Puppy Run!

Canicross work earlier in the week

Zodiak at his first hook-up

The three 4 1/2 month old Tuloon/Bazil pups at their first hook-up

Tuloon and 8 1/2 month old Journey in lead

A short break on a hill

Once back at the truck

Zala

Oken and Zodi

Zodiak is already bigger than Tuloon!

Puppy butt shots on the trail

2/13/08

Being too stricken by the sinus infection, on the way into the cabin prior to the Women’s Adventure, I opted to make three trips on the snowmobile to bring each of the Tuloon/Bazil pups rather than walk them each the mile. Feeling a bit better on the way out of the cabin the following Monday, I was up for an adventure.

I put Tuloon and 8 ½ month old Journey up in lead behind a small empty sled. I then harnessed the three 4 ½ old pups. I put Zala and Oken behind the leaders and Zodiak in wheel by himself. Even though they had been harnessed and had been walking in front of me with a leash attached to the harness for a couple of weeks now, I fully expected some tangles, biting at lines and general chaos to ensue. Those pups just stood there, waiting, with tug lines tight. I pulled my quick release and tied it around my handlebars then pulled my hook. Off we went! I had planned on taking the mile out to the truck as slow as possible, fully expecting to walk and stop a lot to deal with puppy issues. There was no stopping. Those pups put their noses to the ground and pulled. Just pulled. No goofing around. What a treat!

The pups are still too young to do much more than a mile with an empty sled and older dogs in the team to help pull the load. They’ll get a few more chances this winter to run in a small team but mostly, they’ll just be puppies.