled. With new snow and snowdrifts, I feel like I am always blazing a fresh trail. In other words, with only two dogs, I am running, walking, and pushing most of the time.

I tried asking if the park rangers would take a snowmobile down the trail once to pack it down, but they are too busy making money of the cross-country skiers. The snowshoers who use the trail might be helpful, but they insist on always walking on fresh snow. There are half packed paths crisscrossing everywhere.

It would also help if my two bush sniffers could stay on the trail and/or pull consistently. They keep quitting in the middle of turns leaving me to spin the sled the right direction.

No sledding tomorrow.

Sled Rides

2007-01-21T08:51:00.000-06:00

I took my niece and nephew for a sled ride yesterday. The two kids had a great time riding around in the sled bag. My nephew Jake wanted to drive the sled, so I let him ride on the runners in front of my for a while. If he wasn’t allergic to dogs, I might have created a junior musher.

I also let my brother try the sled. It was strange to see my dogs running without me. On the loop back, I called me so they would give my brother a good ride back. They dumped him on the first downhill section and ran right to me without my brother.

They are such cute dogs and they really like to run. They could definitely use some assistance on the team though.

Starlight Runs

2007-01-16T20:02:00.000-06:00

I stood on the runners looking up at the stars, wondering, “Why am I not moving?”

Its seems by dogs are either on vacation, are still tired from their ten mile run last weekend, or they just can’t handle pulling me in the fresh snow.

We have gone out the last two nights. It has been beautiful out…beautiful for running sleds.

I think we need to find some other teams to run with this weekend. The quiet nights have been great, but they are used to running in the daylight when there is more activity. A team to chase and be chased by would definitely liven these two up.

It Snowed

2007-01-14T16:10:00.000-06:00

It snowed, but not enough to go sledding yet. So today, we just played with the sled.

It is supposed to snow tonight and tomorrow, so my plan is to head out right after work. It might be a little dark, but that’s what headlamps are for.

Wish me luck.

A Two Hour Tour

2007-01-13T15:26:00.000-06:00

Today we took a 10-mile run with the scooter. It is in the twenties out and the dogs loved the cool temperature. My hands were freezing, but I toughed it out for the two-hour ride.

We left a little while before lunch, so I pack a snack in a bike bag to put on the handlebars of the scooter. After about seven miles, I stopped to eat. If it wasn’t for some traffic of walkers and bikers on the path and the fact that part of the trail runs along the backyards of some residential areas, the ride would have been more peaceful.

Tomorrow it is supposed to snow and I might finally get a chance to try my sled. For now, I can rest with napping dogs who seem to be keeping one eye open and on me to see what I will do next. They must have had a good time with me today.

Where's the snow?

2007-01-04T18:23:00.000-06:00

I got a sled, now where is the snow?

I purchased a Risdon Protracker, which is now assembled in my garage. However, I can't seem to find any snow to use it on. The most I have done with the sled is put the dogs in the sled bag, both of whom thought I was nuts.

Global warming seems to be killing my snow. It has only been in the 40s in Wisconsin. Where's the cold?

Maybe I should have bought hybrid car instead of a dog sled. . . Nahhh!

Waiting

2006-12-18T20:01:00.001-06:00

Here we sit, waiting for sled and snow.

We should be out running or I could be replacing the brake pads on my scooter. Instead we wait.

My Christmas Gift

2006-12-17T18:02:00.000-06:00

I couldn't wait any longer to find a used sled for sale.

Last weekend, I had tried out one of the models of sleds I was interested in purchasing and liked it. This weekend, I ordered a new one for myself. It should be shipped by next weekend, so I will be the proud owner of a sled soon.

My niece and nephew are already excited to get a ride once it arrives. It will be nice to not have to borrow a sled all the time.

Now I just need an extra dog or two, but I have to wait until I can get out of this two dog city.

