# Tempo's first run with the team (and other updates)



## nekomi (May 21, 2008)

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't been around lately. Life has been crazy and I haven't had much time to play around online.

The weather finally got cold enough to take the sleddogs out for their first run together of the season! I went to a very short, nearly-abandoned access road with no foot traffic - perfect for my team-in-training with no distractions. I also got to try out the new fall training cart!

Here's a little video clip of part of our run. I was holding them back with the brakes to keep things slow and manageable for Tempo, and also to encourage the dogs to really dig in and PULL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJISbjjAHYw

I also have a couple photos which I'll upload in a few.

I also have some other sad news that I haven't wanted to report, but you guys have been so supportive of this situation and you all should know. Jasper is no longer with me. He is safe - my husband and I placed him in a wolfdog sanctuary, with a high likelihood that he will be adopted from there into an experienced home with no other canines. If not, he will stay at the sanctuary, safe and happy. I have been receiving updates from volunteers at the sanctuary who say that he is doing beautifully, and being housed with a submissive girlie who likes him very much. I hope to receive photos soon that I could share with you guys.

Obviously this decision tore me up, but I know it was the right one. Jazz escalated his aggression level - yet again - and it finally reached the point where his quality of life would have to be completely compromised in order to keep the rest of the pack safe... and in order to keep him from living in constant stress. There was no way I could do that to Jasper. You guys know that I tried my hardest for over a year to help him re-integrate into my pack, but it wasn't meant to be.

The important thing is that he is SAFE, and from all reports is doing great. I personally drove to the sanctuary (an 8 hour drive) to check it out myself before I released him into their care. We visited with Jasper for over an hour at the facility before coming back home, and it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But, the right decision is not always easy. 

I'm comforted by the fact that I have two friends who volunteer there and will be able to keep me updated on him... one of them being Jess, Dexter's owner, here on DF.

Anyway, that is one update. The other update is that the 7-month-old foster woofer that has been with us for a few months now, will be staying. It was a mutual decision between his potential adopter and I, after much thought and discussion together. This decision was actually made well in advance of the decision with Jasper, but of course it sounds awful to be saying both updates in the same post. Or maybe that's just me being super-sensitive about the situation? Anyway, Tacoma has found a home here and you will probably be hearing more about him as time goes on.

I'll wrap this up with a couple photos from our run...

Tempo and Bandit waiting in the truck while I unloaded the rig and set up the gangline.  Loki and Willow were waiting in the rear of the truck and can't really be seen well, but they are there! (And yes, they are all safely tethered on drop chains (called a "chain", but it's really a rope-coated cable with snaps).









Tempo and Bandit on the line, waiting to go!! 









Tempo may be small, but she is MIGHTY!! That little dog eats half as much as the other dogs, but pulls twice as hard. She is probably close to full-grown now - she is 8 1/2 months old and weighs just 35 lbs!









The team pulling me and the rig! The rig is awesome, super-stable and very responsive... and light enough for the dogs to pull without much trouble. The footboards are a little wide apart for a short girl like me, though!!

Look at little Miss Tempo GO!









I hope you all enjoyed the photos and video. I am going to upload more photos soon, including many that I took of Jasper the last evening we spent together.


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## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

I am indeed bugging Mike about Jazz, making sure he let's me know his status regularly.  

Despite the sadness of rehoming, I'm happy knowing everybody is now stress-free! And your little sled team looks like they're having a blast. I can't wait for the fall/winter races to start down in the NJ pine barrens. I really love watching these dogs do what they're born to do!


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

The dogs look great, and I am very happy for you that you found a solution for Jazz that is working out. I'm sure it was difficult, but sometimes the right choices are the hardest to make. 

Tempo is looking awesome! She looks like she is going to be a good little worker!


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

I'm sorry about Jasper. I think it was very unselfish of you to put what was best for him at the forefront of your decision.


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

That's a real bummer about Jazz...but I know you tried VERY hard to make his life happy. It may be that he is just better suited to being at the sanctuary where his wolfiness isn't a liability. You have to make sure everyone is happy and it seemed that more were unhappy with him there. You know how I feel about him, and I am very sad that I won't see new pictures of him or read stories of him, but I know in my heart of hearts that he is where he was meant to be. 

