Relaxing in the Dog Yard

Hailey and Rebecca relax with the dogs

Sweet Pea

Phoenix is just chillin'

Everybody wants a brush!

Sweet Pea is such a happy girl

Typical Sweet Pea with her ears back and silly expressions

Phoenix is such a goof!

Tuloon is teaching Topa a lesson as White Feather looks on

Rebecca in a sea of sled dogs

Dog Yard "Chores"

"Someone" commented over the winter that when we do our spring dog kennel clean up, we really need to clean the nasty orange sled on which the dog food is transported.

Rebecca carefully scrubbed out each dog crate and let them air dry.

McKenzie is one of the first to shed

The aftermath

Tuloon's coat just exploded over the weekend

I'm not certain I like the word "chore" for what has to be done on a daily basis to maintain a team of sled dogs, the dog kennel and the dog yard because this implies that it is a hard and unpleasant task. Hard at times yes, but unpleasant, most often no. We'll have to come up with another word.

If there is passion for something, engaging in any part of the lifestyle associated with it uplifts the soul. Whether it's moving dirt in the dog yard, moving through the woods silently on the runners of the sled as the dogs move to the rhythm of their breathing, cleaning dirty straw out of dog houses, cuddling with the dogs as you stop for a break on the trail, scrubbing the dog crates, spending the morning at obedience class with one of the dogs, brushing the dogs, traveling with the team over virgin snow on an endless frozen lake, administering heartworm medication to the sled dogs or any one of the thousand and one things that come with this chosen lifestyle, to put it simply, its all good!

This past week was spent scrubbing dog crates, cleaning out the dog truck, moving gravel in the dog kennels, brushing the first shedding dogs of the season and spending endless time with the dogs. Hailey and our English visitor, Rebecca, get the credit for nearly all of this and I am truly thankful for their help. Due to the current volcano eruption in Iceland, Rebecca's stay has been extended until the winds shift and flights resume so she'll get even more chances to engage in this musher's lifestyle that she has adapted to quickly and appears to be enjoying. (Minus the wood tick factor. It's that time of year!)

Oken Plays with (Fends Off) Wimzi

Oken is shedding and looking more naked at the moment. We still wait for Wimzi's ears to become fully erect. As you'll see, this is one of only a very few photos I was able to take where Wimzi isn't blurry!

There she goes with the tail grabbing!

Maybe if I put my leg over her she can't bit my face any more.

Face biting

More face biting

Oken tries to ignore her

Now there's a fancy move.

The little alligator is back.

Now she tries to bit his legs to see if she can get a response. Little stinker.

English Visitor Gets a Glance into the Lifestyle of a Musher

Rebecca with Oken

Klaus and Oken were the house visitors last evening.

Rebecca arrived on Saturday from England and will be staying a week to get a glance of the lifestyle with sled dogs. Unfortunately for her, winter is over and she'll be seeing us all in the off season which is a very different picture. At the same time, she can take this time to really get to know the dogs so that if it works out for her to come again during our Fall and Winter seasons, she'll at least have a head start.

Mastering the art of poop scooping, Rebecca has now moved on to walking the puppy and visiting the sled dogs while the musher works away at the computer, being very careful not to let anyone escape from their kennels. She received an introduction to Canicross Hiking a couple of days ago when we went for a short hike with Zala who showed Rebecca how a real sled dog does her job. This was also the puppy's first time in harness and pulling from a short leash. With Zala ahead to follow, Wimzi was set up for success and did a wonderful job for an 11 week old pup.

This morning our guest was fortunate enough to see how fun it is to feed the dogs in the pouring rain. Klaus and Oken had the privilege of spending last evening with us then spent the night outside in the kennel near the house. This pen is a temporary pen with only a black dirt base. Had we known it would be pouring rain over night they would have been relocated but we didn't and they weren't. Oken managed to stay on top of his dog house and out of the mud but Klaus just wallowed in it. He loves to get dirty and wet. Upon approaching the kennel this morning, I was greeting with literal mudslinging. Wonderful. Rebecca held Klaus while I hosed him down and then both dogs were put back into their pens for feeding. I then hit the shower myself.

