FALL TRAINING HAS BEGUN!

IS THAT FOR TRAINING THE DOGS OR THE MUSHER?

Finally, after 6 months of waiting, and several weeks of teasing weather, we have a cool morning and all my gear is in place. Oh, those words I've longed to say:
"Time to run the dogs!!!!"


Staging

Last season, I had four dogs and a puppy. With two additional dogs, plus the pup being a year-and-a-half, I am ready to run seven dogs. Should be interesting!


Hooked up and looking good!

After the usual hijinks of harnessing and hooking up, the team appeared to be ready to go. Alice was already standing backwards with her harness half-over her head, and the new boys were getting hopelessly tangled, but all of that was expected. Usually we get moving and then stop for a quick untangle.

"Usually"

After I unhooked the leaders, Ellen and Nick, from the "line-out tire", mayhem ensued. They turned and ran the other way, around the trailer towards the garage. This pulled the rest of the team sideways, across the fire pit and under the rear of the trailer. I pulled them back to the front of the team, commanded "Line out!" and ran back to the quad. Same issue.


My Ride

"Now what?" I wondered. It is true we were running out of our yard on a new trail, and in the past, we ran off the opposite side of the farm, so it could be they were thinking they needed to go over there. Or, it could be that Nick wanted to check out the kitties in the garage, as he does when allowed to run free in our yard.

"Line out!" Hmm, this is getting ridiculous! And dangerous - the new brothers, Logan and Nucky, had shown me at the CopperDog race last year that they were adept at tangling themselves - up and over like the Russian tumblers on Ed Sullivan! (Yes - I really AM that old!) In fact, they were so incredibly tangled with Maggie and Browning in wheel, that the four of them were basically hooked together side-by-side. Oh, now Alice is chewing at her harness.


Alice

So, I unravel as best as I can (in other words, enough to at least get them in line), and try once more. This time, Nick decides maybe he should toss in the towel, and he pulls the entire team through the gate into the dogyard! Poor Biscuit, who was the only one left in the yard, was surrounded by the team! Over him and around him, lines a twisting! As I untangled and attempted to get them back in front of the quad, I realized he was actually hooked in to a line!

Time for a New Plan.

Alice was done. She has always exhibited this behavior and indeed, that's the reason for seven dogs when intending to race six. And now she was attempting to free herself by eating the gangline. No brainer, she's sitting this one out. That brought the stress level down a bit. Now, what to do about the "leaders"? Ellen was starting to balk, most likely from my swearing at Nick, and she was backing out of her harness. Join your friend Alice back in the yard, E! Now for Mr. Nick. He was out of his head, bouncing around and dragging the team back and forth. Timeout for you, Mister!


Maggie and Browning in Lead

I had noticed that Maggie and Browning both leaned in their harnesses and tried to pull in the right direction every time I called it. And the young brothers seemed to be attempting to do the same. What was there to lose?


Logan and Nucky in Wheel

I tied off Browning to a tree, and untangled the rest of them (by now, they had rolled through weeds, which were woven into the lines). I removed one section of tugs, so we were down to a six-dog line. I put the brothers in the back in wheel position, and hooked Maggie and Browning in lead. "Line out!" Well what do you know? They DID! Untie from the tree, unhook the quad, give the command, "Hike!" and we started moving in the right direction!

Maggie seemed to understand "Gee" and "Haw". Browning would look around and try each way until he was pointed the right way and I could yell,"Yep!" We were off like a shot!

Across the yard, through some trees and onto the edge of the field. The leaders seemed to know what they were looking for. Across the waterway to the edge of the timber. Point of no return - we were either heading into the woods and down a steep hill, or turning back. The dogs were still fresh, we had barely started. I know I'll have to run and help push the quad back up the hill - so what??? "Hike!" and away we go!

Nice and easy down the big hill. Up and down, and around corners. Smart puppy looking back for guidance. We stop at the bottom. It's the first run, we're staying under two miles, they seem good but I know its uphill all the way back. "Oh, please, Daddy!" they implore. OK, let's go farther.

