call me up if you're a gangster

Well, this is Sydney Bristow. Remember way back in the first post or two when I mentioned Alias? My level of obsession has not waned in the least. I've got a Brennan and now a Bristow. I'm set for life.

Bristow is very easy to work with and she's pretty much a bad ass, per her onscreen persona. It's like having my own Jennifer Garner.

Oh! I have an idea, sometime soon, I'll make a post about dog houses.

As for now, I'm out of ideas. I do believe I'm going to work on clicker training Eve tonight.

That is all.

baby, you're a firework

Gus(daddy)



Moon (mother)



Little EV

Eve is eight weeks old. Eve is half Border Collie and half Eurohound. Eve is adorable!


To begin, let me say that her momma is a lady and her daddy was a rammlin' man.

But really, Her mommy dearest is a great little cow dog who is very docile and social. Her daddy dog is out of Egil Ellis and her aunt on that side ran ONAC and Rondy last winter. Eve is the perfect mix!

She'll be an Everything dog, in every sense of the word. I have no doubt that she'll run, and she seems to have a pretty good toy drive. She's very focused on me already, so I've got big plans. Big plans for this little monster!

at least there will be plenty implied

Dear December, where have you been all my life? I've missed you more than I'd miss my own liver if it were traveling around the black market somewhere without me.

I'm pretty happy that you brought that really cool guy, snow, along with you. He's badass....for a guy and all.

Now, here's where I'm confused. Today is Wednesday. Tuesday, it was 50 degrees and rainy. By this morning, it was 23 and snowing, yet no one could figure out why their cars weren't stopping.

So, I'm going to risk sound really sappy here and say I may or may not love my job. I'm also going to risk sounding like an arrogent ass hole and say I may or may not be pretty damn good at it. What is my job, one might ask? Well, I could tell you I train wildabeasts to long divide and I save nuns, puppies and innocent children from flaming vehicles by day.....and by night I'm a ferris wheel mechanic with six wives and a knife-throwing act alongside the managerie.

Yes, I could easily say that....but it wouldn't be entirely true. If I told you this, you might doubt it at first and then slowly begin to realize that was my OLD job. I rarely do those things these day.

You see, as of late, my boss and tax forms call me an editorial assistant. I tend to agree with them. Let me just tell you what I'm editing. It's a magazine. It's a dog magazine. In the end, if you want a straight answer, I edit and design articles for three different dog publications.

An even shorter version is that it's my dream job. I guess that's all you really needed to know in the first place.

....inside a dog, it's too dark to read

"OUTSIDE A BOOK, A DOG IS MAN'S BEST FRIEND. INSIDE A DOG, IT'S TOO DARK TO READ."
-Groucho Marx



Thought I'd mention....btw....these books are where Kuz got his name. It may sound crazy, but his name IS Kazan. I usually spell it with an "O" (Kazon) if I write it out. He's not registered or anything, but I consider it his official name because it's what's on record at the vet. Ha! He has always been Kuz or Kuzin....so I'm quite sure he has absolutely no idea and probably wouldn't even respond to his full name....just thought I'd share.

I randomly ran across these books tonight. Interesting.

Also, "Baree" is Brother's real name. I know, I'm throwing you for a big, damn curve ball tonight. Being all weird and tell-y. But really, Brother's name on paperwork is Barrie. Some fucktards say Barry, but they're wrong as hell. I tried to make the spelling easy on them, but they insist on failing. Either way, Brother is Kuz's only son, so we HAD to name him Barrie. Make sense? Thought so.

Next time, I'll be more normal.

and we'll do anything when the time's right

Well then, can I just ask one question? WHERE DID FALL GO?! What is happening? Last I checked, the semester had just started and we were on our way into October. But now? Thanksgiving is out the window (the second story window) and December 1st is three days away.


So, that was my question….and this is my fact: race reason is one month away. ONE MONTH, people! Are YOU ready? Am I ready? No comment.

I have a confession to make, and it’ll probably bite me in the ass before I can even turn around, but a 4dog team seems much less stressful. For 6dog last year, I was a mess. A complete mess. If we missed a day of training, I’d go off the wall. Unless miles were going my way, I was pretty damn near impossible to be around. This year, I’ve made an effort to change that.


Taking my pro team down to 4dog has helped a lot. Right now, we SHOULD be nearing a comfortable four miles…..but we don’t have it. We’re at a solid, solid, solid, three. It bothers me a little, and I care a lot, but I’ve resisted the urge to flip out. It’s life. It’s training. It’s Michigan weather. It’s what happens when you’re a full time student and the good trails are off limits for the last two weeks in November.


There comes a point where I have to step back, shut the hell up, and realize there are worse things in life. I’d so much rather be where I am right now, calm and relaxed and enjoying every minute of it, than where I was last year……right on the dot and wound so tight I’d literally panic if I had to take a third day off. And by panic, I actually mean it. I would go hysterical if the weather didn’t work out. Honestly now, what can I do about the weather?

Getting miles for the wrong reasons can be miserable. It’s nothing short of torture if you’re comparing your schedule to everyone else.

We should be running 4X/week. We’ve comfortably managed two and three days all season. I don’t think it’s killing anyone. I’ve got happy dogs and I’m done worrying about things I can’t control. I’m trying this game called optimism. The season will turn out just fine. See? I’m not half bad.


The setback with Keytone is a real bummer, but she got hurt working her ass off for me, so I’ll let her dig into her retirement savings a few years early.
Oh, and did I mention….to fill out my 4dog, I think I hit the jackpot. The female on her way to me (in place of the white pony of wonder….aka Keytone) may or may not have previously raced Rondy and ONAC…..four times. Excited? You’re not the one who has to act interested in normal life while you wait for a day off to go pick her up…..

