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Gail P January 3rd, 2010 11:51 AM

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The first trip to the camp ([I]Was it worth it?[/I] [URL="http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=868759&posted=1#post868759"]http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=868759&posted=1#post868759[/URL] ) was on Monday/Tuesday. It was so much fun running on new, longer trails that I went back again yesterday. Not for another overnighter, just for the day with a friend and my daughter. She ran 2 dogs (Flurry and Dru) on one sled and I took 4 dogs on the other sled (Lightning, Rain, Storm and Thunder). Flurry and Dru got a good workout, keeping up with the 4-dog teams up and down the hills for 5 miles. Here are some of yesterday's pics.

Gail P January 3rd, 2010 11:55 AM

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More pictures

Gail P January 3rd, 2010 11:58 AM

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And still more :D

hazelrunpack January 3rd, 2010 12:42 PM

Cool pics, Gail! :highfive: Man that looks like sooooooo much fun!!!!!!! :cloud9:

Marcha January 3rd, 2010 01:07 PM

I love the photos. It's as though the fun that everyone is having just leaps out of the monitor on this end. It's infectious!

Gail P January 3rd, 2010 01:31 PM

It really is so much fun. Too bad I don't live somewhere where there's snow all year. I do dryland training too in the spring and fall, but I like the snow better. Once it comes I can't wait for the races to start, but all the ones I go to are in February so once they start it's like bang, bang, bang, bang, race every weekend and then it's over :sad: After the races are done I do some longer fun runs on some other trails (like up in Algonquin Park etc), packing along lunch and so on, but once we're into March you just never know what you're going to get for weather, so it always feels like we're working on borrowed time week to week hoping the snow conditions stay good for sledding. A couple of years ago it was really nice when I was still able to run the dogs on snow right into the first week of April :thumbs up

hazelrunpack January 3rd, 2010 02:49 PM

I remember that year, too, Gail. We had our last snow that spring on April 28th. :D Not enough to sled on nor long-lasting, but nice to see and fun to play in for our guys, too! :cloud9:

angeldogs January 3rd, 2010 11:36 PM

The scenery looks gorgeous in your pics.must be amzing to see in person well riding by on a sled.

growler~GateKeeper January 4th, 2010 12:56 AM

Gorgeous scenery & dogs too of course :cloud9:

How did Dru do partnered with Flurry? He looks tiny compared to Flurry in the 1st pic :laughing: but we all know it's mostly Flurrys' size :D

Gail P January 4th, 2010 01:37 PM

[QUOTE=angeldogs;869149]The scenery looks gorgeous in your pics.must be amzing to see in person well riding by on a sled.[/QUOTE]
It is really nice up around this area. I love the scenery too after a snowfall when the trees are all covered with it.

[QUOTE=growler;869235]Gorgeous scenery & dogs too of course :cloud9:

How did Dru do partnered with Flurry? He looks tiny compared to Flurry in the 1st pic :laughing: but we all know it's mostly Flurrys' size :D[/QUOTE]
Dru is amazing, he is turning into a really good sled dog. Loves to pull, very eager and he doesn't slack on the hills. He's a little bit bigger than Rain is but nowhere near Flurry's size. It's even funnier looking if I put Rain beside Flurry. Flurry is so atypical of a Border Collie, even his running style. They usually run lower to the ground. That's part of the reason why their size looks so different in that first picture. Dru is running low and leaning into the harness while Flurry tends to run more upright but is still very powerful.

