First Sled Run!

It snowed around 5 inches today. It was snowing when we left for work, snowing when we came home, and snowing during our evening dog activities. I thought I’d give the sled a go, even though it’s a little premature because there’s no way to stop due to not enough snow to put a snow hook into the snow. Greg got my sled ready, and we saddled up nine dogs. Greg sat in the sled for the first 4 mile run. It was very bumpy. We got through the route just fine. There wasn’t any open water by Helyn’s lake and most of the trail had already been opened by 4 wheelers. After the first run, we saddled up 9 more dogs and I took these guys for a run by myself. I was a little nervous, because the dogs I took are pretty wild during hookup and if I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stop if I needed to fix a tangle. Greg put 3 40lb bags of dog food in the sled. It was a great run. No tangles, few stops. Chester. our loose dog, got run over once, but it was his fault for laying down in the field right before the team. He was fine; growled at a couple of dogs but got over it. I sure hope it keeps snowing!!

Just a note about the new dogs:

• Dutchess is super shy. I’ve never met a dog like her and am not sure what to do with her. She pulls great, especially for a 10 year old. I haven’t seen her exceptional leader skills that her previous owner told me about. She’s a fighter. Fought with Spike a couple of times. Yesterday I put her in lead with Storm and she wanted to run down the street the wrong way, and then attacked Storm. We got her so she could train our other dogs how to lead, but it seems that she may not get along with other females.
• Spike is a very skinny mini who fights with Dutchess. We can’t keep them loose in the yard together. Spike is a line chewer and can crawl out of her harness. She’s a very sweet and loving dog to humans and to her boyfriends. Greg doesn’t like her very much– because of the fighting.
• Luke is a nice guy. He likes to run and is very strong, but I’m a little concerned that he has leg or hip problems. He has a funny waddle type of run.
• Rocket is a lover of humans, but likes to pick on Chevy. He’s got a funny looking snout. He’s quite strong. He’s a line chewer.
• Ahab is the sweetest guy! He doesn’t fight. He doesn’t sleep in his box. He’s just a happy guy. I really like him a alot.
• Chevy is working out to be a good lead dog, although he doesn’t know commands. I run him up front with Decker, and for the most part they make a good team. He gets picked on a lot by other dogs (Luke & Rocket, Rattles).