One of the more 'menial' tasks of everyday living we have managed to make more enjoyable with sled dogs is getting the mail.
The post office in Perryvale is about 15 miles round trip from the kennel, so once our training runs hit that mileage going to the post office is done by dog team.
I'm certain that dog teams haven't been seen outside most post offices in Canada in 75 years or so - but in Perryvale a dog team parked outside barely raises an eyebrow anymore.
Today I dropped off packages to England, Switzerland and Alaska, picked up a bunch of bills and a few cheques, grabbed a cup of coffee to go and hit the trail again.
We decided to take the 'back way' through the Tawatinaw River home and were rewarded with getting a nice glimpse of a cow and calf moose (Brittany saw her first moose on our run yesterday, so it is still very novel for her - not so much for me).
We did have to negotiate one herd of cattle along the way....
...and once again the darn things headed towards us rather then away. As neither Bet nor Richard were along, I was glad that Jinx paid good attention and steered us safely by them. Thanks Jinx!!!
A quick stop in the river for a drink and then we headed home.
Special thanks to Richard, Rancy Reyes and Bruce Stegmaier for doing a bunch of shoveling for me a few weeks back and making the access to the river passable for dog teams!!! It was very appreciated!!!!!
7 comments:
That was a nice place and they all look energetic, have a safe trip!
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It's all About Pet Fences | Dog Fence
Wow! I love reading and seeing photos about their training. I love seeing them 'seriously' work. compared to herding working breeds, they're so different but they do indeed work and i love to see them in that mode. I've always wondered how it worked with so many "sibes!" I can only handle ONE! LOL. But I so love the breed. And it fascinates me to see them resist temptation while working. As an owner of a Sibe (and a GSD) who wrestles with spotless obedience in the Sibe (she's actually very well behaved even off-leash, but it takes tons of work and consistency), it's wonderful to see how a new sibe can progress into making the right decisions while working. like steering away from the cows and moose. wonderful. Now if i can just get mine to do that with cats... sigh.
BTW: how would Bet (or Richard for that matter) help with avoiding the cows? would Bet be off-lead and steering the team away or herd the cow(s) away? i know how that goes with free-roaming cows. here in Switzerland, where they move cows around a lot, they can turn up in places you'd never expect them too, like right next to the lake beach front with little but a 2 wire fence to separate them from anything. That fence wouldn't stop my dogs for example, if they were not under my voice control...And just like you said, they always come "after" us, either with curiosity or to protect their calves. Which freaks out my herding dog (the GSD) and just makes the Sibe even more curious! LOL. I'm always on-guard now for the unexpected cow or donkey pasture on our long off-lead walks.
Wild Dingo, in order to understand the cow story, you need to read the following blog posts:
http://northwapiti.blogspot.com/2011/09/wheres-beef-post-hijacked-by-bet.html
and
http://northwapiti.blogspot.com/2011/09/musher-rebuts-bets-story.html
I like your Post Office. We have the Parks Highway going past ours. :(
Great pictures as always- but I was curious as to why you don't use the toggles and "no-necklines" setup anymore?
I do still use the toggles. It is just those last few tugs that still have snaps on them. All our racing lines last year used the Eskimo hook toggles and most of the training lines.
I ditched the 'no neckline' concept. I think having necklines on keeps the dogs where they are 'safest'.
Karen
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