Legs, legs, legs!

[Gail P]

Blaze is growing like crazy. Look at these legs! I think dD picked a good one

[breeze]

Blaze sure is growing fast, what a beautiful pup he is!!!!

[Bailey_]

love that first picture - so cute! He sure is going to be taaaall Gail. What a beautiful puppy!!! Have you started him on any particular type of training yet, or are you waiting?

[Gail P]

Originally Posted by Bailey_

love that first picture - so cute! He sure is going to be taaaall Gail. What a beautiful puppy!!! Have you started him on any particular type of training yet, or are you waiting?

I doubt he'll surpass Flurry for height (who's a bit of an oddball for a BC), but we do like the long, leggy ones for racing.

We don't really do a lot of formal "training" with our pups aside from some very basic manners when they're young. Most of what he needs to know he picks up by following the other dogs when they all accompany me around doing chores. "Wait" to go in in/out a door, "out" to get out of the chicken coop or a specific pen inside the coop. "That'll do" also works as an alternative to "out" and will be used in later training. Recall is pretty much second nature to the BC's and we don't really need to work on it either since the dogs always want to be everywhere with me. I send them out around the fields for a run "go RUN!!!" and then they come flying back to me. By going into the chicken coop now at this age he is learning manners around the poultry so that later when he becomes a goose dog I know he won't injure any geese. Oh, a big one for the BC's too is that magic "off" switch. Because the others already are nice and mellow in the house he's picked that up too. When I'm downstairs at the computer (like now), he just lies down for a nap when the rest do. As soon as I'm done they all jump up and we go upstairs and I tell them "up" or "everybody up" at the base of the stairs. That's also helpful when it's time to take them anywhere in the truck, because they already know "up".

When Blaze is older he'll be taken to sheep to learn how to properly work livestock, and he'll also begin his sled training.

[Bailey_]

Ooooh, sled training. Sounds fun! How old will he be when you start this? Will your daughter be involved?

[ancientgirl]

He is shooting up like a little sprout!

[pbpatti]

legs that go on foreverrrrrr, he is growing beautifully.

[Ryan48]

WOW, Beautiful doggers.

Rm

[hazelrunpack]

He's trying to blend in and to do that, he needs to be taller--the legs are cooperating! He is a cutie, that's for sure!

Are they pointing that ball or just daring each other to go for it in the first pic?

[Gail P]

Originally Posted by Bailey_

Ooooh, sled training. Sounds fun! How old will he be when you start this? Will your daughter be involved?

She will absolutely be involved as Blaze is her puppy and will be a part of her team. She is 10 now and has been competing in kid & mutt classes (1 dog, very short sprint like a 100yd dash) at the races since she was 4. Last year she entered her first 2-dog, 2 mile race with Lightning and Flurry and came in 2nd. This year she will be doing 2 or 3 more 2-dog, 2-mile races, plus a kid & mutt class at a race where there is no youth or novice 2-mile class. She may also enter a 4-mile skijoring class with Flurry, we'll see how they're doing when they're practicing. Some of the 2-mile classes are not just for 2-dog teams but open to 1-3 dogs. Next season she is going to try a 3-dog team and plans to eventually enter the same classes I do, the 4-dog, 4-mile sprints.
I usually start the pups at around 8-10 months of age. Because sledding is not an impact sport (like agility or disc) and the dogs travel straight (no sudden turning, skidding, slipping etc) it is possible to start training them for this earlier than for some other sports. This spring we will harness break Blaze and hook him up beside Lightning who is our seasoned lead dog. Blaze will not be asked to go far or go fast, just a few hundred meters occasionally. He will learn to "line out" and stay in front of the sled, go "on by" distractions, "whoa", and just how to generally move without bouncing off the dog beside him. He'll get just a very easy introduction to it with lots of praise and treats and the end of each session and then over the summer do nothing more. By next fall when the weather is again cool enough for dryland training he will be over a year old and can then begin to work more and he'll know how to act in a team. I tend to take it easy on my pups and not rush things too much, though I know there are others that are already training harder and racing at under a year of age without apparent problems.

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

Are they pointing that ball or just daring each other to go for it in the first pic?

Lightning brought the ball, dropped it and was waiting for me to throw it. Blaze is just waiting for a chance to grab it. Often when I'm playing fetch with one of the dogs another (or several) will be stalking that one, just waiting for him/her to move. One day it was really funny to see 4 of them all lying down facing each other like they were at a 4-way intersection with one more standing stalking in the background.

[Magicwildwolf69]

wow what a set of legs on that puppy. all of them are so beautiful. boy would i love to come over there sometime

[growler~GateKeeper]

Oh my! Little Blaze is getting tall They grow so fast as puppies.

[Gail P]

Originally Posted by Magicwildwolf69

wow what a set of legs on that puppy. all of them are so beautiful. boy would i love to come over there sometime

Well if you're ever in the neighbourhood you're welcome to visit We will also be out and about at some races with 4-6 of our dogs. The last few years we've been able to get to 5 races but this year there is a scheduling conflict so we will only make it to these four: Feb. 6/7 Kearney, Feb. 13/14 Haliburton, Feb. 20/21 Cannington, Feb. 27 Apsley