Dogs - Part II

HARRIS - 75 lbs. 3 yrs. Both Harris & Jack - My sweet, sucky boys. From the racing kennel. I got them at 8 weeks, and what a blast they were right from the get-go! They brought a whole new kind of fun to the yard. I was desperate to get some more dogs in the team, so they were harness training around the yard at 4 months, then in the team and leading (I had no choice, really) by 6 months. Harris is the big, outta-control goofball lately. Although he does fine in lead, he is forever getting tangled at the beginning of the run (this is starting to be a trend...), and when I put him and Jack in lead together, they start their playfighting for 2 seconds, gain their composure, then fight again, then again get it together, fight again, repeat till we leave... it's a bit of a pain, you never know if they're gonna get all wound up or not. This year I just started ignoring it and let them do their own thing. Seems to be going ok. Harris is mellow and lives for chest rubs!! If you're anywhere near him, he'll slap his front paws on you and pray for a chest rub. He's a bit of a loper, and pulls like a demon at the beginning. He tired himself out early last year a bit because of this, and seems to be breaking into a trot sooner this year.

JACK - 65 lbs. 3 yrs. Jack is a super leader. And he'll run anywhere in the team just fine. He's good with any other dog, and usually better if his goofy brother isn't around. The both of them make great skijoring dogs together though. It's always nice to have a dog (or two) actually STOP when you ask them to, or slow down, or I'm gonna fall so get outta the wayyyyy!!! Jack has taken well to commands, takes us across highways, unbroken trails, and he is a trotter through and through. Will not lope unless he absolutely HAS to. He impressed me this year when we'd get to a potential command area on the trail, and I'd notice this ever-so-slight twist to his head and ears - which was him anticipating my command! That was really cool. He's also Mr. Lefty. He prefers to run on the left side of the roads. I really never tried to correct it, 'cause I didn't really care for the most part... until we started, uh, passing cars and other teams/skiers/etc. Oh well. Compared to Harris, Jack is Mr. Independant and doesn't live to please me. He's just fine doing his own thing, not too into getting petted/mauled by me (though he doesn't refuse it), he's just a very cool dog.

KATE - 54 lbs. 12.5 yrs. Kate & Rupert came along from a fellow musher. I was looking for more leaders (aren't we all?), and this guy wanted to get rid of Kate because she was 9. I took her and she is a great leader. Hell, this ol' gal is now 12.5 yrs and is still leading and keeping up with everyone else!! She is just AMAZING for her age. She may get a bit sore after longer runs (20+ miles), but then she just gets more massages, lucky her!! She was great (and still is for the most part) at dragging these young males all over the place, back on the trail, the right way, etc, and I thank her for helping train Jack and Harris. Lately though, she seems to not try as hard with them, or she just doesn't care as much! Maybe she thinks they should know by now! Or she's done her job well for over 12 years, so she thinks she can start slacking a bit? Who knows, but she's still good even on her not-so-great days. I just have to keep her and the other females separated. They're not wild about each other.

RUPERT - 57 lbs. 9 yrs. Rupert was given away because he was Mr. Inconsistent. He's a bit frustrating because one day he is Super Rupert who can do anything, run fast, take commands like he wrote the book on them, and a few runs later, he's dipping for snow, bouncing about, sight seeing, or stopping the team to pee. It is frustrating!!! So I try switching him around a lot, which seems to help. I think some days he just doesn't want to be in lead. When I switch him to team on those *off* days, he is back to being Super Rupert. Maybe he just doesn't want to think too hard some days, or he can't hack the pressure. Who knows. But he is also very sweet while not in harness, then he becomes the whining, screeching dog of the neighborhood. I swear, neighbors think I'm killing him when I put his harness on. He's also the only dog I have to put on a leash when outside the dog pen, 'cause he has a reputation of causing mayhem in the neighborhood when he runs away! He was once gone for 3 days.... came back only when the neighbor took out his dogteam, and there came Rupert, bounding out of the bushes to join them on the run!!! Heck, 2 weeks ago, he took Kate and went on an 11-hour journey around the neighborhood.

OCTANE - 62 lbs. 9 yrs. The blue eyed boy of the yard. Super nice, affectionate, sorta shy dog. Octane is an Iditarod veteran and is very consistent. He's good in lead if he's with someone else pretty good. He does know commands, but isn't forceful enough to pull the other dog the right way. He gets along with all other dogs, and loves loose runs! He'll go zooming out of the dogpen, and rip around the cabin at full speed, stopping every once in a while to say hi.

RIPPER - 55 lbs. 4 yrs. oh Ripper. He lives up to his name. He has successfully destroyed a bed sheet of mine(hanging to dry, he yarded it through the fence one day!), numerous tarps, rubber buckets full of ice frozen to the ground, and anything around the yard when he's loose. He's like a 2-yr old, you have to keep constant watch over him. But he's got a huge personality. He's a very happy dog, crazy, psycho, hyper, but sits still for a pet. Got him from a neighbor, Serge in March, so he's pretty new. Serge saw me at a race, and said "I've got the dog for you" - he didn't even really ask if I wanted him... I just took him for some reason, he gave him to me. And he was right - he fits in amazingly. Ripper is a super hard worker ALL the time, and is now training in lead. He's just gotta figure out that staying still at hookup thing. He tends to wander all over the place like he's loose. Once we're on the move, he's great, knows some commands, and will drag any other dog anywhere Ripper wants to go! It's all about the Ripper in his world.

That's it! All 11 dogs are accounted for. Pics to follow soon... hopefully!