'cause she's the girl all the bad guys want

This is Keytone. She's seven years old. She's the best gee-haw leader I have. She has more race experience than I do. She's the most honest dog money can buy. And, I regret to inform you, Keytone is retired.

Such is the life. It has really put a damper on the season so far. Remember last winter when I wrote that she was going to sit out the last two races because she had an odd limp? Her gate was off and her back end was tender? Well, she DID sit out those races. She sat out the whole summer. We started training in early October. She made it up to late November and 3 solid miles. Now, The Limp of Unknown Origins is back. So she's out.
At seven, with the career she has had, we're all pretty sure she'll never make it back. I'm about to sound hugely dramatic, but I've never heard worse news. This dog is a big deal to me. She's the epitome of the perfect sled dog.....until she starts limping. The worst part is that she would gladly run on three legs, but of course I'm not willing to allow that.

Right now my idea is to lend her and another older dog to a jr on weekends. That way, she can still run, but it'll only be a mile or two. A mile and a half run will seem like one big joke to her, but it'll have to work.

Oooooh Keytone, when dogs like you get hurt, this life becomes a hard one.


BUT, okay, I can't end on that note....in other news, Fred, Heini and Bren are ready to kick ass this season regardless. Joppy has a pretty solid grasp on commands thanks to Petunia. Fox and Brew are going to make the sport class look like a cake walk. Star and May are both leading very well. You see? Not all the news is bad.......

"what was she doing putting her face by tires?"

I don’t even know how to tell this story effectively enough to do it justice…… here is my opening sentence: A FUCKING MOUSE JUST HIT ME IN THE FACE.

Let’s set the scene—I was feeding dogs, as they generally tend to require food daily, and I leaned down into the bin of dog food. The terrible little bastard children were lying in wait; they lept at my face. They were bloodthirsty, I swear.

I almost didn’t make it out alive.

A bystander’s account says I screamed and dived out of the way, treating the furry pieces of varmint like shrapnel, covering my head and screaming more. I don’t believe it.

If my being HIT IN THE FACE BY A FUCKING MOUSE isn’t a good enough story already, then how about this: allow me to tell you how my dedicated team of personal protectors responded.



Obviously, the fate of the free world was at stake here….I couldn’t feed dogs without reaching into the bin and I couldn’t reach into the bin when it was full of (2) lion-sized, mouse beasts.

I yelled for Elsie first. Well, actually first I grabbed a shovel—in case things got out of control, and then I yelled. She sprinted in and immediately lunged into the open dog food bin. I exhaled a relieved “thank you,” feeling satisfied that she had read my mind and the horrifying ordeal was done…..but then I saw one of the mice jump onto her nose. She merely shook her head and kept eating dinner.

“What!?” I screeched in honest disbelief. What kind of farm dog doesn’t eat mice!?

“You’re not doing anything!?” I questioned in a very high voice, panicking because I knew the lion-mice were only gaining strength and planning another attack.
Elsie knows that having one’s head in the dog food bin is a giant “ima kick your ass” infraction, so added to the fact that I was yelling like a fool and wielding a shovel, she scuttled away.

This was it. It was time to call in the big guns. I needed a specialized tool, known for his cunning and intelligence.

I yelled for The Black Dog Himself.

Luckily Connor was trained by Lassie, so he tore into the shed bent on investigating why I was screaming like a sober homeless man. This all happened much faster than it seems….. I was still in the fetal position, protecting my most vulnerable organs from danger, and rocking back and forth, knowing I’d never truly be the same person again.

Connor bounded towards me.
“Sssssssic it!,” I managed and rapped the shovel handle on the side of the bin.
The monster went to work. He shoved his nose into the bin. At first, he started eating and acting like a terrific failure……but then one of the little fuckers made a dash across the one-foot space. Bad idea. Connor used his immeasurable stealth to snatch it up and swallow it whole. That made me scream again. When Connor looked at me, I thanked him for the work and asked him to never mention my reaction to anyone. He agreed.

It wasn’t over yet; there was still another bastard in the dog food bin. I can’t exactly explain why, but I literally said, “Repeter, S’il vous plait. Vite!”
Apparently, in times of great need, I speak French. Good to know. Apparently, Connor understands French, which is also good to know. He re-inserted his top half into the dog food bin to finish the deed.

The hunt didn’t last long. He snapped and shook his head. A mouse body flew through the air. “Absolutely unnecessary,” I told him.

He grinned and pounced on it. He smacked his lips and licked his nose, eyes sparkling in delight.

“You’re nasty, but I love you for it,” I said.

I think his response was something like, “you’re a giant wuss, but I love you right back.”

They're brainless wonders, but it’s endearing!

When Brennan came running out of the garage with a bra in her mouth, I knew the chase was on. Oh, it was so on.

Freddie immediately joined in on the destruction of my Target bra. She started with wrestling, but soon her head was through one of the straps and Brennan was leading her around the yard like she was a pet pony.

For a minute, I actually thought I’d be able to salvage it; that was a funny joke. On her second lap around the front yard, Fred realized she was not, in fact, a horse at all, but a dog—a dog who loves, more than anything, to play tug-of-war. Brennan happily obliged.

As I watched, my single bra became two. Well, two halves. Freddie was elated and she brought her spoils of war over to me, dropping the ripped fabric at my feet, watching me. I knew exactly what she wanted.

“No, we are not playing fetch with my bra,” I told her.

