Never start something

you are not prepared to finish. That was one of the first rules of training a dog team that I learned, and tonight this was put to the test.

A perfect gorgeous fall day, sunny, clear and warm (16 Celsius), I almost didn't go running tonight. By the time it was 4:45 pm the temperature had dropped to 13. That's when I decided I just had to go. Tomorrow promises rain. As does the rest of the week. Anyone that knows the Wet Coast knows that the end of October marks the onset of the monsoons. 40 days and 40 nights of rain it seems. And by the time December rolls around invariably I am wondering why I am not building an Ark instead of trying to get miles on a dog team. I just couldn't waste this perfect evening so even tho it was still too warm, I watered the dogs, put the trailer on the truck, loaded dogs and by the time I headed out (5:30pm) the temperature was at 12. Then it dropped to 11, then 10, and by the time I got to Stave Lake it was sitting at 9!

But this tale is not about the weather, this tale is about River. (Sibersong's Rivers Dark)

River is the littlest hobo of the team.
Just barely a yearling she is a little slip of a thing,
all sinewy muscles and ribs at this age,
with a big heart, huge drive and a tail that never
stops wagging. She has a beautiful build, and
watching her free run is a a thing of beauty, light, quick and effortless. She loves everyone she meets, and in turn she has not met a person she didn't charm the sox off! Every moment she is awake is an adventure for River, her joyful love of life is infectious. River is also very strong willed and stubborn, but she is just so happy about it, it is hard not to be amused by her puppy antics! In short, she always makes me smile.


Hmmmmmmmm!!! What's this? Yummy, dandelions!!




I've thrown her in with the team this fall, and watch her every step of the way to see if she is stressed or unhappy or physically cannot keep up. Being such a youngster, the first moment she shows any sign that this is more than she can take at this age I'll back things off. When we started light training in August I questioned her maturity, and expected to be leaving her at home once things got serious. She has surprised me, she always dives into her harness, her tug is never slack, her tail always wags, and normally she runs in point, along side her best friend Ellie, when Ellie is not doing lead dog training.

River and Ellie

However, the one thing that River does, that I don't like, and changes the rhythm of the team is that she often pulls very hard to the left. So hard that instead of a nice straight gangline, she pulls a left curve into it. But, as I was explaining to my passenger on Sunday, River is young, and because I always want running to be just 'fun, fun, fun' at this age, I was waiting for her to get a few good miles on her before I started to work on it.

Tonight we ran in the dark. We were about 2 miles from the truck when we came to a particularly tricky S-curve section that includes a bridge crossing. Visibility on the forest service road is nil through this section. The road is steeply banked through this stretch, and the team naturally veers away from the right of the road as we go through the first left turn heading up a hill. When we hit the right turn at the mid point of the hill I noticed River was leaning far off to the left, so after we got around that right turn section I stopped the team again to gee her over. I had not stepped 2 feet away from her when she darted out to the far left again. And right there and then I decided that I was going to put her on the right side of the team, and teach her to run on the right.

I was very thankful that the night was clear and glorious, as if it had been pouring rain I might have given up, or I might have become irritated with her.

I switched her place with Ellie, and for the next 15 minutes I would take her by her harness and move her over to the right, and as soon as I stepped away to return to the machine she would leap over the gangline and Ellie to the left. I'd return, say "over", pick her up by her harness and put her on the right. I must have done this 20 times and moved the team 10 feet. Finally she flopped down on the ground and tried to roll out of her harness when I moved her. Hmmmm I thought, this calls for a belly band. (Like a cinch on a horse's saddle this is a great training tool for pull training, or for dogs that are trying to dislodge their harnesses) I always carry a spare neckline, so I put this around her harness, picked her up by her harness and put her on the right. Another 15 minutes passed of my walking back to the machine, sometimes moving a foot or two, setting the brake, getting off, walking back down the line and putting her over on the right. Quite a few times she became all tangled up in Ellie's lines or harness. The dogs who initially were shrieking and harness bashing had barked themselves out. Finally I thought "this is not working, I'll be here all night" As I stood there in the dark surveying the team, it occurred to me that I should put her in wheel beside Jovo (aka 'the moose'). I switched dogs around and put her on the right of Jovo. She darted over to the left again, but this time she met with a solid wall of resistance. Jovo has 20 lbs and 3-4 inches on her, and likes his personal space. He didn't growl, he just stood big and stiff and didn't budge. I got off the machine and said "over" and pulled her over to the right, walked back, got on, and started forward. She again darted to the left, into "the wall", and again I stopped and repeated the process. We started again and she darted under the line to the left again and I said firmly "RIVER!!! OVER!!!" and this time she scooted over to the right of the gangline and stayed there. I praised her with great enthusiasm and she wiggled and wagged while staying in a trot on the right. As we were finally moving the entire team ran joyfully, while she stayed solidly straight on the right side of the gang. Boy this puppy has a beautiful trot. She had one more tiny incident, which was corrected by a voice command only.

By Jove I think she finally got it! I suspect this is not the last time we will deal with this issue, but for this time I cannot say who was more pleased in the end, me or her.

I can say, however, who is more pig headed and stubborn!!!