At the next stop, I know we need to turn back. Turning around by hand on a narrow trail is never easy, and these are my (so-called) "B Team", so it could get rough. Or, they would just do it easily, with a minimal amount of tangles. Hooray! Line out, turn the quad around, only minor difficulties. As we head back, the leaders take the wrong trail. "Gee!" I command. "Maggie! Bruno! GEEEE!!!" They look at me like I'm stupid. I lock down and get off and start to run up front, I'll have to pull them over to the correct trail. Huh, look at that - what I "thought" was the correct trail is just some tire tracks - my leaders were right the whole time! Um, never mind, here we go.

The hill was tough - I walked, we stopped several times, but we made it. Across the waterway to the edge of the muddy field. Uphill, muddy and not much of a "trail". With several stops, and much running by me, we eventually returned home.

Wow! I don't know about the dogs, but the MUSHER sure learned a few things!


Happy little team after the run

I’m a REAL musher now.

"When the cop asked if I knew what I was doing, I didn’t have an answer."

It was a nice, sunny, 27 degree day. I was replacing some chains on the new dogs’ pickets. I figured that I would do stuff with them on Saturday as a bonding exercise, then Sunday run them if I thought they were ready. I hooked Ellen and Browning to the drop chains on the truck, and they thought we were going for a run. OK, if they want to, then we’re going.

Browning, Nick and Ellen waiting to go

I got Mr. Nick hooked up to the truck as well, and loaded the sled and lines. Then I put Nick in the cab of the truck, and Ellen and Browning into the dog box. We drove to my usual put-in spot a few miles from home. The plan was to run about two miles out and then back, for an easy little jaunt.

I put Ellen and Nick in lead, with Browning in wheel. We were a little messed up, as Nick had learned some bad behavior from his sister. But I got them turned around and the lines untangled, pulled the hook and we took off. Like a rocket!

My friend Ed had warned me that I had ‘turbo-charged’ my team and that the extra power would be unexpected. Having only run Nick with Alice balking, and sometimes the little farm dog Biscuit along, I knew it would feel different with three dogs that all wanted to run. But the moment I said “All right!” the sled popped a wheelie and we flew down the trail.

It was going smoothly, I was finally experiencing a ‘magic-carpet ride’. The wind was in my face and I had under-dressed, because I was overheating back at the farm. I crouched down behind the sled to eliminate the resistance. Hey, this IS fun!

Photo op seconds before disaster

We had gone about a mile and a half, about a half-mile from the turn-around, to a waterway at the bottom of a hill. I stopped to take a couple of photos. As I was putting the camera back in my pocket, I asked them if they were “Ready?” Bam! The sled popped a wheelie and I fell off, losing my grip. “Whoa, whoa!” I screamed, but it was having no effect. They raced up the hill and out of sight. I took off running, but my heavy boots in the soft, snow-machine trail were making it impossible. I gave up and could only walk.

I knew not to panic, so I got out my cell phone, as Angie had told me many times to be sure and bring with me. She had offered to come along and drive the truck, but in typical fashion, I wanted to be able to do it alone. I called her but she was at a hair appointment, so I left a message saying I lost the team and where I thought they were headed.

I was hoping they would stop when the trail came out of the field to the road, but I knew the snow machine trail went on west, where it would come to a major highway. There, they would have to choose between going straight across it, or turning and crossing a paved road to follow that trail into town. If they crossed the highway, there were three directions they could have taken. I couldn’t tell for sure if they had even turned that way, or had headed in the other direction, but I knew that if they went towards the highway, I had to go get them before they got hurt. If they went the other way, there would be way less traffic to worry about. I hoped for snow-machines to come from behind and pick me up, but I feared if they were to meet them head on.