December and Snow

2006-12-03T15:34:00.000-06:00

On Friday, we walked over two miles in a blizzard. Saturday, we enjoyed the snow and ran in our first SLED race. We borrowed a sled and an extra team member. Flurry ran lead and made the run very interesting. When we first got out of the chute, she realized she was being chased by two dogs and turned around to play. Later she slowed down to try to run next to the other two. We tangled up a few times, but we had a great time.

As if we didn’t get enough fun in the snow, we went skijoring today. The dogs would have loved running full speed, but they had to slow down to compensate for my nonexistent skiing skills. I fell a number of times, but again we had a great time.

Are they sled dogs or house pets?

2006-11-27T19:50:00.000-06:00

We well be racing next weekend to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

I do not know what to expect from my team. Will they stop to go potty this time? Will they be out to just run or to play games?

If they were to run their very best they could do great, but I spend so much time teaching them to walk and not pull on a leash. Do they really know what to do in a race?

Look at that!

2006-11-26T17:45:00.000-06:00

The best part about living in the city with sled dogs is you stand out. In the last week, we have had beautiful weather. More people than usual have flocked to the trails to get in their last hikes before winter. When they get there, they discover a woman riding around on a scooter with two white huskies. We are quite an unusual sight.

Then I take my dogs to a city dog park (the place were city folks take their dogs so they can get exercise without walking around the block) and the other dog owners talk about how quickly the dog park wears out their dogs. Sometimes I just laugh to myself and other times I share my story. The truth is my dogs out last these city dogs at the dog park after I have already had them run 5 miles pulling the scooter.

Join the Pack

2006-11-18T19:56:00.001-06:00

The other weekend while out on a trail, we can across two women and their five dogs. All five dogs were off leash. We came up from behind and met up with the first dog. As we passed, the dog promptly joined us. As we headed up closer to the two women, they turned to find their dog running in front of my scooter and right behind my dogs.

They were quite surprised and asked all about my little team, before we pushed on ahead passed the other dogs, some of which had already turned around to come see us.

The dog that joined us was a cute little dog. Although it was not husky it would have made a great addition to the team. All their dogs were well behaved and my dogs did not seem to be bothered by them. However, Blizzard did want to turn around to go back to play once we passed them all.

The Crash

2006-11-14T18:26:00.001-06:00

We were heading down a trail this weekend. Up ahead I could see a group of people coming down a hill. As we got closer, I saw they had a dog with them. As I made this realization, I also discovered there was a short cut blazed through the tall grass straight between this dog and us.

The little dog saw Blizzard and Flurry. It got excited and started to run straight toward us on its flex leash. Blizzard and Flurry responded with the same excitement and went to take the straight shot to greet this dog. However, I was turning and heading down the correct trail.

I tried to stop them with both brakes on, but it was not enough. I went to step off the scooter to stop, but I realized too late that we were going too fast to step off the scooter. I went from foot to knee on the ground. This was followed quickly by whole body and flying scooter. I told myself, “don’t let go.” Letting go might have been a good thing for me, but not the dogs who would have found they being followed by a flailing scooter. I did not let go. Which meant I falling action was intensified with dog powered speed.

I did some kind of roll once I was on the ground, which caused me to hit the back of my bike helmet on the ground and half crushed my glasses. I got up quickly once the dogs stopped which didn’t take long given all the commotion behind them. I ran the rest of the 3.5-mile run without any problems. However, the next day I discovered just how many muscles and body parts had been involved in the ordeal. I am still sore.

Next time, I’ll stretch first before attempting such acrobatic moves.

Time to Get Ready

2006-11-04T11:03:00.000-06:00

It has come to my attention that working in an office each day has been bad for my health. I weight a little more and need to get myself in better shape.

This morning I took the dogs for a run. The three of us ran up each hill I could find (I need to practice running up hill since that is the only place I normally run when on the scooter). Today’s run was a good start toward getting in shape, but I definitely need to increase my activity level this next month.

Our next race is in December and I hope that the three of us are in better shape than the other teams. The cold fall this year has allowed many teams to get out training early, so our competition will be ready for us.

I am still in search of a sled. I hoped I could get one in November, so I would be ready for snow in December. I’ll have to get busy looking.