When I snapped back from the memory of the last time I said that (Who knew I’d get such crazy responses when I asked the tech center employees what their plans were for the weekend?), I happened to look up just in time to see Brennan burying her half of the garment.

All I can say now is “please grow.” A tree of bras would be most excellent.

Paparazzi

I cannot find my camera! Arggggg! This post would be so much more exciting if I had pictures...damn.

But anyway, things are rollin' right along in my crazy world of dogs. Brennan has fit back in seamlessly and I've been having a great time with her. I'd promise pictures soon, but I'd be lying!

I've never been more proud of the way the kennel looks. Aesthetically, it's awesome right now....and uber functional. The pens are all in one row with (mostly) matching dog houses. We got a truck load of sand earlier this week, so all of the holes are filled in and everything is even and smooth. Honestly, it's great. Don't you wish I could SHOW YOU? Ugh.

Hmmm what else? Oh, tonight EVERYONE got into a bag of flour that was, for some reason, sitting outside on the trailer. Everyone. There was flour all over the trailer and all over the dogs. It was almost like wintertime again....only not. Heini was seriously covered! After the initial "wtf are you doing?!" wore off, I couldn't help but laugh hysterically. Let me just upload a few pics from THAT ordeal. Oh, wait....

Ha! So I'm thinkin' that's it for now. If the weather in the morning cooperates, I just might run the monsters. We Shall See.

Yellow and Yellow

and one arnold palmer, please

Have you tried one? Go buy an Arnold Palmer. You can thank me later.

Oh, and I just remembered that I forgot to worm dogs before I left! Arghhh! This means I have to find a weekend, soon, to head home. I'd like a pay check first so that I can afford the gas money to get there. Hmmm let the planning begin.

There's nothing new on the dog front, BTW. I've been up here working for two days, so I couldn't even tell you what's going on in the kennel :-/ Like I said, it's pretty hard to be away!

If I am guessing correctly, I do believe Connor will be visiting me within the next few weeks. Shall we begin a count down? I think yes.

in the mood for a melody

I leave tomorrow afternoon for my summer job. I'm excited on one hand...because I know I'll have a blast, but then again it's so hard to leave the monsters for that long. Of course I left them for longer last summer (almost four whole months instead of just two), but still. It's not as long this summer AND I have time to come home on weekends if I feel so inclined, but still...

I'm in the midst of making cups for each dog so that they receive the right amount of food. The good thing is that I don't have to worry about them going underfed. The "bad" thing is that I DO have to live in fear of returning home to grossly obese dogs that will take weeks to trim down. Hopefully my planning can avoid the latter. I'm trying to find enough sizes of feeding cups to write their names on them.
Trying to explain to someone how much a specific dogs eats is so damn impossible. Yes, I can say "half a can," or 1.5 cups, or one blue cup, etc but I adjust their food daily. There's never a cut and dried amount that's perfect day in and day out. If they're picky one night, the next night they get less. If they're super antsy, I know they're hungry and needing more. "More" and "less" are also relative, so it's difficult. It sounds painfully simple, but it's really not. I know I'm super picky and all, but it does matter. Ah well, if they get fat, it won't kill 'em.

And for the good news: Tazzy is home!! We drove up today. I drove the van it drives better than my car does. I'll try to get pics of her tomorrow, but I really might not have time. I'm changing her name to Brennan. Yes, I love Bones. This is true. Brennan has never fit a dog more perfectly though, so laugh all you want! I like it.


May and Star are in heat. Yay! Oh, wait, I mean fml and shoot me in the mouth.

like a glove

Let me think.....the dogs have been crazy! I've been a busy with human stuff for the past week, so the dogs were fairly certain they were going to die of boredom. They had no idea that it actually doesn't kill them to be in their kennels for more than a day at a time. The first full 24 hour period left them screaming and writhing...until they realized they were still alive when the sun set. Then they shut up for a few hours.
I let them out for more than 20mins for the first time in a week, and they were literally bouncing off the walls. Freddie did an interesting vault/back flip thing....it was halfway on purpose, too.
Also, someone, no hints as to whom, but someone tossed a full bag of rotten oranges into the kennel. Every single dog monster is crazy about tennis balls, so they're all overjoyed that the "tennis balls" are suddenly edible.

Oh yeah....that guy in the picture is Saint. He lives here now :-) Such a cutie with the most outgoing personality! He fits in perfectly. In his future I see many, many pheasants.

if it was her or the sun, i'd be one nocturnal son of a gun

I have wonderful news! Tazzy is coming home to stay! I am simply thrilled. I was hoping Tilly mutt would be available, too....but she is the perfect size for super-competitive open racing. Even though Tazzy is a little too 'blocky' to be on one of the best open teams in the country, she's just the perfect size for me! I'm picking her up next week. Oh, and there's a name change in the works. I'll keep it under wraps for a while though. Deal with it :-)

it's a stampede

Just a quick update before sleeping until noon....

Elsie and I had tons of fun at our disc event on May 1st. We didn't score very well, but she preformed flawlessly. The pressure is me to learn how to throw!

I found another great place to jump the mutts. Elsie is crazy about it and it's my favorite spot hands down. I met up with a lady last week and helped her work with her dog on jumping. By the end of our session, the dog went off multiple times, gaining confidence with each jump.

Everyone is in heat. Even the boys. I swear. The kennel is nuts right now! Heini is out now, but Fred, Keytone and Fox are in standing heat and Petunia would be if she realized she was a female.

