Banana loving, American Idol hating dogs...

They should really have dogs as judges on that American Idol show. It was on tv earlier, after the dogs and I had gotten back from a run. We were inside drying out (a wet, snowy run!!), and napping when some unbelievably high-pitched horrid singer came on. Three of the dogs ears perked up and they shot to their feet like they were ready to pounce at the tv. That or they were ready to flee. Yeah, must have been the ol' "fight or flee" instinct kicking in.... they were still deciding which, when Jack started whining and howling. The others were quick to join in and I had my own Yukon Idol, doggie-style, going on here. The hilarious thing, to me anyways, is that these furry beasts sounded wayyyyyy better than that crap on tv. Ah... good times...

Other non-important news of note: I discovered last night that Ripper LOVES bananas!! I don't know of a lot of dogs who like bananas. Sure, others have tried. They can talk the talk... and may grab it from you, attempt to eat it, because turning down what *may* be food is not in a dogs genetic makeup. Actually, Harris will eat them - but then again, he'd eat a crusty old boot if another dog showed interest in it.

Perhaps I was bored, or curious, so I did the "banana test" with Ripper (note: this is not specifically a banana test. Rather, the test can be held with a variety of foodstuffs... the more the better - c'mon, I know all you dog people - all 2 of you reading this blather - do it). I held out a piece to him, and he gobbled it up like it was prime rib! He was ready for more in no time, wiggling his butt and doing his little Ripper-dance when he's excited. He bounces up and down on his front feet and cannot for the life of him stand still. For more fun (?), I tried holding him still and pulling him tight to me...why, one may ask? Well, to see if I could hold him still of course!! The only thing that can now move is his head, which I realized can move at warp speed. Like, it moves so FAST you cannot even see it coming. You can probably see this coming - after he clocked me in the nose, I decided to seek out other forms of entertainment...

So... Ripper continued his dance around the cabin, wishing he could get some more of that damned banana!! I lost interest in this game (hell, I knew the banana was gone!), and went back to staring at the tv. He is one focused dog, because later, he sneakily (and he is one stealthy canine), stole the banana peel and started devouring it on my carpet. I don't know how I didn't notice actually, he *stole* the peel from about 4 ft in front of me, off the coffee-table-wood-box-thingy, and can't go too far in this whopping one room cabin. I must have been zoned in on "The Bachelorette" or something (go Jerry! or Ben! Hmmm... Ben n' Jerry...). Anyhoo, turns out his banana peel eating (more like shredding) makes quite a mess. Hmm. Who woulda thought? No more banana for you!!

Weather Update! Because that's all that really matters... -26C, snowy, windy and wet!!
Edit to Update!! It's now (almost midnight) -28C and it has been puking down snow since this afternoon!! My truck is now covered in about 5-6cm, and it's still going strong!!! Woohoo!!

Frosty Window (only because I'm running out of pictures):

Note to Jen - remember that photo and frame you gave me? Look familiar?? The one with all the REAL bone-shaped dog cookies? Yeah, Kuna ate those right off the frame... but, at least he left the picture alone!

Our run went well today. The dogs were fired up, and it took me forever to bootie them up. Actually, I only put booties on about half the team. Those with the sore or cut feet. Snowballs stick to their feet and rub, and it can be pretty uncomfortable for them. Some dogs have better feet than others. For instance, I didn't put booties on Gracie, George or Lucy and they had no snowballs on the run at all. Conversly, I noticed snowballs before we even LEFT on Kuna and Kates feet. All the booties stayed on - I think that's a record for me! Often, if you don't use them ton, or you're a newbie, you tend to not tighten them enough and they fly off on the trail. 25 booties stayed intact! Woohoo! They're not cheap (about $1/bootie), so mushers will scavenge booties along trails. It's a good day when you come home with extra booties!!