Wyakin

Wyakin means "Spirit Guide". We had planned to keep only two puppies from the Irish/Ilo litter. Well, then three. We had planned to place the second smallest little boy, then with a puppy name of Baby New Year., up for adoption. Wyakin just made his way into our hearts and despite our better judgement, having reached and now exceeded our desired kennel numbers, we decided that we couldn't let him go.

Full Circle

Freyja and me at the airport

A few weeks ago, one of the Irish/Ilo puppies came back to us at 10 weeks old due to unforeseen circumstances. Originally, interest was expressed by someone in our Hedlund Husky Preservation Project, however it was poor timing and she decided it best to allow her to settle in with another family. Karen was contacted again when Freyja returned in hopes that her circumstances had changed and they had! Freyja flew out to Anchorage, Alaska last Friday evening. Karen is the same person that gave me Tuloon in 2004. Frejya is Tuloon's great granddaughter. Things have come full circle and I am so happy to be able to give her a similar and connected gift!

Puppy Harness Training!

To set the puppies up for success, we had Blueberry and Copper in front, leading the way.

Aha! Off trail. Maybe this means Kamotz will be a good open country leader like some of his relatives and he doesn't need a trail.

Wyakin and Kamotz

Hey! Who let that Mastiff/St. Bernard mix into the kennel? This is actually Wyakin, AKA Mr. Pudge.

The pulling instinct kicked in right from the start

It seems we have a squabble over who will be the leader

B'Zhoo and Akai

Akai pushes B'Zhoo to the right side of the trail. Maybe he's a natural "righty". That comes in handy when trying to teach them the "Gee Over" command. Gee Over means to move to the right side of the trail.

B'Zhoo tries to pull  Akai back after he got too far ahead. Training isn't without its little glitches.

Akai barks at the big dogs while B'Zhoo checks out the sled

Akai doing a good job of keeping his line tight!

Irish/Ilo Puppy Visit

Partial family reunion!

Tyro (Tiny Tim) came back for a visit. He has a striking resemblance to both Irish and Ilo!

Girl Scout Dog Mushing Badge

Arrow is a good and patient subject.

Our young guests put collars on the dogs before bringing them to the ready line.

We take time to allow each young participant to practice the take off technique before hooking up real dogs

Off they go! Two teams running at once with other participants around the course for support and Neil on the snowmobile to catch any team that decides to take their young musher on a bigger adventure

Arrow, Phoenix and their beginner musher get "in the zone" before their run.

Ilo and Topa are on Jessica's first team.

Puppy time!

BOW Winter Event

Rayna was so excited to go! Oken watches her enthusiasm in amazement.

Among many other educational moments, our participants learned how to harness the dogs

Akai took complete advantage of the overabundance of attention

Our guests learned what the take off would feel like with mock dogs

Wimzi and Zodiak were the perfect pair.

A mass harnessing session

It was pretty close to standing room only in the puppy pen much of the day

Rayna and Klaus

Rommel and White Feather are ready to lead their beginning musher around the loop

We weren't back from our northwoods adventures but for three days before loading everyone up and heading out again. This time, it was to one of our favorite events; the DNR BOW (Becoming and Outdoors Woman) Winter Workshop. This year, it took place at Audubon Center of the Northwoods, an environmental learning center in Sandstone, MN.

Points Unknown has been providing volunteer dog mushing instruction since 2005 and we can't say enough good things about the BOW program. If you've ever wanted to try something new in the outdoors, check it out!   

In the News Today!

Photo by Chaska Herald. That's me with Wyakin and Tuloon nosing Neil.

We found ourselves in the Chaska Herald today. Check it out!