Brother and I went for a great 5 mile run yesterday. He was awesome and stayed out front the entire time. Beyond begging to have a Boston Terrier for lunch, he behaved very well. (and I don't blame him for wanting to eat the pipsqueak; the little dog bit Brother's lip!)

Tomorrow, Elsie and I are headed to Mutt Strut in Dearborn. My sister and brother in-law are letting us stay at their house for night and it'll be a trick to convince Elsie not to eat their cats. Also, I left ice cream in their fridge a few weeks ago and I am beyond excited for my reunion with it.

Oh and the title, I helped "the bike people" with their annual race at Ft. Custer a few weekends ago. They seem like a pretty nice group.

muhlenberg county

This is Elsie's happy face









Everyone here is psyched for this weekend! On Saturday we'll be hitting the first event of the summer!
Elsie is still super-duper out of shape, but this event is too close-to-home to pass up. Connor will be tagging along, and I might let him play a little, but he won't be doing anything serious. I had realllly considered taking Freddie, but I have decided against it.
Anyway, I have been trying to bikejoring with Tune because she has been a nutcase lately and needs some exercise to relax. I added Fox into the mix the other night and it was crazy. I am not sure how people actually enjoy that....I just felt happy to make it home alive! I was behind two of my most trustworthy dogs, but still, the speed was terrifying!! I don't think my crappy little mt bike was meant to go that fast.

Oh, and attention everyone in the world: it is now summer. Officially. Amen. Forever and ever. I'm going to start getting up early to run teams in the morning before it gets too warm. I'd like to keep them all at two miles like once a week.

Other than that, I'm still waiting on word from Lori on dogs. It'll probably be early or mid fall before I hear much of anything. We have been playing tons of fetch around here and I found the best balls ever. They're made my Chuck-It. They are phenomenal and I've already squandered my life savings to buy every single one in existence. Really.

And the title? That's from an old song that reminds me of summer, which I found fitting.

MAY

I wanted to write about her on the first of the month, but ah well. I have the time, so I'll do it now.

May baby is the cutest dog ever. She turned one year on March 30th, 2010. That litter will be 13 months the end of April.
May immediately showed desire to lead and she did well last season in training runs. She has never been asked to take full responsibility, but this season she'll be on her way and I'll have her up there a little more. Her problem in front is that she's too nervous to pass. She doesn't bother the other team, she just gets really bashful and waits for her partner to drag her by. That will be easily worked out of her this year. May is a joy to be around. She's such a little cuddle bug. She's friendly, smart and social. She's not as fast as Jockey, but her drive makes up for a lot.

The first picture is her at 1 month, and the second is her at 1 year from just a few days ago.

ever take it off any sweet jumps?

Not yet, but I will! :-) Kidding, of course.








































Say hello to my sweet, new wheels!

It'll be the most hip-happening dog truck around!

did you eat paint chips as a kid?

Ahhhh Tommy Boy. A classic.

Annnnywho, I'm deciding on paint color for the sheds and dog houses. I've been thinking on it for a few weeks, and I have yet to make a decision. I have made a little progress though...I think I want a dark color. I was going to go with a lighter blue, but dark green or deep red sounds best. For the sheds, I'd like a dark khaki/ not quite brown, brown with green trim. I saw some buildings like this at a storage unit on Saturday and I they looked nice. Maybe I could paint the houses to match? Meh, brown dog houses would be painfully boring. Or, I could do the sheds khaki with green trim and have the doghouses a deep green. Hmmmm

Speaking of Saturday, it was awesome. We went to an upland hunt test put on by the Great Lakes Hunting Retriever Club. I had never been to one before, so it was tons of fun. My mom has been on a waiting list for a lab pup because she wants to get into hunting, so she suggested we watch this trial to learn a little. I had never been interested in hunting before, but watching the dogs work certainly perked my interest. I"m hopefully going out to hunt later this week with a person I know through UAD to learn even more.
Connor is far from a hunting lab (which is my fault), but I'm now interested in trying this sport in earnest. I haven't officially begun looking for pups on a time line, but a squirmy BLACK (and only black) mini monster might be in my future!
I took Tilly and Elsie rollerblading yesterday. Things didn't go as planned. For one, it started raining the minute we pulled into the parking lot,so I decided to switch parks. Instead of rollerblading, I was going to just let them run around for a while and maybe play fetch. We got to the second park and I decided to hell with it, so I put on my rollerblades. Things went well for a while. But then the pavement went to hell and we were headed down a hill....and there was a stick on the trail. Painful story with a quick ending: I fell and it hurt like crazy! My knee is sooo swollen today. It was little Tilly's first outing though, so things went well considering.

They've started putting the docks in at Gull Lake, so spring training here we come! Elsie is psyched. Hopefully Freddie and maybe Tilly will swim too.

'Rora Mutt

This is the stunning, but fat, Aurora. She's Kuz, June and Reb's sister...collectively I call them the Fantastic Four. Roary will lead a little, but not very well. I didn't even race her until she was almost three. At eight, she'll line out and pass and all, she's just not a real lead dog. In the middle of the team, she's great and minds her own business. Though, the heavier she is, the less she works. Her weight has always been a problem, and being that I didn't work her very hard this past season, I know I've let her slip a little anyway. She is a fun, happy, lovey girl.My favorite story about her is the first time she got loose last year, I just saw a streak of black and white headed for the road, so, completely out of ingrained habit, I dropped to one knee and said "c'mon! (whistle)" and spread my arms just like I do in the kennel when I'm offering her a hug. She whirled around perfectly and sprinted into my arms! Quite the feat for a Siberian!