I had walked about .7 of a mile when a car came racing up to me. “I got them” he said so I jumped in. As he took me to get them, he told me he had seen them running down the highway towards town, and he grabbed them and someone else was holding them. They had passed underneath the overpass of a four-lane, divided highway! A nice young couple was holding them. No one looked hurt, and they were only tangled a bit, possibly from being held. I thanked everyone profusely, turned the rig around and got the lines straightened out. Ellen took us back along the trail, under the overpass. There was large gravel and it was very uneven, so I was walking and pulling the sled over it when a police officer pulled up, with lights flashing. “Are those all of them?” he asked me. I assured him that they were, and he then asked the most profound question of the day: “Do you know what you are doing?” I didn't have an answer. I told him that I had just got the two dogs and it was our first run. He went on his way, and I went on mine.

Running back to the truck

We had to cross the on-ramp and then the paved road before getting back on good snow. Ellen and Nick did a great job leading us back. There were extremely tired, and we stopped several times on the way back for short breaks.

Riding back with a combination of stress and relief

We got back to the truck without any further incidents.

Taking a well-deserved water break


A little tired out


Time to go home

At home, I checked the mileage on Google Earth and it appears that they had gone about a mile and a half without me. They ran about six miles total.

Rule #1 of mushing: Never let go of the sled. Words to live by…

Mushing Loon Kennels Grows from 2 to 5 Dogs!

In the previous post, I detailed our trip to the U.P. 200 Sled Dog races. As I mentioned, we brought home a puppy and two more sled dogs.

My friend and mentor Shannon Miller raised this beauty Maggie. She was born January 2nd, just missing Daddy's birthday!

Awe - so cute!


Mommy loves her baby!


Mags giving Daddy a kiss


The cats keeping an eye on the evil doggy...


Oh yes, she's fierce!


While there, we picked up two more sled dogs to add to the team: Ellen, a pretty little 4-year old leader and Browning, and nice 2-year old.

Sweet Ellen

She's a quiet, pretty little girl, although she will howl.

Browning


He's a barker!

Brownie checking out Browning!


They are adjusting to the change in scenery and living with new dogs, especially the 3 farm dogs!

I have not run them yet, but am looking forward to it very much.

Thanks to Jon Mattsen for the dogs, and to Shannon Miller for the beautiful and intelligent Maggie!

Under the Hood of a Dog Team

or "What do you do when half the team won't go?"

What would it be like if 8 of your 16-dog team all refused to run simultaneously?

Or if you had a 6-dog team and 3 wouldn't stay on the trail?

Well, it happened to me. I have a 2-dog team and half of them balked.

Oh, did I mention I'm a rookie?


She doesn't LOOK like trouble...

Alice, my female, has always been nervous and skittish. She's fine while running, but anytime we stop, she acts scared of the quad. Last weekend, she just didn't want to go. She turned sideways, put her head against her brother's side, and pushed him off the trail. Repeatedly. Even when he wanted to go, we couldn't move. I left her behind, but after a single loop, Nick was ready to go hang out with her.

This went on for two days.

What's a musher to do? Look at the problem and come up with a solution.

I've been working them fairly hard, especially considering we're a 2-dog team. We have over 200 miles behind us, usually running 12 - 16 miles on the weekend, and maybe a couple of 8-mile runs during the week. Even though I don't have an actual race in front of me, I am trying to learn how to train for when I have a full team and want to run a 30 miler. So I gave them the week off.

I drove the quad every time I went to the dog lot, so they would associate it with good feelings. I parked it where they could sniff it and check it out. I left it there for hours some days.

I drove it around the farm, grooming trails, letting them get excited. I also lengthened the rope from the quad to the gangline to get them a little farther away from the noise.

My trail started at their houses, twisted around the farm and headed down a cornfield waterway, where it looped at .8 miles, and ran back. I straightened out part of it, avoiding the stretch where it ended right at their houses. I gave it a new half-mile stretch, and put the loops so that there isn't a true beginning or end, it is actually an endless loop for 2 miles.

I also decided to do some basic obedience work, so I taught them to "stay down". Alice is doing pretty good, she still wants to put her paw on my leg at first, when she is excited. After watching me work with Alice, Nick learned in 5 minutes!

