Wolf Moon Dogsledding

Location: Northwest GA
Time - 7:51am
Temperature: 65 degrees F
Conditions: Clear
Forecast: Mostly sunny today with a high of 90, partly cloudy tomorrow

Today I will introduce you to the three canines who make Wolf Moon their home.

CALYPSO

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Calypso is the lone sled dog at Wolf Moon. She is a two-year-old Siberian husky from Kristari Kennels, which breeds dual-purpose Sibes. She is well-adjusted and friendly with people of all ages (but not with cats!). Nicknamed Kippy, Calypso demands attention and believes herself to be the self-appointed queen of the universe. She has a very strong mushing/running instinct and performs well in harness. She is a bit stubborn though and does not always take commands well. So that is what we are working on right now. Kippy is highly intelligent and, with the proper training, I think she will make an excellent command leader.

WILSON

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Wilson is a rescued hound mix who showed up on our doorstep as a puppy in the Fall of 2002. I believe he was one of several puppies dumped on the side of a nearby road. I know that at least one of the other puppies later became part of a pack of semi-wild dogs. Willy, although he showed definite signs of abuse, has grown into a happy dog. He does tend to panic over small things and barks hysterically at anything he perceives as a threat (especially chipmunks and squirrels). Willy badly needs exercise but he has never been very enthusiastic about working in harness.

APRIL

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April is a Springer Spaniel who is about twelve and a half years old. She and I have grown up together and, to this day, she firmly believes that I am her littermate. When she was younger, I tried to train her as a sled dog. However, she didn’t like it one bit so I decided not to push the issue. April has a little trouble with arthritis but stays active and bouncy. Sometimes she acts like she is three! Sadly, her hearing and eyesight are deteriorating. However, she is a sweet dog and still loves us.

COMING SOON: An Online Tour Of Wolf Moon

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Location: Northwest GA
Time - 10:00pm
Temperature: 73 degrees F
Conditions: Clear, unseasonably warm
Forecast: Mostly clear tonight, partly cloudy tomorrow

We have had none of the thunderstorms predicted for this area. The little rain we had (and I mean little) hasn’t changed the fact that it is DRY AS A DESERT here. Streams are drying up and water use is seriously restricted. Fortunately we have a well and (so far) it hasn’t shown any signs of going dry.

Today my parents and I helped clean up trash in Lookout Creek near Chattanooga. The water in the creek was about two to three feet lower than usual. We had to pole our way through a mat of weeds in foot-deep water. We were in a canoe but we couldn’t really paddle. However it was early morning so it wasn’t terribly hot. In fact, it was quite pleasant out there. We gathered a good amount of trash but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

There is a spring on Lookout Mountain that we sometimes visit because it attracts birds. Today it was dry as a stick. Nothing but dust.

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Location: Northwest GA
Time - 9:24am
Temperature: 74 degrees F
Conditions: Mostly cloudy
Forecast: Thundershowers today, partly cloudy tomorrow

Well, Calypso reminded me this morning that we’ve still got to work on the “on by” command. I may have to put some intentional distractions along the trails because she hasn’t quite gotten it into her head that she is supposed to IGNORE the big grassy patch.

In other news, I was just informed that Snow Mountain is not going to happen. First I’d heard of it. Apparently Coca-Cola was involved in building a new attraction at Stone Mountain, GA, called Snow Mountain. As the name suggests, the attraction would consist of acres of snow (around 2 feet deep, according to their website) manufactured by snow-making machines and would be open November through January. Wow! A place in GA that would actually have snow on a reliable basis! Calypso and I would be there all the time! Maybe we could even hold a GA sled dog race on real SNOW with real SLEDS!

Unfortunately, as I mentioned, it isn’t going to happen. We have had a horrible drought here in Georgia this year and October was just declared (and I swear this is true) Take A Shorter Shower Month (really! It was!). There are water restrictions and apparently, even though Snow Mountain was given the go-ahead to use lots of water to make snow, they cancelled the project due to criticism.

Bah humbug.

On the other hand, I just discovered that they would not have allowed pets. Or sleds not rented from Snow Mountain itself. Still, we might could have lobbied for a sled dog event. Maybe

However, even though the project is halted for now, those involved have not given up entirely. It might still come to pass, but not yet. Which means, we still have time. Time to pitch an idea for a Snow Mountain dogsled ride. I’m thinking a short snowy trail for a team of dogs. People could take sled dog rides (Snow Mountain could probably charge for them if they wanted) and meet dogs. The park has everything to gain.

And it would give me an excellent excuse to put together a team.