Fox

Fox aka "rock star"

She's 8 right now and will be 9 in October. She's very easy going and VERY easy to handle. Foxer is an excellent racing leader because she has had so much experience...she has probably raced more in her 8 years than I have in the 11 years I've been mushing. Fox has led some of the most competitive teams in the country and that is no exaggeration. When it comes to training, I've found her to be a bit stubborn in lead, but most dogs are when they've run the same trail for 3 months. I kept her a little heavy this winter because I think she looks a little better with some weight on her, but it definitely slowed her down, as she had trouble with anything past a high and consistent 17.4mph (which we only keep for 5-7 miles on the best trails...[though we should always be running at least that, but that's a different story for another day]). For next season, partly because physically she's ready to slow down a little (not that she's unhealthy, it's just that a 9 year old can only be so competitive), I think I'll use her in my speedy sibe team....I add the word speedy just to make myself feel good! Instead of having to hit 20mph out of the chute and maintain the high teens, she'll be able to settle in at 14mph with bursts of 18mph tops. She'll be a great asset to the younger team as a leader.

Spring Cleaning and Spring Snow

Oakley (this is from last spring around this same time when she was pregnant)









Maddie







Kuz and June having a good time
_________________________________________________


Yesterday was a big cleaning day in the kennel. From re-bedding (adding straw) often to their houses and from feeding lots of bones and raw meant, there was plenty to clean! I pulled the tractor up into the yard (well okay, I instructed that the tractor be pulled into the kennel...I didn't actually drive it) and started filling the front-end loader full of junk. It took me allll afternoon to get everything done. The dogs always love fresh straw and I felt good about getting everything clean. Everything was dry (finally!) so it made the job pretty easy. We also used the tractor to back-scrape the ground in the kennel. We do this every spring and ever fall before it freezes. It fills in the holes and acts as a giant rake to clean leaves and sticks that have accumulated. By the end of the day, everything looked fresh and clean. It definitely put me in the mood for summer!
.....
And then it started snowing this morning.
.....
The dogs have had 3 weeks off since we last ran at Lost Lake, the last race of the season. The last race was at a perfect time because it has been way too warm to run ever since. In those 3 weeks, spring break-up has come and gone. Everything is thoroughly dry (just barely muddy) and it has been around 60. Anyway, because of the warm weather and because the season is over anyway, I haven't been running any teams. I've been playing a lot of fetch with everyone and giving them plenty of free time in the field and play pen, but they're still pretty bored. Today when I noticed it was only 34 degrees by 11am, I decided to run.
The first team was Oakley, the four pups and Fox. The second team was the rest of the hounds and Brew. I should have put Brew with the sibes and Fox in the big team, but I wanted a good leader with the sibes. We did 2.5 miles and everyone was awesome. They've been so calm and quiet for the rest of the afternoon. I fed everyone dinner and I haven't heard a peep.
This snow wont stick, but the cool down was nice so that the dogs could get some exercise. I'll run them throughout the summer every two weeks or so just to keep them in the zone and moving. I plan to get the girls swimming, which will be great for them.

I have a few projects left, but it has to warm up again first. The dogs are loving it though...because as long as it stays cold, I'll be keep running them.

Not so........skijoring

THIS is how I started the 2 mile race. May, running beautifully and displaying confidence that made me so proud, while I steadily skied behind her....like a pro. That only last for so long. Hahahahaha


..........




And THIS is how I ended it. On my own two feet! I kept falling and I felt so bad for poor May baby that I decided to ditch the skis and just huff it across the finish line. Everyone asked me if I was ever planning to run in the skijoring class ever again. My answer? "Yeah, with a dog sled." For the record, I CAN ski.....just apparently not with the particular pair I was trying to use. It made for a fun weekend with lots of laughs and little May stuck in there and didn't let my colorful language on the trail distract her at all.

Hunny Bunny

How she escaped without a "T" name, I do not know! Once she grows up, we'll never know what litter she's from...just kidding. She's definitely the odd ball of the entire litter though. There's Tilly, Tazzie, Tara, Trent and Toby....and Hunny. Anyway, she is a great looking dog. She has grown up perfectly and she just looks awesome right now. I think she has the best build aside from Tilly, but we'll see. Her personality isn't as fun and outgoing as the others. It took her a while to learn to speak dog- she was super shy and nervous at first, so it was terribly annoying when she used to piss off the entire kennel on accident. She has changed a lot so far and she gets along with everyone now....she doesn't drive them crazy anymore. She's completely sweet and gentle, but she's a got a shy side that makes it hard to work with her. She tends to panic way before the others. She forgives quickly and hasn't completely shut down ever, but I can see problems in her future. She really is a cuddle bug though and she stays around perfectly, so I hope she'll be a phenomenal dog.

Tazzie

Tazzie is a very quite, sweet, squirrely little dog. She's not shy or scared, but almost pensive in that she's not the first one to charge into new situations. She doesn't stick around as well as the other three, but she's still very easy to handle. She seems to have a good gate, though she might be a little thick through the front.

Tilly

The infamous Tilly cake! Tilly is from Lori's litter that I've had all winter and I've succeeded in spoiling her rotten. I guess I have never previously understood the real extent of that phrase until raising Tilly. We moved her in the house during the winter because she was just too pitiful sitting out there with her sisters. She's a lot smaller than the others, but she has the same fun personality. If I could keep her, I would hope to put her on a 4dog team this season. She has been a lot of fun to work with this whole time. I've taught her to play fetch and I'm beginning frisbee work.