That said, it does not surprise me that you kept the foster. Can you say "foster fail"? [tee hee hee]. Tempo is truly a beauty! Can't wait to watch her grow up and be the team leader...running the whole pack! 

Keep you heard up girl. You did everything you could for Jazz, and he is much the better for your love.


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## nekomi (May 21, 2008)

Alpha, thank you so much. To be completely honest, I thought of you often while I was driving him there. I know how much you loved that boy. 

Mel and Sassafrass, thank you too... I really appreciate it.

Jess, you are the best 

You know, it wasn't his wolfiness, it was just his outright aggression... even the sanctuary owner was really surprised at how aggressive he was (he tried to pick two fights right after he arrived there). There are undersocialized, aggressive canines in every breed including wolfdogs. For awhile I really believed it was just a male wolfdog thing, but it has become abundantly clear that that's not the case.

Thank you so much for your support, you have no idea how much it means to me.

I am the ultimate in foster failure. I make no excuses for it!  But, I figure I have a 1/3 failure rate this year. Tacoma's little buddy Wiley did go on to his forever home, and we are still working on rehoming another low-content woofer who was fostered here briefly. The situation with Tacoma was extremely unique, and his would-be adopter will remain a big part of his life.

Tempo is gonna be a great leader. I want to put her in lead now, but I know better!


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## tw1n (May 12, 2009)

She looks so tiny LoL.

Sorry to hear about Jasp, but like everyone else says, it was best for everyone. 

Also, Failed fosters are happy endings, so it's ok to fail at them once or twice.


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

Sometimes the right decision is the hardest one to make. You did everything you could for Jasper. In the end you sacrificed what you wanted (keeping him with you) for what was best for him and the rest of your pack. 

Foster failure is probably the best thing to fail at. Congrats on the new boy!

Tempo is beautiful!


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

So sorry to hear about Jazz you did all you could to make life easier for him and there's no shame in bringing him to the sanctuary, it's what was best for him, tho I know your missing him.

Glad to hear about little Tempo taking to the team so well, have you done drag training before this with her before or is she totally green? she looks great. I will be running in the Can't Depend on Snow race again early December around here saddly tho one of the dogs I was planning to use in a four dog team came down with a shoulder injury and developed chronic arthritis. I am hopping to steal my neighbors Golden for some training to see how she does and maybe use her for sledding.

It's so great to hear from you again.


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## nekomi (May 21, 2008)

Hey Keechak, thanks so much for the kind words. I really appreciate it. 

Tempo is *amazing*. I am so proud of her! As far as training goes, I began canicrossing with her around 16 weeks of age. (Of course, light runs only, super-short distances, and no real pulling - keeping the tugline JUST taut). As far as pulling drive, she's been a natural since day one. She's been on weekly canicross runs ever since, and we mainly worked on line-out, stand/stay (i.e., don't wander around at stops), hike, easy, and whoa. We did some light gee/haw training but I didn't think it was sticking - I guess I was wrong, because she totally understood that gee command in the video waaaay before Loki did! 

All that said, this was her very first time running in a team, and actually pulling any weight. She didn't fuss with the other team members at all (other than wanting to run right next to Bandit, her best friend), didn't turn around, jump her line or cause any tangles. At hookup, she was pretty excited, though, and was hammering her harness - which I consider a sign of a job well done in training.  She actually pulls better than all my other dogs, which I expected since she is a born-and-bred sleddog!

I was hoping to hit Can't Depend on Snow, but the drive is just too far for me, sadly. Are you hitting any other races this year? I am looking at attending quite a few. That sucks to hear about an injury in one of your teams' dogs!! I'm crossing my fingers that my guys will make it through this fall's training without any incidents. Shoulder injuries are really, really common in sled dogs.

