Big training day...

[Glacier]

Who are those little black dogs up front?

Why it's Tehya and Paxil! Tehya lead for the first time today. She was distracted a bit by Daisy, but overall she did great. (Note from Tehya--"I ROCKED! Being a lead dog is fun!) The commands and focus will come later; Paxil will teach her all that; for now it's more important that she likes it up there! She was not intimidated at all by the pressures of leading. I'm not sure she realizes there is pressure in leading!

Paxil returned to the harness after her third tumor removal. I told her to stay home. She told me what I could do with that idea!


Pacer and Anvik are happy wheel dogs. Pacer doesn't lead ever. Anvik leads quite often, but he doesn't really care where he runs just as long as he gets to run.

[Ginger's Mom]

Hahaha, no I don't think Tehya knows there is any pressure in leading. All she knows is that it is fun, and she gets to be in front. Paxil will teach her well.

[ramanth]

What a great looking team they are. I'm so happy to hear Tehya did well leading. And it's great to see Paxil back in the saddle.

[Glacier]

She lead again today and did well. Mac was with us to distract Daisy, so less distractions for Tehya! She did think we should run on the wrong side of the trail, but Paxil corrected her quickly.

[chocolatepuppy]

Looks like we'll be seeing your snow pictures soon. I can't wait.

[anna_66]

FANTASTIC! I love it and I bet they do too

Way to go guys!!

[finn's mom]

Man, that looks like so much fun. I really need to get somewhere that I can participate in something like that. Not for competition or anything, just for hobby. Nothing like tired dogs! And, they seem to love it, even just from the photos you share!

Hey, quick question...when you say Paxil "corrects" Tehya, what exactly does she do? Does she just pull her over to where she needs to be, nip at her, bark at her? I'm curious how they communicate when they're in harness.

[cassiesmom]

Glacier, who is in the middle row in this picture? Tehya and Paxil in the front row, Pacer and Anvik in the third row.


As far as the axe handle - We're talking about your dogs here, and you would be ready to act on their behalf if a situation arose. I hope it's rarely necessary, though. When Daisy is with you, does she know not to interrupt the dogs as they're working?

Excellent work, precious Tehya! It sounds like Paxil and Pingo are master teachers. Seeing pictures of the Glacier doggers always makes me SMILE!!! Hughughughughug!

[Glacier]

Glacier, who is in the middle row in this picture? Tehya and Paxil in the front row, Pacer and Anvik in the third row.

As far as the axe handle - We're talking about your dogs here, and you would be ready to act on their behalf if a situation arose. I hope it's rarely necessary, though. When Daisy is with you, does she know not to interrupt the dogs as they're working?

That's Hobo. He always runs alone. He's a little too insane to put any one beside him!

Daisy barks in front of the team at the very start, but she doesn't get in the way. She got run over a couple times by the leaders and stays out of their way now. She's annoying with the barking, but not aggressive at all. If Stuart is home, he holds Daisy back for few minutes and gives us a headstart. She catches up quickly, but doesn't bark at us that way!

It's rare that I actually have to use the handle. Daisy always lets me know there is something coming. I often let Mac run loose with us too. It's his job to keep loose dogs away from the team and he's pretty good at it.

If I can see the owner and have time to stop, I always give them a chance to corral their dog--usually by yelling "control your dog". There is a limited amount of time that I can hold a team back though without setting the hook and tying off to a tree. Usually, I can see a problem coming and I get off, hold the handle up and yell! (much easier and faster on the ATV than it is on the sled) For most dogs, the crazy person screeching at them scares them off!

[Ginger's Mom]

For most dogs, the crazy person screeching at them scares them off!

this made me LOL. I have to agree, I don't think many people would flame you here. You have an obligation to protect your dogs.

[KittyGurl]

What a great team! They look like they are having tons of fun.