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Location: Northwest GA
Time - 7:55am
Temperature: 72 degrees F
Conditions: Cloudy
Forecast: Rain showers and thunderstorms today and tomorrow

Today’s topic is DogChannel.com, a website for dog lovers that is run by Dog Fancy magazine. I was looking around on the site yesterday and came across some interesting things. First of all, there was a short article on weight-pulling in the September 2007 issue of Dog Fancy. This prompted a letter to the editor that was not published in the magazine itself but posted online (I am of the opinion that many publications don’t leave enough room for letters from readers in their magazines, but that is beside the point). The letter in response to the weight-pulling article is as follows:

From: http://www.dogchannel.com/barkback.aspx

Weight-Pulling Isn’t Fun
I was disappointed that you published an article about dogs pulling heavy blocks (“Heave, ho!” Sports and Exercise, September 2007). I think it’s cruel to have a little Beagle pulling a heavy block across a room. No animal should have to pull blocks of any weight. Don’t you think animals should be able to relax instead of pulling carts? I enjoy playing fetch with my dogs not having them pul carts.
George R.
Illinois

The Editor says: People who participate in weight-pull – for fun – would beg to differ with you, George. Most dogs were developed for a job – whether herding, guarding, or pulling. While Beagles weren’t designed for pulling, their job was to sniff out and chase foxes. Many dogs today still need a job to be content and stay in good shape.

Another interesting item I found was on http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-community/dog-polls/default.aspx?aid=792 and was a DogChannel poll that posed the question of “What is your favorite thing to do with your dog?” The results, with the most popular “activities” at the top, are as follows:

Cuddle on the couch (38.71%)
Go on walks (24.65%)
Play in the backyard (18.80%)
Go to a dog park (6.80%)
Participate in a dog sport (6.41%)
Other (4.65%)

Although this doesn’t mean that those who picked their favorite activity as something other than sport don’t participate in sports, I find the results sad. Yet, they are not entirely surprising. My vet has stated several times that I am one of the only people in his practice who actually works dogs (for this reason, my vet is always having me try out new products for active dogs. More on this another day). It seems that most dog-owners would rather have themselves and their dog sit around than exercise. I can only guess as to whether these are the same people who think “no animal should have to pull blocks of any weight.” It would be more interesting if there were a way to poll dogs on their favorite activity. My guess is that it wouldn’t be cuddling on the couch (trust me, Calypso hasn’t tolerated that since she was twelve weeks old).

Another DogChannel poll on http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-community/dog-polls/default.aspx?aid=776 posed the question “Do you feel that canine legislation [Wolf Moon Note: Canine legislation means laws on what kinds of dogs you may keep, how you may keep them, how many dogs you can keep, whether you may breed them, etc] infringes on pet ownership?” The results for this poll were:

Yes, and I don’t want it! (68.60%)
Yes, but it also protects dogs. (19.80%)
No, I feel that it protects dogs. (11.60%)

The overwhelming results of this poll show that most dog-owners and dog lovers, regardless of what they like to do with their pets, have a feel for what canine legislation is really about. So there’s at least some good news on Dog Fancy’s website.

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Location: Northwest GA
Time - 8:37 am
Temperature: 72 degrees F
Conditions: Overcast
Forecast: Mostly cloudy with rain showers later today, cloudy with rain showers
tomorrow

Well, I have decided to get Calypso used to being tethered for more than just a few minutes. The reason for this is because I plan to take her to Alaska this Winter and I can’t exactly carry my dog pen with me everywhere I go. She’s going to have to learn to be staked out.

I bought the stake pictured below at Lowe’s, thinking it looked good and sturdy.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. It won’t go into hard ground. If the ground is soft enough for it to go, it doesn’t hold the dog. I think this stake was probably designed for a chihuahua, not a husky.

Calypso on stakeout Stake being pulled out of ground

Anyway, I’m taking the stake back to Lowe’s today. Guess it’s time to work out a plan B.

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Location: Northwest GA
Time - 4:39 pm
Temperature: 84 degrees F
Conditions: Clear, warm
Forecast: Clear tonight, mostly sunny tomorrow

Well this morning, Calypso and I experienced something special that doesn’t happen every day - a perfect run. Up until now, while working on stage one of command training, we’ve had at least one mis-hap per day. Usually nothing major - failing to start off right, darting off the trail, stopping - but enough for me to think darn, I’ve still got to work on that…

But today Calypso showed me that not only does she understand what she is supposed to do, she accepts and enjoys it.

It was fairly cool when we started out. I took Calypso to the beginning of a trail where she often has “distraction issues” and told her to line out. She looked back (a bit impatiently, it must be said) but stayed lined out.

Then I told her to “hike!” and she leaped into her harness and began to work. This was a canicross run so I was practically being dragged along. Calypso may be a little dog but she has major power. So there I am, trying not to be pulled over and saying “good girl, Calypso” and we run for a bit and then I tell her to “whoa.”

Okay, she didn’t obey that command (she cannot understand the concept) so I planted my feet and brought her to a stop. She looked back and wagged her tail.

On the way back, same thing. At one point she glanced towards the side of the trail where there is a big grassy patch and slowed down slightly. I gently gave a little tug on the line clipped to her collar, said “on by” and she continued forward at a lope.

Calypso did SO well today. I hope she keeps it up (although I know her well enough to expect some new trick at any point) so that we can progress to stage two before long.

By the way, just a reminder that Sun Dogs comes out on DVD today but you will probably have to order it online.

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