After a week, it was time to put the plan into action. And once we got moving, it seemed to work. The new stretches are great, we are running fast when we pass near the houses, and we don't stop on the loops. There are still a couple of moments when we argue, at the new turns that they are learning, and I still have to stop and pull them on the new path. I'd say we are 80% improved.

But I know that in mushing, it is "2 steps forward, one step back" so a setback is expected.

Who knew that mushing would be so mentally taxing?

The Zen of Mushing

There is a Zen thing with the dogs - feeding, cleaning, harnessing, running - it seems to make sense that their happiness depends on me, and my happiness depends on them.

The simple, daily act of caring for them is a routine, a ritual, that is soothing and familiar. In it, I find a calm feeling of balance.

There is nothing dirty, or gross, with them. (Well, maybe their breath! “BBID” – Bad Breath In Dogs!) As a new parent learns the joys of baby poop and vomit, so, too, the musher learns the intimate details of his dog’s waste. We learn to recognize subtle changes in texture and color. The poop, it speaks to me!

And then, the running. There is something about the early morning...it is quiet, calm and peaceful. The weather is cool, but not cold yet. Mist is in the air, and fog over the river. Birds are singing, dogs are barking. They want to run. They know that I know they want to. I try not to talk to them and get them excited, which they quickly learn means we ARE going to run!

Hooking up can be an adventure, as the dogs tremble with excitement and can hardly contain themselves. (Or can NOT, in Alice’s case!) But once we are in motion, the dogs change. They RUN! They were born to run, bred to run, they have it in their genes, from generations of ancestors, they are runners.

Muscles rippling, bodies in synch, we go. We go. We don’t like to stop. They look at me with that inquisitive look dogs have, the “What the devil?” look. Alice gets nervous, Nick just stands there, slowly wagging his tail, waiting to go. Oh sure, I can give them some loving attention, but that is not what they are wanting. They want me to ask them “Are you ready?” The answer, as always, is “YES!”

And we’re off, down the trail, through the landscape, moving, enjoying, loving life and each other.

Nature, peace, love, happiness - what a sport!

First Training Run '09

And we're off!

Crisp and clear, 52 degrees, cool weather forecast for the rest of the week, so I decided - "Let the season begin!"

The dogs knew it, could sense the change in the air. When we have cool days, they've been looking at me like, "Well?" We all knew it was time.

Two dogs are not a lot, but they're what I've got - for now. Which one to hook up first? The other one will throw a fit. Hmm, as I did last Spring, start with Alice, because her fits are worse. Of course, she tangles herself up before I even get Nicky harnessed - first tangle of the year and we're not even hooked up yet!

But eventually, both are harnessed, hooked to the tuglines and the neckline in tact.

"Line out!" I command. (Suggest?) They respond!


So far, so good. I snap their picture, like the first day of school, and climb aboard the quad. Man, do I like this view:


"Ready, guys? Let's go!" We take off, and immediately go off the trail.

Now, these are sprint dogs, and not "Gee Haw" leaders, so I know that we'll struggle as we learn the new trail. This trail goes around our acreage, across the yard, around the garden, a couple of loops through the trees and tall grass, until it straightens out for a nice long stretch through the cornfield waterway. A full loop is 1.33 miles. Today's goal: complete a loop!

Where the trail is obvious, we run. When it opens up to the yard, they stray off the trail. Alice runs on the left and pushes against Nicky's shoulder, and pushes him off the trail, towards the dog yard. I stop a lot, pull them over to the trail, love 'em up, jump on the quad as I tell them to "Hike!" We take off, and run anywhere from 5 feet to 100 feet down the trail. It's exhilarating when we're moving - we start to air it out just a bit to stretch our legs, but there are areas that take excrutiatingly long to get through: the big loop through the East Lawn is only slightly worn down and although marked with flags, we have trouble finding our way. But, eventually we make it all the way back, with much more success on the return run. The doggers do great with all the intersections, and Alice actually pulls Nick the right way on occasion! I'm so proud!

