Let the madness commence! The 2012/2013 team

This is the first season ever in my seventh season of running dogs in Ohio that I've been able to start four-wheeler fall training in AUGUST! This is great because I still had the yearlings from Tak's litter last July to totally harness break (get used to learning their job as sled dogs). 

In four short months we have to go from this...

Harness breaking puppies the other evening. Yearlings Perry and Tosh are in the middle there, with their papa, Yeti, taking up the wheel

...to this

My team on the beginning of the second leg of the Midnight Run last year.

We have many miles to get under our harnesses before our first race in January. I am super stoked for this season!

New members to the team this season are the yearlings from the Reggae Litter, who are now all officially harness broken, thanks to Mother Nature's cool temperatures earlier this week. I am in the process of selling some of my females in order to move from running almost primarily females to primarily males this season. Here are some of the boys.

Meet Perry, the biggest and so far the superstar of the Reggae litter. With six hook ups since last April, he's already rockin' in harness as if he's been running in the team for years and years. Perry is named after the Reggae dub great, Lee "Scratch" Perry.

Perry giving me his best "I'm sexy and I know it" look

Returning older yearling (who will be two in November) is rockstar, educational doggy, and the kennel's 2011/2012 MVP: Miles.

Miles, who, despite his intimidating and bulging muscles, is the sweetest and most patient education dog for my dog sledding presentations. He finished the Midnight Run as a yearling last February.

Perry's brother and Elise's sled dog (who she says I can race) is Tosh.

Tosh, who also masquerades as an arctic fox

Despite popular belief, Tosh is NOT named after Comedy Central's funny (and often unsavory) show, Tosh.0. He is one of the Reggae Litter, and was named after reggae master and original core member of Bob Marley and the Wailers, Peter Tosh. His name is fitting, too, because he is laid back as any Rastafarian.

Perry and Tosh's brother, Wailer, was a bit more challenging to capture a photo of, even for me. He does not stop moving! Here is Wailer...clearly named after Bob Marley and the Wailers. His name was apropos for him from birth, however, because he had the loudest mouth of all the Reggae litter!

Wailer

Here is the proud papa of the Reggae litter...cornerstone of my kennel and the most natural leader, Yeti.

Yeti

And, leading the pack, the dynamic duo...the sisterhood of the traveling fur pants.... leaders in crime, Ruffian and Big Brown.

Big Brown

Ruffian

All of the pedigrees of these dogs can be found here: http://www.dogtec.com/kennel/lazyhuskyranch 

Here's to the 2012/2013 season - I'm hopeful it will be a season of big changes for Team Diamond Dogs!

The story of Miles: part deux

Miles quickly grew from that adorable little puppy into a big, leggy young man. He was still a ham and a big baby though. 

Miles sitting in Sophie's lap like a baby

I began harness breaking Miles when he was about nine months old, and he did the usual puppy shenanigans when he was first in harness: trying to turn around, playing with his neighbor while running, being easily distracted, etc.  Before long, though, he was running like a champ. He's never been the most focused dog in the world on the line. And he barks at anything unusual - Oncoming mushers, other dogs, something in the woods - a strange, high-pitched bark that can be startling. But even if he barks, he does not skip a beat.

He had nearly 1,000 miles on him when we hit our first race in January last year, and he did phenomenal. He is a strong, flawless puller who is always happy to please.

Miles at the checkpoint early on the second day of the Midnight Run

Miles has become a cornerstone of my kennel with his amazing personality, his tenacity, great attitude and willingness to please. What's more, he has become the sole education dog for my dog sledding presentations. This is why I named him one of the kennels "MVPs" last season. He also became a semi-famous local celebrity when he was pictured with me in Akron Life and Leisure magazine last January. Smiles might never be a leader, but he is a huge asset to the kennel and my race team.

Photo by Shane Wynn

We are looking for a sponsor for Miles for the 2012/2013 season. Won't you consider sponsoring a dog?

The story of Miles: Part 1

I am a bit late in posting this week's featured Diamond Dog because, frankly, I didn't know where to begin with telling the story of Miles. So I took some advice from one of my favorites, Lewis Carroll, who said "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop." Here goes.

Miles is not only the Diamond Dogs education dog, he was the kennel's MVP last season, pulling his little heart out in his first 90 mile race at just 14 months of age. But the story of how Miles came to be here at the Ranch is one filled with heartbreak.

Miles' mother was what I consider a rescue. She was a sled dog with good bloodlines, who had fallen into the wrong hands of a musher who was over his head, allowing multiple breedings to happen rampantly. When things got to be too much, he wanted out - and fast. I bought a dog from him, and he threw Miles' mother in "for free." She ended up being pregnant at only 10 months of age. You can read more about that journey and the heartbreak that followed here.

