A long cold spell continues to hang around with temps in early morning between -20F and -25F. "Heat of the day" happens between 1pm and 3:30pm. A cold spell such as this is not unusual for this time of year but the duration of this particular one is not common.

 

All our neighbors are still exercising their dogs on ATVs and seems some are pushing mileages up above 25 miles while others in the 16 to 20 mile range.

 

We just started doing 21 milers a couple days ago and still using 6 dog teams with sled.

 

On Monday we had 7 head-on passes with team sizes ranging from 12 to 16 dogs.

 

There is an art to head on passing. In past years we would be driving longer strings of dogs but sledding conditions prevent us from doing that and truthfully I hate running dogs on an ATV. I believe there is a whole different rhythm to the gait cadence comparing that of ATV to sled. The larger kennels are forced to use ATVs because of the time element required and the sheer number of dogs to train and likely numbers of leaders as well. As the mileages increase we are having a hard time keeping everyone in a consistent program and that is with a small kennel!! With our initial foray into pre-season training lagging behind we are currently trying to maintain a regular schedule taking advantage of the good weather, course we could use a bit more snow, but hey we're not complaining.

 

"Momentum". Seems the best head-on passes are when the team has good momentum going into the pass. This helps get by another team quickly which might be important if the other group is gnarly. Smaller team sizes do not creat as much momentum and with inexperienced young dogs, in a larger team not a problem but if there is hesitation good old momentum may be relegated to exchanging pleasantries, hi how are ya', grrrrrr.

 

Had a head-on pass and structured the lineup of my team so that two young dogs were behind the leaders in a six dog team. Wouldn't normally put them in that position in such a small team but one of them will turn out to be a leader in time. Anyway, dah, head on passes a daily given, me dumb. Had a head on with a team of yappy, snappy, high energy group of Alaskans. Meeting them is always interesting, one never knows what is going to happen. From a 100 feet away this group always launches into a cacophony of mismatched barks ranking from alarm to aggressive. Yep, "old mo" was compromised with my youngsters in swing, what do they do? Why of course, hi how are ya and wag the tail. I'm sure they were intimidated but I prefer that as to launching off and fighting for which I do not have "any" tolerance for (reprimand swiftly and with a vigor that will not be forgotten). Believe many drivers are too soft with disciplining aggressive behavior of sled dog poopsie, too cosmetic and never lasts. So, I moved my youngsters back and the rest of the day was uneventful.

Jude

Toby

 

On Tuesday, my leaders were Jude and Toby. Jude  began leading with confidence last spring and doing so well in single lead has been on occasion teamed up with a less experienced dog and has shown the ability to take command of any situation that may arise in lead. The other leader Toby, who I've been putting in lead, generally with the seasoned Sonny, ever since the first initial familiarization runs of season has been with Jude a hand full of times but I hadn't structured the trail course to meet other teams yet. This would be different. With an experienced team behind Jude and Toby who I place on the inside of Jude if a head on pass were to occur and wouldn't you know it, first team we see is the yappy, snappy, sometimes gnarly team. They start winding up the vocal chords and spread out all over the trail as we approach. I called our group up to a quicker pace. Didn't close my eyes and when you've done this many times a person can focus on "every" dog in another team, I zeroed in. Kind of like the left eye watching the other team, the right watching ours. Happy to say, our group wasn't the least bit intimidated, drove hard past the other team, all tugs fiddle tight, and Toby bless his sole passed a tough test far better than I expected.

 

With that particular run, Toby and Jude, in the future, are being teamed up so they hone down their already developing partnership rhythm and cadence.