Making Losing Fun

2006-11-01T20:04:00.000-06:00

Flurry and Blizzard had a great time up north racing last weekend. We stayed over at a cabin with some friends on Friday night. The dogs were so excited, they did not sleep much.

On Saturday, we got up early to get to the race site. We watched teams race all morning and started our run just before noon.

It seemed the dogs did not have enough energy to run good after their exciting night in a new place. They did not pull as hard as they normally do.

We all slept good the second night and got an extra hour due to turning the clocks back. However, for our second day of running the dogs just wanted to chase another team. When the team behind us passed us up, they ran great as long as the other team was in front of us.

They had a blast trying to catch the other team (I held the brake to keep them from catching them) and I got to take in some scenery and get a ride up the hills instead of running up them like I had to do the first day.

The Rig of Death

2006-10-22T11:18:00.000-05:00

On Friday, we ran in the Rockford Rendezvous SHCA Rig Race in Illinois. We had to run with a rid and not a scooter. I listened to the explanation that rigs handled better and had better brakes. Therefore, when I stepped onto the rig I borrowed from another musher, I had no fear.

I reach the line and waited for the count down to my departure time. When the count down was done, we took off around a wet gentle down hill curve. I wasn’t even into the turn when I realized the brakes did nothing, the rig bounced around the trail like a toy, and the t-bar steering setup was going to be a pain.

Once we survived the curve I thought to myself, “I need to keep this thing slow or I am going to die.” My heart was pounding from fear before I even jumped off to help push up the first uphill-grade. As I ran, I realized it would take a while to jump back on and reach the break in an emergency.

“Death trap” is the only thing that came to mind. I pushed on realizing I wasn’t going to catch the team in front of us, because I wasn’t going to die on this thing by trying.

In true winner spirit, both dogs made a potty stop on the trail (of course not at the same time). To make up time I risked more speed. We kept moving. The dogs ran because it was fun and I ran because I wanted this joy ride to end.

The last section of trail was a huge killer hill. I started running, but had to stop just before the top. It was at this point that I was ready to throw up due to some combination of fear, having bounced around the trail on a death trap, and from pushing a heavy rig up a huge hill as fast as I could.

Some how even with two potty stops and me riding the brake half the time, we managed to make second place. The dogs had fun and I would do it again anytime…on my scooter.

Rumor Has It

2006-10-08T16:22:00.000-05:00

Rumor has it that winter is on its way. Watching the weather channel this morning after I feed the dogs, I hear winter weather is coming my way later this week.

In honor of such great news, I took the dogs from a run. We went to our favorite trail (the same one I described in my last post). We arrive, I hooked up the dogs, and we took off. We did not get far when I discover my brake was not working (note to self always check the brake before hooking up the dogs). I had to drag them back to the car, so I could pull out my tool kit and play around with the brake until it was back in working order. I was successful at fixing the brake, so I hooked the dogs back up and headed out on the trail.

I took a different route that avoided the downhill curve I mentioned last time, because there were two women out walking with a dog that would have been near that very spot by time we went up and around the hill. No hill today!

I thought I was safe from disaster and the dogs started running full speed down the trail. I was enjoying the ride and starting to get too relaxed when a chipmunk (brave little devil) ran across the trail right under the dogs’ noses. The dogs made a sharp right to follow the chipmunk while the scooter and I followed the forward moment until we all hit the end of the line. I jumped off the scooter and again found myself hanging on for dear life to a flying scooter.

I have to drag the dogs back on to the trail. Blizzard spent the next few minutes looking back in hopes of getting another glimpse of her new little friend. Thankfully, Flurry is not as prey driven and is able to move on after incidents with animals like this one. This really helps keep Blizzard going, otherwise we would still be standing on the trail looking back to see that darn chipmunk.

I hope I can share stories of snow soon. I am still looking for the perfect sled. A used sled would be great, but if I cannot find one soon I am going to breakdown and buy one new.