Miles had seven brothers and sisters, and out of those, five were born with health problems or physical anomalies. Three have since died.

But Miles was hearty and thirsty for life right from the beginning.

Miles after his first meal.

One of the only all black puppies, Miles was difficult to get a picture of. Right from the beginning, I knew this little guy was special.

Originally this photo was posted to my kennel Facebook page with the caption, "Quickly becoming my favorite puppy!"

While he was growing up, my original education dog, Foxy, was growing older.

Me with my original educational ambassador, Foxy, at the Mogadore Library

I knew I needed to begin training a new education dog to take her place. I took Miles to his first educational dog sledding presentation when he was only four months old. He hammed it up for the audience and was a natural.

During his first dog sledding presentation, Miles preferred to sit in the sled basket with his big ears

Miles developed a quirky habit of literally "smiling" whenever we called his name or talked to him. He soon developed the nickname "Smiles" because of this. His personality is always beaming and happy, and he is full of energy that never seems to stop. He has truly made my dog sledding presentations what they are, and has fans from all around. Naturally affectionate, he blossomed as an education dog and ate up the attention from kids and crowds.

Miles gets a pat from a presentation participant at Lock 3 in Downtown Akron

But would he excel as a race dog?  That was yet to be proven....

To be continued...

A thirst for miles

Whether a musher runs mid-distance races or the Iditarod, mushers all train their teams with a few main hallmarks in mind. One of those hallmarks competitive mushers gauge their team's readiness and conditioning by is miles.

It's a lot like a person training for a marathon. Building up a dog team to run the 30, 40, 50+ miles needed to either finish a race or a checkpoint starts in early September with baby steps of two-mile runs, building over several months in the fall to end with longer runs. Throughout the fall, we add up those miles with an ultimate mileage goal in mind. The goal changes depending on the length of your first race. So, for example, I started training my core team with the goal of having 700 miles on them by January. 

It seems, however, every year by Thanksgiving, I feel the pressure of miles weighing on me. It really is very difficult for me to get more than twelve to fifteen mile training runs out of my driveway without looping back around to do the same route twice over, and my dogs are rapidly becoming so friggin bored.

Like kids, they look forward to the excitement of not knowing what's around an unfamiliar corner. After all, our training runs are like field trips to them. And, like kids, they act up when they become bored. 

Yeti, my main leader, stopped my entire team the other night after I looped around the trail for the second time just to look at me.

His wide brown eyes gazed down the line over all eight of his teammates and into mine, and if he could talk, he would have said in the popular vernacular phrase,

"W.T.F. mom!"

He has also been spontaneously dragging the entire team into ditches for long watering breaks where he will lay fully submerged (except for his head) and outstretched on his belly, like a hippo wading in the African heat, only to emerge, dripping and muddy with the cold water.

Copyright Zoological Society of London

Nevermind that I just washed all of the dogs' harnesses.

We are leaving on Tuesday for a much-needed U.P. training reprieve, and I am hoping to do lots of camping/checkpoint practice runs with the team. The dogs and I can't wait. I am officially on the Midnight Run web site, and though this is only a 90 mile race, it will be my first checkpoint race, so I'm excited and nervous.

Yeti will be happy to welcome new corners and miles and miles of new trail. The dogs are more than ready for 20+ mile runs.

Keep an eye out for us in the Akron Beacon Journal soon as our favorite roving reporter, Jim Carney, recently came out to the kennels to write a story on us! Thank you, Jim!

Until next time...and as always...

Meet Miles: new Diamond Dogs education dog extraordinaire!

Four months ago, on November 17, a very special little guy was born in the "Jazz" litter. Little did I know what a very cool little dude he would become.

Meet Miles.

Miles at four weeks of age

No, he's not named after a measurement of distance, but this is a great coincidence for a sled dog to have in a name, because he will run hundreds of miles in his lifetime.

Miles was named after jazz musician and trumpeter, Miles Davis

As our educational ambassador and retired Quest leader, Foxy, has gotten older, I've been looking for a special dog to take her place as an educational animal for my dog sledding presentations.

Foxy at a recent dog sledding talk at the Mogadore Branch Library

Miles started coming to talks with me and Foxy from an early age.


Miles at a library talk at 10 weeks of age

He has such a great disposition and hams it up for an audience.

Miles loves to entertain. He thinks my sled bag makes a perfectly comfy place to hang out during our presentations

We have nicknamed him "Smiles" because, if you talk to him at all, he literally smiles.

Miles demonstrating his winning smile

Miles has a great life. At four months old, he wakes up early, plays hard, and sacks out hard.

Miles often sleeps with his tongue hanging out of his mouth :)

Miles is super cuddly and loves his brothers. I have really high hopes for Mr. Miles for taking over Foxy's place and adding to my growing awesome little team next season!