Tara

This is one of the pups I've had all winter. She's full of piss and vinegar, but that makes life exciting. She has turned into an absolutely gorgeous dog- very well proportioned, nice shoulders and back. Her coat is just icing on the cake. She's crazy, but once she has a few minutes to run wild she'll calm down and turn into such a sweetie. I have no idea if I'll get to keep her, but she would make a great addition. I'll know for sure by the summer or early fall.

best.season.ever

Tanick-I've got a giant crush on her! She has been amazing for me this season.

What a way to end it! First place in 5dog and second place in 3dog! I seriously love that trail so much.
Saturday's excitement:
I left the chute #13 in 5dog. One turn that is typically blocked off was left open...so Petunia and I had a small fight over that. Wiskee and Tanick ended up telling us both to shut up and lunged forward, breaking the sled free and pretty much braking it in the process. I grabbed it no problem, but had to let them drag me for a few yards before they rolled their eyes and stopped to let me on. During this commotion, between trying to turn, the yelling, the eventual on-by, the diving for the sled, and the dragging, Heini slipped her collar. She's a damn squirrel anyway, so without being able to solidly stop my sled, I couldn't do anything about it. I didn't train with necklines for the majority of the season, so her being free didn't bother either of us, but necklines are mandatory for sprint racing, and I didn't want to risk a DQ. I knew that at the top corner of the trail, there was ALWAYS trail help, so I just let her collar dangle for that half mile or so. The problem? I came up on the intersection where I expected the trail help to be just in time to see Kurt, the trail help, place a log across the trail and speed off on the snow machine. For a second, I honestly thought I was in 7dog, but then I counted my dogs and realized I wasn't crazy. I called Tune and Freddie to the left and we jumped the logs. I was able to flag Kurt down and explain to him, not quite hysterically, that the class wasn't over and there were still five teams behind me. He held my break while I put Heini's collar on and then sped off to fix the blockades. After that, Saturday's run was fast and uneventful. Sunday was clean and I caught number 1 early, so we were going pretty fast. 3dog was painfully slooooooow both days, but better on Sunday.
For next season, I need to work on being more competitive in pro classes. I have no problem with the rec races, but with the caliber of dog I'm running, I should be in bigger races. I'll chew on it all summer...and update about the new additions I've planned!

Second place times two

Lost Lake was a great weekend! I had to flip flop teams a little, but everything worked out perfectly in the end. The trail was incredible. I just can't get over how great it was to be able to let the dogs really open up.

I wanted to go out with a bang, and I'm excited to say that we finished in second place not once, but twice! The 3dog class was out of 35. Tune ran PERFECTLY in single lead with Brew and Joppie behind. Petunia was simply amazing. Joppie was giving her all and worked her butt off. Brew was solid and provided so much power. That boy has come so far! (Did I mention that I led him the other day?) We were beat fair and square by a semi-retired team that has worked very hard to get where they are now. I respect this competitor very much and we are becoming very good friends. I was happy to see her win. I'm still just thrilled to be at the top of that many teams.

My 5dog team was Fred, Fox, Heini, Wiskee and Tanick. Freddie gave me exactly what I wanted. She was 100% the main leader for that team. On Saturday, I ran Heini up there with Fred and Heini helped a little with speed but she didn't pass as strongly as I had hoped. I was going to put Wiskee with Fred on Sunday, but I didn't want to risk him pulling a Kazon on me, so I used Fox instead. We were way too fast for her, but she gave her all. I ran Tanick at Atlanta and loved her, so I was more than happy to use her this weekend. Just like last time, the little alligator dog drove her heart out! The 5dog class was the highlight of the whole weekend. I had second place on Saturday by almost 2 minutes, so I didn't expect to be able to make it up. In first place was a friend of mine whom I helped learn to mush back when we were like 10 and I've even been on family vacations with her. On Sunday, I was dying to catch her....and I did. I passed her right around a mile from the finish. Her team hung on all the way in. She and I both thought I had it. We were both wrong. We were able to laugh about it a few hours later when times were posted, showing she had beat me by 20 seconds. It was such an exciting chase and finish. We both loved the competition.

Lost Lake might go again this weekend as a race. We're waiting on word from Drummond about snow conditions. If LL doesn't go and Drummond does, I just plan to call it a season and run at Ft. Custer this weekend. Kinross is a certain go, but I'll wait until next season for that one. This weekend was the last race of the season, but next weekend might be the last race, too.

Friendly Freddie

Freddie, Freddie, Freddie. When it's cold and she looks pitiful enough, she sleeps in the house. I bought her as a started leader, but she has turned into a main leader. I've used her up front for both races this season, and I'll lead her this weekend. Freddie has a super fun personality. She's nothing but a damn goofball, which is why I love her. The only time she can be the least bit frustrating is when she jumps up unexpectedly...which has almost resulted in a broken nose on my behalf. I taught her to play fetch, so I'm excited to see what I can do with that this summer. I'm not sure if she'll swim for the ball, but I know she'll at least try- because she does like the water. Like the rest of the hounds, she's a perfect all-around dog. She can lead at 20mph, is social with other dogs, but is calm and attentive. She's perfectly trustworthy to free-drop, but I have to keep an eye on her because she'll see a person, assume they want a hug, and dive-bomb them. Freddie is only three, so she still has her entire career ahead of her. This summer, I plan to bike/rollerjour with her quite a bit.

the doliac agenda

A) The Doliac Agenda is not real. It's from a tv show. It's from Alias to be exact. I needed a title and I refuse mediocrity, thus I tend to choose the most random-ass titles ever. My titles never fit my posts. As a student of journalism, I know it breaks every rule in the book, but, still as a student of journalism, it feels so liberating to steer away from conventional news style writing.