Near Death Experiences

2006-10-04T19:29:00.000-05:00

Running with dogs can be fun, adventurous, and dangerous. We went for a run with the scooter this evening when I got home from work. My favorite trail to take is a near by mountain bike and bridle trail (we have seen evidence of horses on this trail, but never an actual horse).

There is one turn on this trail, which requires control over your dogs’ speed in order to avoid sailing off the trail into who knows what. The turn occurs on a downhill stretch and we were doing fine at a nice steady pace. By time I heard the noise of whatever animal was off to the side of the trail right in the turn rustle through the brush, the dogs hand already seen it. I pulled the breaks, than jumped off the scooter to stop our momentum toward the trees.

When you have two dogs attached to a scooter with nobody on it, it will fly up into the air with every jerk and pull the dogs make. I held on to the scooter for life, which now resembled a bucking bronco and managed to get the dogs back on the trail and moving forward.

We went along for a while and only had a few problems turning the right direction, but soon Blizzard got bored. When Blizzard is bored, she likes to start to run faster and then egg Flurry on by biting at her neck. It does not bother me that we pick up speed, but these fast spurts and ruff play usually end with the dogs stopping suddenly in front of me or running off the trail. Today they went off the trail (good thing it is grassy and tree less for most of the trail).

We slowed down for a mile, before a group of mountain bikers caught up to us. I love mountain bikers because the girls love mountain bikers. We let them pass and took off after them. However, since the trail winds and bends the girls keep trying to cut across the grassy sections to catch up with them instead of following the trail.

The dogs were stubborn most of the run, but we had fun. That’s what it is all about; happy, tired dogs.

Making Training Fun

2006-10-03T18:43:00.000-05:00

It looks like we will do two races at the end of October, one rig race and one scooter race. This leaves us with only a few weeks to get ready.

Yesterday we began our training regimen with a free-for-all at the dog park. The dog park is a great place to let them get all the exercise they need. Ok so we will need to work on pulling to keep their muscles in shape and practice commands, but the park is fun and different.

I have to make sure that the dogs are always having fun. If they get tired of pulling the scooter, they will not pull the scooter. You cannot push a dog with a rope. Therefore, if they do not want to go, you do not go.

I will need to enlist some help from someone to help keep running exciting. Huskies really like to chase. I hope to get someone to ride a bike out ahead off us and play rabbit. This should help them get excited and pulling faster.

Do you want to be a musher?

2006-10-01T14:11:00.000-05:00

I went up north this weekend to meet up with a group of mushers. I enjoyed the drive. The fall colors are amazing in Northern Wisconsin right now. If I did not have a job to return to, I would still be up there now.

I camped out for a night at a little campground. Three mushers have kennels in the surrounding area, so that night I could hear their dogs howling.

When morning arrived, I decided to explore the trail there with my dogs and scooter. It was a short trail so we went out and looped around twice. When we returned to the campground road, we discovered a dog truck had arrived at the entrance to the grounds.

Trunks full of dogs arrived all morning to run and/or get updated rabies shots. I watched as they hooked up teams of six dogs to the front of an ATV and ran the trail loop. One young man also took few laps with one dog at a time to run canicross and a few people ran a dog or two with a bike.

After I took my dogs for another four laps around that morning, I realized that I did not want to reach the level of dog musherism (if you can allow me to invent a new term) that these people had. Many of them had so many dogs they brought them for rabies shots in shifts, because they could not fit them all in one truck. The people, who were running their dogs, ran their dogs in shifts too. Once the dogs returned to the truck, they were loaded back up into their individual dog boxes and the next set was brought out.

My two city dogs live a different life. There are no shifts unless I feel they each need a little time alone. I only need to take one 45-minute walk in the morning and there is enough time in the day to spend individual time with each dog (if I would like to).

My dogs are different in other ways. They may not have the same passion and desire that I see in these kennel dogs when they are hooked up to run. They do not go nuts and take off in a mad dash, which may leave us behind the other teams. However, will the time I spend with them each day at the end of a leash following my lead leave me with a different advantage?