Flurry and Dru are going to be my daughter's race team for this year for the 2-mile classes she enters. They're used to running beside each other already as I usually put them together in the middle of the team when I run 6. They run well beside each other but tend to scrap sometimes when they're first being hooked up, but that's just Flurry's overexcitement that gets them going and then Dru starts up too. Dru is a screamer - another dog can be making faces at him or take a snap without making contact but he'll start up this godawful wailing like he's being killed, at the same time as he's fighting back. These two are actually great buddies, they play together all the time and sleep together on the couch or the bed but when there's anything exciting happening look out! Flurry's always ready to nip at the closest dog and I have to watch he doesn't chew apart the gangline before the sled gets moving. He once chomped a brand new section of gangline apart in one or two bites. If he gets too hard on the lines I may have to switch from poly lines to cable so he can't bite through them. Flurry's a funny dog, when I'm letting them out to the backyard he fixates on Rain and wants to bite her on her way past him. Lots of times though he'll pick up a toy or a bone and hold it in his mouth and that stops him from nipping. It's like when the adrenaline is flowing all he can think about is grabbing something or one of the other dogs. The rest of the time he's mellow and playful.

Dog Dancer January 4th, 2010 03:59 PM

Great pics. Your dogs are so lucky to have such an active life style. They sure look happy (and tired).

growler~GateKeeper January 5th, 2010 01:52 AM

[QUOTE=Gail P;869374]Dru is amazing, he is turning into a really good sled dog. Loves to pull, very eager and he doesn't slack on the hills.[/quote]

Awesome, sounds like he really enjoys himself too :thumbs up

[QUOTE=Gail P;869374]They run well beside each other but tend to scrap sometimes when they're first being hooked up, but that's just Flurry's overexcitement that gets them going and then Dru starts up too. Dru is a screamer - another dog can be making faces at him or take a snap without making contact but he'll start up this godawful wailing like he's being killed, at the same time as he's fighting back.[/quote]

:laughing: what a pair :crazy:

[QUOTE=Gail P;869374]Flurry's always ready to nip at the closest dog and I have to watch he doesn't chew apart the gangline before the sled gets moving. He once chomped a brand new section of gangline apart in one or two bites. If he gets too hard on the lines I may have to switch from poly lines to cable so he can't bite through them. Flurry's a funny dog, when I'm letting them out to the backyard he fixates on Rain and wants to bite her on her way past him. Lots of times though he'll pick up a toy or a bone and hold it in his mouth and that stops him from nipping. It's like when the adrenaline is flowing all he can think about is grabbing something or one of the other dogs.[/QUOTE]

Wow that boy has got power in those jaws. It's a good thing he's a sled dog & not in the herding showring as nipping is usually a disqualification there. ;) Sounds like he settles quickly though whether sledding or just out playing :dog: :)

Gail P January 5th, 2010 08:50 AM

[QUOTE=growler;869631]
Wow that boy has got power in those jaws. It's a good thing he's a sled dog & not in the herding showring as nipping is usually a disqualification there. ;) Sounds like he settles quickly though whether sledding or just out playing :dog: :)[/QUOTE]

That's the funny thing though, he's not like that with sheep or other livestock, including the smaller animals like chickens and ducks. When we're out doing chores he likes to run laps around the horses in the field. He stays out wide away from them and just circles, circles, circles...every now and then he'll cut through the middle of them and change direction. He'll do laps around the other dogs and me too.

He's been lightly started on sheep and I'd like to do more training with him, but I doubt I'd trial him. Just too much else going on. I was supposed to be going to take Rain, Storm and Flurry back for more sheep work this fall, and Dru too to start him, but my friend and I couldn't seem to get our schedules worked out, or it was too wet and muddy some of the time to be safe for the dogs and sheep. Maybe in the springtime I'll be able to, although then she'll be into lambing and I'll be doing goose control. Or maybe early summertime, before it's too hot. No, wait...then I'm goosing then too. Maybe in the fall, when the goosework slows down, and in between starting up my fall training runs, if it's not too wet...:rolleyes: Maybe I should just get my own sheep :p My daughter wants to join the 4-H sheep club anyhow and my friend said she'd donate her a lamb. Of course, we can't have just one lonely little lamb now can we? ;)

growler~GateKeeper January 6th, 2010 12:19 AM

:laughing: That Flurry :laughing: i guess it's the excitement of the other dogs that also ramps him up :dog:

Oh yes you definately need more than 1 little lamb ;) maybe a whole flock :D


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