Northern California bikejor grrl. (s_geek) I scooter on occasion, but the mountain bike/dog combo is tops for me! I've been at the sport less than 2 years and have already read endless dog driving/mushing/iditarod books, and watched every blessed dog-driven video on the market - I am truly taken (obsessed) with this amazing sport! It's all things dog powered for me...I am so happy to have found this forum, thank you Christian. I'm looking forward to meeting fellow mushers and all their amazing pups. ;)
Jojo
Team HumDog
Pepper 42 lb Jack Russel/Dalmation
snoopy 55 lb McNab/Kelpy
Welcome to the forums Jojo! I'm glad you enjoy the site - and hope you feel welcome here! It's great to have another NorCal musher here! I'm actually from the small town of Colfax, CA - which is only about 30 minutes from Truckee/Tahoe.
It's great to hear you're experiencing mushing with dryland methods. Bikejoring is a blast!
Let us know more about your pups - as we love to hear about other musher's dogs!
Cheerful Trails,
Christian
My pups are quite a pair. Not your traditional sled dogs that is for sure... (s_cool)
Pepper is a Dalmatian cross, only 43 pounds but has a lot of stamina for the distance. It seems no matter how far we run, she always looks fresh, barely panting, hardly thirsty and ready to just keep going! BUT, she is very good at NOT pulling, what is up with that? The little "[i]just on a walk trot.[/i]" Seems once we are past the 1st (competitive) mile or so, where she barks, and yanks, and [b]tries to bite Snoopy[/b], she then puts it in cruise mode, and spends a good deal of her time glancing left and right INTO THE BUSHES for wildlife!! lol
Snoopy, on the other hand, though he is a working dog by breeding, is a genuine puller and a natural leader. He warms my heart with his consistency and drive. He always has a tight tow line and his nose pointed down the trail...not down-wind of a recently passed deer!!! He runs himself tired and will even sit down mid trail if he decides he needs a rest... :) and water? Loves it loves it loves it.
Unfortunately, HE is dog aggressive, and this causes me a great deal of anxiety when we are on public trails. For this I utilize positive reinforcement, and "Mr. Leave It" (a long distance plant sprayer) He is improving, but is not to be trusted. Interesting thing is, the fear based aggression he displays, tends to get the other one all whipped up too!
So every time we pass another dog without incident, or sniffing only, and it''s overall positive, we are getting closer to our goal of good sociability. For now, that plant sprayer rides where MY water bottle should be! (s_roll)