Escape Attempts

2006-09-28T21:13:00.000-05:00

Work, work, work, that is what is on my mind lately. Be careful when you own a husky not to get too distracted. You have to keep a close eye on a husky’s activities.

Autumn has arrived and my dogs what to run. So much so, that they have been digging along the fence. They have been content in their yard all summer, but something calls to them when the temperatures drop. They need to get out of here and run (I feel the same). For now, I have secured the fence line again with strategically place bricks.

I await their next attempt.

New Friends

2006-09-23T20:46:00.000-05:00

A run with a fellow scooter dog makes a day's run so much more exciting.

Pictured here are Blizzard and Flurry with their new friend Luna. Luna ran her first run with a fellow scooter team today.

Winning Battles

2006-09-21T19:08:00.000-05:00

Remind me if I win no races, I managed to teach two Siberian Huskies to walk with a loose leash (most of the time).

I have not done much running with these two dogs since I started this blog, but I just walked them around the block on regular collars. I could have walked three miles without gaining a blister with how well they were walking tonight.

Whatever battles lay ahead for this team and I, we have conquered one of the biggest challenges.

I see myself in my husky’s eyes.

2006-09-20T19:11:00.000-05:00

I feel trapped.
I’ll dig, I’ll climb,
I’ll chew my way out.

I want to see what’s over that hill.
I want to see what’s around the bend.
Run through the grass,
Jump through snow banks,
Tromp through mud and streams.
Freedom.

Then at the end of the day,
When the fun is over,
And I am just a little tired,
I want only one thing,
The comfort and security of my pack.

So when I make my break follow me,
we can take our adventures together.
Yes, follow me, I will lead us.

I see myself in my husky’s eyes.

Weekend Adventurers

2006-09-19T18:31:00.000-05:00

Well, I live in a city and am some what stuck with only two dogs. You may ask, “Janine, why don’t you just leave the city and move out to the country or go to Alaska?”

The truth is I finally have a good job, that job is in the city, and I would spend hours commuting if I moved any farther from my downtown job. I am young and still seek adventure and without this job, I would have left already. However, with this job, I can finally afford this sport.

Having a sled team costs money; dog food, vet bills, equipment, travel expenses to get to races and replacement doors, windows, screens, furniture, and occasionally actual dog toys. If you dream of making money by winning races, you may want to rethink your plans. Most of the races I plan to enter may earn me enough to pay for the trip, if I win.

It also takes time. Each dog needs exercise and care. For example, I wake up every morning and walk the same neighborhood. Nothing changes, except which house is for sale this week. It is a routine, which never ends. The dogs learn to expect the routine and if you do not follow it, they will retaliate. If you cannot handle this routine, you would be miserable in a long sled race, where routine and lack of sleep apparently rule.

I am not ready for a big team or thousand mile races. I have my sights on four dogs and a sled. Just enough to compete and not too many dogs that I do not have time for each one. I just have to figure out how to accomplish this in my current situation.

These city dogs think they are tough and they can handle the real outdoors. The same is true for this city girl. We may just be weekend adventures from the city, but we are lean, mean (if wagging tails count as mean), and ready to race.

Pale Blue Eyes

2006-09-18T20:25:00.000-05:00

When you get home from work and you find four pale blue eyes staring at you, it is hard to sit down at your computer and think of things to write in your blog. When the owners of those blue eyes are waiting patiently for you to move, put on a shoe, or make any indication that you are going somewhere, you just cannot help but do something with them.

I started the morning with our usual three mile walk (with no weird women, today). Then tonight I took the dogs to the dog park when I got home. I could not let this beautify day go to waste. It was sunny, cool, and perfect.

At the park, I ran a little and walked a little. The dog ran a lot, swam a little, and each took a turn disappearing into the woods for a while (good thing there is a fence to prevent them from getting too far).

They were otherwise well behaved, as they love to run laps around me. They even jumped in the car without me having to hunt them down. It pays to have salmon treats as rewards for getting in the car (they get them every time we leave a park or get back in the car after a run).