B) The rest of the story....
I ran yesterday (Sunday). Well, hold on, I'm already getting ahead of myself. First, I want to mention Keytone. I am totally bummed to announce that she is done for the season. I am really upset because I still do not even know what's wrong with her. Obviously I'm assuming it's a training injuring, which makes me angry at myself, but I have yet to pinpoint the cause. She's been battling it all season, but the limp and stiffness has grown worse and worse. It first presented itself in late December as a small limp. I brought her in the house, gave her two days off and she was back to full power. I trained normally after, bringing her inside when she seemed stiff. Last week, I took her to the vet and he found nothing structurally wrong...hips, toes, back, knees. We continued training and I kept combating it with time off and time inside (because it's heated). The past two weeks, time off won't touch it. I last ran her on Thursday. After the run (6 miles) her entire back end was weak. My next step is setting up an appointment with a dog chiropractor/acupuncturist to see if it's a muscle/ligament/tendon issue of some type.
Her injury really shapes the rest of the season. I had planned to run 7dog at Lost Lake and 6dog pro at Kinross, but I've changed my mind. With her out, I'm only running 5 dog at Lost Lake with 4 dogs:Fox, Fred, Heini, Tune. And I think Kinross is out of the picture. It's still possible, but I'd only be in 4dog and my training buddy bailed, so I have to look into a way of getting there. Decisions, decisions.
But onto the run yesterday....I only had the 4 girls because I left Keytone at home. I wanted to wind them for a long trail, so we did 6.5 miles, which is a lot of work for 4 doglets. They did really well, but we were slow. Fox and Tune led, which means we didn't go over 14 or 15 I'd say. I hope to go out with a bang and do really well this weekend. I guess it's just hard to believe that I'm already looking at the end of the season...we hit two, but the second was a 1 day. The third was canceled, fourth we decided against, fifth will be LL, and sixth is looking to be out also. Man oh man.
In other news, I skijoured with Elsie and Jockey last weekend. They were perfect, but we hardly went half a mile. I was having ski issues...and there was a rogue 'possum with beady little eyes. Ahhh maybe I am ready for spring. (that statement tastes like blasphemy!)

you've really got a hold on me

The main team from about a month ago....we have a LOT more snow now.

But anyway, SNOW! I am happy to announce that we got around 11 inches! It's pretty much just in time to be too late, but I'll take it. We're not going to Alpena this weekend...long story and artistic differences, so I'm just going to hang around home. I was able to get in 4 days last week, running 4.5 miles each time. We got belted Monday night, so the roads were too bad to run Tuesday, and my school schedule doesn't permit running Wednesdays, so I ran Thursday (like usual), today (Friday) and I'll run Sunday. Today we did the 7dog, which is 6.2. There's about two miles give or take of that loop that requires breaking trail. I ran 5 dogs....there were tired! These poor sprint monsters have no idea what it means to buckle down and PULL. Haha I'll quit being mean- they were great considering they have no idea how to trot (which is a testament to thorough training!), so I gave them a few breaks. All of that heavy pulling on top of not having the wind for 6 miles anymore made for a tough day! They still easily held 10mph through the deep snow and kicked it back up to a tired 15mph on the "packed" sections.
On a brighter note (just kidding, it's a dark and frustrating note), Tillie is in heat. Oh, it's wonderful. Most of my boys are neutered....all but the one 14 year old Pointer mix- who has given me a heart attack almost every day this week. I KEEP FORGETTING that the old bastard is alive, more less potent. Ugh.
Before it gets too dark, I'm headed out to play fetch with Connor and Elsie. They're currently grossly obese, so I'm working on it. They were fat when I got home this summer....and just never lost it. I had Elsie down for a while, but then we started feeding raw meat...and she became a vacuum. She needs to be in shape for disc and water sports this summer, so off I go.

I call her my Heini

Heini, Heini, Heini. I wrote about her originally when I had planned to just use her for the season....forget that. Heini's mine! I had her for a month or two, called Lori and asked her the price because she has been such a great dog. She's a little squirrel, but she's so cute she kills me. She has been really shaping up as a leader. I've been running a different circuit each time, so it has helped to keep everyone on their toes. She's only 2, so she has a long career ahead of her. I have just been so happy with her and I'm still thankful that Lori thought of me when she needed a place for her. Last year, she and Freddie were on the same competitive 8dog team with Will as wheel dogs, so they've got tons of speed. Leading them together is flippin' fantastic and it's my favorite combination. She needs work on settling down so that I can lead her at races. Kalkaska was a good wake-up, realizing she still has some puppy habits up front. For next season, I expect her to be my absolute main leader (with Freddie). The pictures aren't the best because I've posted the good ones already.

the only john wayne left in this town

Truck! The infamous Kuzin. Beyond that, I call him Leader Boy Extraordinaire. He's the resident daddy dog (but never again). The babies were on purpose, planned for three years in fact, but I just don't see my kennel going in that direction anymore. Anyway, this boy has been a phenomenal sidekick and driven leader for eight years. He's absolutely single-minded and is one of those dogs happiest either in a harness, pulling his guts out, or relaxing in the kennel. He detests the house and is a very independent dog. Kuz is a sweetheart who loves to cuddle, but again, he's comfortable spending time alone. His best friend in the world is his sister, June (more to come). What I love about Kuz is that he's so damn predicable. Truck! Actually, sometimes it drives me up the wall! For instance, if we're on a run, I can predict what turns he'll take. He always speeds up before a turn or intersection and has an impeccable sense of direction. We can be out in the middle of a trail system, he'll feel us turn towards home and pour on the speed. Truck! Okay, the truck story. It's more than a story....the truck is Kuzin's life. Speaking of pouring on the speed, just tell him "truck" and the dog is on fire. When I cross the line, I never have to give a command; that dog is on a quest the minute we step off the trail. Of course, sometimes it's ridiculously infuriating when we're training and he refuses to leave the truck after a run....even the one time we took a wrong turn and were back at the truck in less than two minutes. But anyway, I owe Kuz a lot. He was an incredible leader in his day, he never fights and never really gets into trouble at all(unless he's being stubborn on a turn!).