One lap and we're finished. I could go more, but they're both straining towards their houses. Ok, it's the first day, we're done. Water all around. Easy unhook, time for breakfast. Life as a sled dog is eating, sleeping, running.

Fall is here, dogs are running, life is good!

The Dog Yard

The Mushing Loon Kennels dog yard is behind our house, 100 or so feet to the north. We can see it from our kitchen window above the sink, from the kitchen table, out of the basement sliding door and directly from our deck.



To the north is our windbreak, behind that is a cornfield and across that is the woods that we'll run in the winter. I chose this location to be close to the house and easily viewed from inside. Each dog has a tree to the SW to provide shade, plus they can dig at the base. There is room for four more dogs, one more in this row and then three could be in a row across from them.



I used some old water pipes we had on hand, and bought the rebar swivel from Cold Spot Feeds for their stake outs.

I made the single-sheet plywood dog houses with the plans from Jon Little.

Alice and Nicky can reach each other and have a nice big hole between them. I gave them a nice log to play with and they take turns pulling it across the hole to their individual circles.

Alice loves to run around her entire circle, while Nicky runs along this side of his, then hops around to jog back.

They can see the driveway when cars pull up and they can see to the farm dogs in their run out by the barn. With bird feeders nearby they can watch them, as well as stalk the chickens who come to feed beneath.

I have a fifty-foot zip line behind them between two trees that they can run around on for exercise. Alice does great free-running but Nicky won't return reliably, so he is limited to the zip line for now. I hope to build a larger fenced in area for them to run, time and money allowing.

It sure is heartwarming to look out and see sled dogs in the yard!

Dog Trip

On Saturday, May 2nd, my wife, daughter and I drove 4 hours to Minneapolis. Got a room and went to the Mall Of America. (Ugh!) At about 9:30pm (Central time), Nicky and Alice were being dropped off at the Anchorage airport. Got a call from Greg saying they were delivered and on their way.
They landed in Minneapolis about 5:40am, about 15 minutes early. We were at the Northwestern Cargo office at about 6:45, as they said it would be about an hour until they would arrive there after landing. After 15 (nervous) minutes waiting, they were here! I signed some papers and backed my pickup to the loading dock. Pulling up on a forklift were the 2 carriers on a pallet. We quickly loaded them into my truck. Both dogs were nervous and growling. Nothing to do at that point but get them home as fast as possible!
About half an hour towards home, I received a call on my cell from the cargo office. You "forgot" the paperwork! What, after I signed the receipt, I asked if that was all I needed. Oh, the veterinary certificates and the Pedigrees were left behind. Did I want to turn around and get them? Oh, and add an hour and a half to the 4-hour drive home for the poor doggies who have been cooped up for 10 hours already? Can they mail them to me? We should be able to...
Thanks.
After we got out of town, we stopped at McD's for breakfast, and I talked to the dogs. Nicky was a little less bothered, and he accepted treats. Alice was quite concerned and wouldn't take the treats from me. But at least they had both settled down some.
Four hours later we arrived home in Iowa. I had their chains and houses set up and ready for them. We locked up the farm dogs (see earlier mushing posts) so there would be less distractions. Then came time to reach into a kennel and grab the growling dogs by their collar and pull them out! I knew to be calm and confident and Nicky came out easily, he was glad to get out of that box. Alice was more nervous (foreshadowing) and I had to be a bit more forceful with her. Once out, they were excited by all the smells! That evening, we took them for a walk around their new farm and we all got along fabulously!

These photos are from their first night with us. You can see they are still a little uncertain...

Martin Buser on Discovery Channel Sunday 4/12/09

Martin Buser on Discovery Channel Sunday 4/12/09

Martin Buser's Happy Trails Kennels will be featured on the Discovery Channel series "Dirty Jobs" with Mike Rowe starting this Sunday, April 12, at 9:00pm Eastern.

It will repeat several times during the week.

Check out the Discovery Channel schedule here http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-schedules/s ... 321.4062.x