More exciting new experiences await Rebecca. She'll take a break from the dog yard later this week and spend a day at the Mall of America while the appraiser/musher does her job around the city. On Friday, Hailey arrives for the weekend which will give Rebecca a chance to spend time with an American her own age. And on Saturday before our guest boards her plane back across the pond, she and Hailey will attend puppy class with me, Wimzi and Topa.

White Feather and Sasha Go to Class

White Feather during play time

Sasha sits for a treat

Legs!

Today was White Feather's turn at dog obedience class as she and Topa are alternating weeks. White Feather took to it quite a bit more quickly than Topa. Topa was a bit too concerned to stay focused for very long. I'm sure next week she'll have an easier time of it as it won't be "new" anymore. This was Wimzi's second class and she continued to amaze us with her focus and eagerness to please. At 11 weeks old she's got a consistent "sit" and a very good "down" and "wait" and does not pull on the leash when walking.

Chris, our excellent dog handler, joined us with Wimzi's sister Sasha. Those legs of hers just continue to grow longer and she has a wonderful coat and beautiful markings. Wimzi went out of her way to immediately show Sasha that she was the boss and after the initial reintroduction during play time, they took turns pinning each other to the floor during subsequent play periods.

Sasha is a bit less focused than Wimzi at this stage but did catch on quickly. She was very outgoing while meeting new dogs and the new surroundings didn't bother her in the least.

Fun stuff!

Ilu's Back Pain Returns

Ilu rests in his crate while the sedatives wear off

I rolled over this morning to turn off the alarm clock at 6:27AM, hoping to avoid being jarred by the obnoxious sound of the alarm in just a few minutes. I was delighted, when, at exactly 6:30AM on the dot, I was greeted with the call of a loon. The loon's have been scarce on Oake Lake for a while so it was a wonderful start to the day.

After spending an hour in the beeswax candle workshop and feeding the little house dogs, I was awake enough to head out for a visit with the sled dogs and to give them their breakfast. All was well in the dog yard until I came to Ilu and Icoa's kennel. Ilu was his rambunctious self alright but he was still in obvious pain. As he ascended the ramp that leads to the top of a low dog house, he yelped out in pain. Back in February we visited the vet for what appeared to be a sprained back. With all of the ice in the kennels, this wasn't hard to believe. We went home and Ilu was on rest and pain and anti-inflammatory meds for two weeks. After which time, he was back in harness but only doing light work. He seemed just fine until a couple weeks ago when he began to walk stiffly. When the vocalization of pain began, we knew he needed to go back in for a check up.

The vet took x-rays of Ilu's back today and will be sending them to the University of Minnesota Orthopedic department for analysis. The x-rays showed a fuzziness near the sacrum which can indicate a bone density difference. We are trying to wait patiently and are hoping for the best. If he can't be a working sled dog, our hope is that he can still live a pain free life.

Surprise Envelope!

Group Photo

The "dog garage" is converted into a classroom for the winter with straw bales as benches.

The leaders are hooked up first as I explain what we will come next.

Sweet Pea gets in "the zone" before she's harnessed.

McKenzie was caught on film in one of his mid air jumps. This is to get my attention so I don't forget to harness him.

All happy now.

Phoenix checks back to see what could be taking us so long while Tuloon keeps her eye on the trail.

We head out on to the lake to show the Girl Scouts what dog sledding looks like.

We then head into the dog kennels to begin meeting the dogs!

The girls learn how to harness the dogs.

All smiles

Icoa and one of our guests.

We received a surprise envelope today from Girl Scout Troops 13180 and 12515 that included a beautiful 8x10 group photo, a lovely "Thank you" note and a CD of photos taken from the day.

What a wonderful gift to remind us of winter now that it has so quickly gone away. Thank you for this lovely reminder!