Now I am back at home, sitting here again with those blue eyes still staring. Luckily, their eyelids are getting heavy and I will get a break until my early morning walk up call.

Attack of the White Wolves

2006-09-17T11:02:00.000-05:00

As I wait for the weather to cool off, I am continuing my regular three mile walks with my two huskies. The weekends are great for walking, because I can get out during daylight hours. During the week, I have to leave for work early to fight the traffic (or park on the freeway). Since it is best to leave huskies tired (or as close to it as you can) when leaving them for the day, I walk the dogs before I leave. As fall approaches, it just keeps getting darker and darker when I leave the house. It will only be a mater of weeks until the whole 45-minute walk will be completely in darkness.

Today I was reminded of the woman I encountered a few weeks ago when I was walking. It was dark and I came up behind her because she was walking quite slow and wandering on and off the sidewalk. Instead of trying to pass this strange woman, I went to cross the street at which time she notice us.

“Ahh, you scared me,” she said. Not wanting to hold conversations with strange women in the dark, I apologized and continued to cross the street. She than continued, “You shouldn’t sneak up on people with wolves, you might get shot.”

I gave a kind of half laugh and continued to head away from the woman. Shortly she felt the need to clarify that she did not have a gun, but I just kept on walking. I thought maybe I should apologize again, this time for not seeing that she was with her wolves, but I felt it was best not to mess with a woman with invisible wolves. I looked back shortly to make sure she was not going the same direction as I was. She was not.

The dogs and I made it home safe, but now we know we should watch out for people with wolves.

What kind of dogs are those?

2006-09-16T14:34:00.000-05:00

It was a little to warm to run today, but I loaded the scooter into the back of my car anyway while Blizzard howled (apparently she wanted to make sure I did not forget her). I drove out to a gravel bike trail not too far from my house. Blizzard and Flurry pulled the scooter about a mile and a half before I turned them around to return to the car.

The trail we took is not my favorite trail, but it is close by. We have to cross a road to go over a mile out and to go more than 1.5 you have to run along a road for a while. We usually just take short runs on this trail.

Afterward, I took them to a dog walk at a near by park to raise money for the local humane society where I adopted Blizzard. We got some free tennis balls from various vendors there and took a mile walk around the small lake in the park. I had many people ask what kind of dogs Blizzard and Flurry are. It seems most people have never seen white huskies before and never noticed that huskies do not always have long coats. Even other husky owners will not recognize these two as husky. Most people guess they are white German Sheppards (but they are clearly too small). One person even stared at me as if I was nuts after I told him they were huskies.

When they are pulling me down the trails or I am vacuuming up their fur, I have no doubts these two dogs are huskies.

Two Dogs and a Sled Short

2006-09-15T16:58:00.000-05:00

If you have never owned a husky, you may not be aware of the incredible energy these dogs have. Three and a half years ago, I became the proud owner of a 3-month-old Siberian husky. It only took me a few days to discover I was going to have to work extremely hard to keep her from destroying the house or escaping the backyard to find more entertaining prospects.

I discovered skijoring in 2004 and follow that up with biking with my dog in the summer. Seeking more adventure, in the summer of 2005 I found Blizzard, a Siberian husky and Yellow Lab mix, at a local shelter and brought her home. Some small part of me thought this second dog would wear out the first. I discovered this was not the case.

I got a scooter for them to pull the next fall and participated in my first race the next winter. My two dogs have only pulled a sled twice last winter, but now I am out to build a real sled team for the coming season.

The challenge is how to build a sled team in a city with an ordinance stating you can only have two dogs. Not only that, I without a dog sled and must find the best place to get my dogs out to run in an urban setting.

Our competition will be built from larger rural kennels with experienced dogs and larger numbers of dogs from which to choose the best and fasted for the team. The other mushers will be more experienced and already have the necessary equipment, but I plan to develop my team and race this season competitively.

The training season is about to begin. Three-mile walks in the morning all summer were only the beginning. It is time to become an official team.

For now, I am two dogs and a sled short, but on my way.