Oh, Brother

I thought I might make an entry on each dog. I'll do it randomly. I've got a lot of good pictures, so I think I'll put them to good use. THIS IS BROTHER.
He's 10 months old as of Saturday. He's a goofy sweetheart. His mommy is Oakley and his daddy is the infamous Kuzin (more to come on each). Brother is the biggest baby. Ever. I have him in a kennel with Klonnie, and I had no idea she could be so dominant. That's the funny part, Klonnie is the most submissive, neutral dog in the world...but Brother is terrified of her. He's very attentive, but not quite as fast or driven as his sisters. He won't ever make a competitive team, but he knows his business and works steadily. He's comfortable at 13-15mph, but only for a very short time. His actual working pace is more like 10mph. This summer, I'm planning to introduce him to agility or at least make sure he'll walk on a loose leash. He has such an easy-going personality that I plan to use him as a jogging/rollerblading partner this summer. Next on his list of big plans is getting neutered! Haha he may not be that excited about it, but I am!

12 above

We won our race at Atlanta! We didn't put up the best speed, but we made it. The trail was a lot more twisty than I remember, so it proved a definite challenge. Also, here and now I'll congratulate myself on not flipping multiple times! Don't get me wrong, I've be driving a sled for quite some time, but my friend waxed my runners, and it just about killed me. I honestly thought something was wrong with my sled for a few miles until I remembered. Whew...I've got to work on getting used to the feeling of wax!
For 5dog I had Tune in single lead with Brew and Desna in the middle and Guniess and Nakoma in wheel. This team was mish-mash of dogs who were left over from our big teams. Tune and Brew are mine of course, but the other three are Lynzie's. I've tried Nakoma before and had to turn him loose because the boy refused to run for me, but that was with my fast team. I figured that because he'd be running next to his buddy and because I didn't plan on setting any land speed records, that he would decide not to hate me. Just for a day. Wrong-o. We weren't even a mile out and he put on the brakes. The poor guy is SUCH a momma's boy! He realized the sled was being driven by, what looked to be a maniac, and immediately decided to jump ship. I was highly considering bagging him (and I'm glad I decided against that....I would have flipped!), but I figured I could just call him up and keep them slow. Luckily, just then Kim passed me (well, okay, it wasn't awesome in the competitive sense) and I told her what was going on. I explained that I wanted to stick close so that Nakoma could chase something. Away we went. We hung in behind her for another mile I'd say and then the trail opened up into an awesome straight away. I was dying to let them go, but Nakoma kept refusing. Finally, I decided to set the hook and wait for Lynzie like the stubborn sun-of-a-gun I am. She was 4 places behind me. Not even a minute later, I see her team dump out onto the straight away and head our direction. She pulled up next to me, called to Koma, and swung in front. I just let them chase. Shortly after, we both caught and passed Kim. Tune was content (a little TOO content...like always) to follow one step behind, so we finished the race like that. When we got near the finish, Lynzie and were going to put on a show and act like we were actually racing, but the trail emptied out about 100yrds short of the finish chute and everyone went a different direction. It was a little crazy for a minute because we were talking and each team dove off the trial so fast, we were caught off guard. Tune wrapped herself around one of the campground grills, but it was all right...no hotdogs were harmed.
The 7dog was a much better run. I had Keytone and Fred in front, Heini and Fox in the middle with Tannick and Fern in back. Once again, my teams are a little messed up, so I had to grab two of Lynzie's dogs to fill out my team. We left the chute number 8 and passed all 7 teams. Like I said, we didn't set a blistering pace, not nearly, but they gave me a solid run considering all the sharp corners a few other little problems.

'cause gypsies never get tied down

This weekend was Kalkaska. The trail was the best I have ever seen! Saturday got unbelievably hot, but the trail wasn't ruined at all. I tried to lead Heini on Saturday, but I couldn't get her to focus enough. I had to make a last minute (literally LAST MINUTE) swap in the chute and put Keytone up next to Freddie. They were both perfect in front. I was worried that Fred was going to overheat, but she had no problem. Sunday I was able to have a friend of mine hold Heini in the chute. She was still a little spooked, but Kim dealt with her very well and I left with no problems. The dogs were absolutely perfect. We were a solid 2 or 3 minutes off winning times, but I simply cannot complain about how they ran. I have TONS of pictures and video to add, so I'll get to work on that. Jockey, May, Star and Oak were just as impressive in the 4dog. Those little babies held 13mph, which really shocked me. Beyond that, Kuz, June, and Roary also got to race. They are out of shape and very slow, but they know their business, behaved beautifully and finished strong.
Because everything warmed up so much this weekend and then froze overnight, the ground is completely iced over. I doubt I'll be able to run at all this week. It's just not worth the risk to run on the ice. This coming weekend is Atlanta, but the weather isn't looking good and the chairman doubts the snow will hold. So, if we're out of another race, we'll go to Baldwin or maybe Lost Lake for a fun run...hopefully still on sleds.