Nature's Fury

This season has been a crazy one so far, and it has nothing to do with the dogs. A few weeks ago we were blasted by Hurricane Sandy. We were left without power for several days. The streets and local trails were littered with downed trees and power lines. And with gas rationing and an empty tank, I couldn't drive elsewhere to train.

A week later, we were hit by a Nor'easter. As much as we love snow, it wasn't quite enough to do anything. It was a sloppy, slushy snow that began melting almost immediately -- so there was no time to take the sled out. Plus, the power went out again. Luckily, it was only for a few hours this time.

Right after the winter storm, a warm spell struck and I was out walking the dogs in shorts and short sleeves. Go figure.

Finally, it seems Mother Nature has calmed down for a bit. The temperatures are right where they should be for this time of year. I've managed to sneak in a few rig runs (between disasters), with the help of my mom or sister (whoever I could drag out with me).

The dogs are doing well, despite the gaps between runs. Denali's prey drive has noticeably toned down. At the end of today's run, my dad met us and ran alongside the team for the home stretch. Denali was digging down so hard and pulling with all her might -- it was awesome to see.

We will finally be going down to the Pine Barrens this weekend, for the first time this season. Expect lots of photos and hopefully some video of our run next week!

2012-2013 Mileage to Date: 30.48

Mushing Season is Here!

Hey everybody! Mushing season is back again, so I think it's time I get back to posting on here. I'm taking a slightly different approach with our runs this season.

When Knox was little, I could manage bikejoring with all three. Not anymore! At least, not around my neighborhood. There are far too many distractions and I cannot stop all three dogs with my brakes. I actually have a pretty hard time stopping with just two. So yea, we bike carefully. Oh, I don't think I mentioned it here yet, but I finally got a new bike! It's a Trek 3700 mountain bike with disc brakes -- a heck of a lot tougher than my previous bikes!

Into mid-October, I'm aiming to run the dogs every other day. There are still some random warm or overly humid days (like today) that I'll skip. I don't want to over-exert anybody after a long, low-key summer. For the most part, I run Denali and Knox first, then Denali and Dexter second. On some occasions, I'll switch it up and run each dog separately.

Denali really is an amazing girl. She's only a year and a half, but she's teaching the boys more than I could ever do alone. Without her, Knox runs in sporadic bursts and doesn't have a clean grasp of commands. Hook him up next to Denali, and she keeps him running steady and muscles him into turns.

Dexter runs well -- in the Pine Barrens. At home, he still wants to sniff and mark. Denali doesn't let him.

As it gets colder, I hope to be biking every day. I'll also be heading down to the Pine Barrens with my new 90-pound rig as soon as the trails are cleared. I plan to eventually use one of my rigs for neighborhood runs, but I want to get the team used to it (safely on the trails) first. They're a lot more difficult to maneuver than my bike, so I need to be very confident with the dogs' abilities.

Oh, one last thing! I'm converting a spare bedroom in my house into a dog room. I'll have photos of the renovation process posted once it's completed.

2012-2013 Mileage to Date: 12.6

Keeping Up

Distance	Moving Time	Average Speed	Maximum Speed
2.47 miles	0:13.43	10.78 mph	17.66 mph

Sunday may have been our last trip to the Pine Barrens for the 2011-2012 season. I hope not, but if it was, we ended on a very good note. We did a short run at Mt. Misery -- just 1.2 miles out and back, like we had done the week before. This time, I had the rig instead of the bike. And this time, the dogs absolutely flew. 

My phone app clocked the team at 17.66 miles per hour -- definitely their fastest maximum speed yet. They held steady, averaging 10 miles per hour after their initial burst at take off. Knox is the added kick of strength and power we really needed. I can't wait to do longer runs with him, but I'm taking it slow.

Sunday morning was the last bit of cold we'll be getting for at least a week. Temperatures will be in the upper 60's and lower 70's for the next couple of days. Since it's too warm to run, I'm focusing on the dogs' loose-leash walking skills (or lack there of).

Denali needs the most work with walking manners. Her walks aren't walks -- they're still runs, in her mind. It's not easy to teach a dog, who was bred and trained to pull, to walk nicely. Knox and Dexter each need their own individual training as well.

My plan is to walk each dog separately every day this spring and summer. The huskies will be walked in the morning or evening, Knox getting the cooler time slot (since he's got the heaviest coat). Dexter isn't bothered by heat, so unless it's blistering, he'll get walked in the late afternoon. As they improve, I'll walk in pairs. The ultimate goal is to loose-leash walk all three together without issue.

I will be walking each with a leash attached to a limited slip O-ring collar. I need for them to differentiate between the collar/lead and pulling with their x-back harness. After all, I still want them to pull when the cool temperatures return.

I'll also be walking the dogs on a different path, at least for the beginning of their loose-leash training. Right now, they associate our usual route with running and pulling. If I go a different direction, I'm hoping they'll be thinking more, instead of just acting on their RUN RUN RUN instincts.

To further work their manners, I'll be taking them around the local park, where lots of distractions will come into play: other dogs, kids, people, etc.

Today was Denali's first real test. She did better than she usually does, since she was by herself and not focusing on leading the other two. She pulled, as expected, but also had a few stretches of loose-leash walking. I also got her to check out her surroundings a bit -- sniff the ground, look at the lake, watch joggers pass. Usually, she's all business and doesn't look anywhere but forward. 

Knox is still getting used to walks by himself, so I don't think it will be quite as hard to train him to walk nicely. Dexter can walk well, but he has a different problem entirely -- he marks and sniffs every few feet, which can get annoying.

I'll continue to update on our runs, assuming we get a few more before the temperatures stay consistently above 50 degrees. Once that happens, I'll be using the blog to document the dogs' non-mushing related activities and training. I'll also use the off-season to write up some articles about mushing in general -- not just my little team. So don't go anywhere!

2011-2012 Mileage to Date: 121.94

Rickety Rigs

Distance	Moving Time	Average Speed	Maximum Speed
3.99 miles	0:27.44	8.62 mph	14.16 mph

We got some nice training opportunities in this weekend. On Saturday I biked with Dexter and Denali around our usually trail. It was still VERY muddy but we managed. Afterwards, I walked Knox on his own -- man, that little puffball can pull!

This morning we were all packed up and ready to go to the Pine Barrens, but I couldn't find my damn keys. I finally found them -- in the first place I had checked, I just didn't look hard enough. We hit the road about 40 minutes later than I would have liked, but we made it down there.

Today was our first run with the dry land rig this season. They pulled hard and fast while they were chasing another team, but really pooped out towards the end. Overall not a bad run -- I just need for them to pace themselves a little better. It's definitely harder to pull the rig, since I'm not pedaling along the whole time. I do kick off the ground to help them out, but for the most part, they're on their own. They were eager to get back in the truck after their run, so I suppose they were satisfied!

Back at home, I took Knox out for some basic puppy training. Denali's x-back harness finally arrived, so I was able to pass on the adjustable puppy x-back to Knox. I hooked him up to the rig with one leader line and I held the other. At first he was determined to run back and sit on the driver's spot on the rig -- silly pup. I let him get acclimated with the big, metal contraption, so he wouldn't be nervous when it was barreling behind him.

Eventually, I got Knox out in front of the cart, pulling it slowly and following alongside me. The cart is super light, so it was barely any work for him. He didn't seem at all afraid of it as he toddled along. Good pup!

2011-2012 Mileage to Date: 83.34