Dog Sledding 1/16/22
Sunday morning Taylor with Chasing the Wolves spent the morning preparing all the dogs to spend the afternoon dog sledding. We packed up our cars and headed up to a private campground we were lucky enough to gain access to in Mora, Minnesota. It was a beautiful day for it; not too hot not too cold and there was a beautiful light snow when we pulled up. We did a little cruise around the camp ground to scout the area. When we parked we got the dogs all situated and harnessed up.
This time we decided to put Miss Omen out on the line first, then Ezio, then Nehvi and then Styx. Unfortunately we did decided that Styx and Nehvi need to take some hikes and possibly try Canicross with before we try and pair them up together on a team. So we did some flip flopping and put Omen and Styx out front in lead, then did Ezio and Nehvi in wheel. Well it was Omen’s first time in lead and she was READY TO GO! So They ended up taking off with out me getting on the sled! Luckily Taylor was standing on the runners and was ready to go! I ended up just going back to the truck to grab some photos while we waited. Well Taylor let me know my dogs like to chase deer lol, mainly Styx… She ended up getting wrapped up around a tree! Such a silly girl! When they came around the final corner the dogs for sure saw me and the mama drive kicked in and they really started pulling! They ran right over to me, and we walked back to the truck to give all the dogs a small break and look at the photos we took!
After about 30 minutes we took Nehvi out and wandered down to the lake to scout out working out some trails on the lake! It was a fun little walk, I cant wait to see what we do with it! When we got back to the cars we got everyone set back up and we decided to put Omen and Nehvi in wheel and run Styx and Ez up in lead! I was able to sneak on this ride and man they were bookin it! They were having a blast, Styx for sure remembered where that deer was on the trail so we worked hard on her “on-by’s”. They had such a blast, we went all around the the first loop and then went over to the second loop. You could for sure tell they were all more comfortable on the first loop. So Taylor and I chatted about how this new spot will be great for working newer dogs on environmental socialization , turns and passing skills.
When we got back to the truck we gave the dogs another short break, Styx had a small slip during on the second run so she was being a little more cautious so I decided that she was done for the rest of the day. Taylor went to check on Ez as well and he was passed out. So I decided to let Taylor take Omen and run a 3 dog team with Naya (my favorite old lady) in lead, and then her and Nehvi in wheel. They got to work on solid line outs, Omen was a little more reserved this run because she didn’t have my sister or myself out there with her, so we will be working on her being more comfortable running with out me. She still did do a super job keeping pace and keeping the line tight. She did have a surge of confidence when she smelt me when they got close to me on the trail. Taylor said she could see Omens little nose working and started pulling with a bit more intensity!
It was a great day to see what we needed to work on a bit harder for our training to be able to hopefully run a race within the next year or so! The goal is to run a team with just the shepherds in both a dryland race as well as a dog sledding race. Taylor and I got to go to dinner, chat about the day, talk about our future plans and I’m so thankful for the ability we have to bounce ideas off of and a trust to work each others dogs. We will hopefully be planning another run in the near future!