Always awesome to hear from you too, Keechak


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

Ya and the saddest part about the shoulder injury is that the dog (a labrador) is only 2 and a half years old and is going to have to deal with this arthritis for the rest of her life, I don't think the injury had anything to do with our few sledding runs tho, but she was a really nice dog great for sprint races.


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## nekomi (May 21, 2008)

Oh man, that is really sad. I wasn't sure if she was being run regularly or not, so I mentioned that snippet about sled dogs and shoulder injuries. If you weren't running often, and not at high speeds, it was probably not from the sledding. All it takes is for the dog to slip and land wrong... could have been anything.

With sleddogs, most shoulder injuries occur because of lack of conditioning, and running too fast early in the season. This is something I did really wrong last year when I was just starting out - full-out sprint runs starting in September! OUCH! The dogs go from an easy summer directly to that, and it's just too much. 

This year I'm starting them out at low speeds and keeping them around 6 - 8 mph to start. We're going to alternate slow, 6-8 mph distance runs with very easy sprint runs (early in the season, I may run the sprint runs without tuglines until they get into better condition, too).


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## Thracian (Dec 24, 2008)

So glad to hear from you. I've wondered how you were doing.

It sounds like Jasper's move to the sanctuary is the right thing. Rehoming is never easy, so I'm glad you'll be getting updates. It's great that he has a friend there he enjoys, and it sounds like he's doing well there.

Tempo is looking terrific! Such a beautiful dog, and what a terrific puller!

Can't wait to hear more about Tacoma. I'd love to hear how that came about.


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## MountainDogz (Dec 19, 2007)

Hi Nekomi! Your dogs are beautiful! I have just started bikejoring with my two huskies, they love it and I love it! They both will be 1 year old this coming week! Where did you get your cart? How long have you been doing this? Any tips/advice?


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

It's so great to see the video of you working the dogs again! When you hadn't posted an update in a while I worried that something was up. I'm so glad you found a good place for Jasper. It really does sound like the best solution for him, the other dogs, and you. The amount of stress his aggression was causing is not good long term. 

What a great little worker that Tempo is - she is just awesome. And so is that new cart. I would be so happy anticipating seeing the team come together for snow runs. Woot!


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## nekomi (May 21, 2008)

Again, thanks to everyone for the kind words and encouragement. It was an incredibly hard decision as I'm sure you all know. I still miss him very much... I cried myself to sleep at the hotel after we dropped him off... I thought to myself as I was falling asleep, "I bet the apples are about ready to harvest off the apple tree. I'll have to make sure and toss some to Jazz when I get home." It hit me then and I just bawled. Apples were his favorite snack. I still have his kennel nameplate, it's resting on my fireplace mantle right now. I don't quite know what to do with it yet. It's hard to let go.

That said, it's really nice to have a peaceful pack and home again. It's been a long time since I've been able to free-run the whole pack together in the fenced yard... it is really awesome, and they love it. There is quite a size range right now, between little 35 lb Tempo and giant monster Tacoma, and then of course my 60-lb in-betweens... it is pretty amusing. They are all getting along pretty well considering that Tempo is maturing and being testy, and Tacoma is an obnoxious, pesky submissive puppy trapped in a 75-lb body! 

Because of the incidents with Jasper, I have learned a LOT, for which I will always be grateful to him. I have completely changed how I manage my pack, to prevent any hostility from building between my current dogs. Most importantly, I supervise their group play 100% of the time. They have their kennel mates that they share living space with, but they are never in groups of more than 2 or 3 without supervision (currently, Bandit/Loki/Tempo share the deck kennel, and Willow/Tacoma share one of the front yard runs in their "down time"). I am keeping constant tabs on each dogs' relationship to every other dog, and micromanaging. Making sure that each dog can be successfully recalled out of ANY play situation as soon as I see it escalating (of course, I allow normal rough play but when you are around dogs a lot, you start to recognize those subtle signs that things might be tipping over). I'm finding that their play has really calmed down because of this. They are self-correcting when they start to feel themselves escalate, which is amazing. They are also orienting to me a lot more during play, and I can see that I'm part of the group instead of just an observer. The control I've achieved over the group is really awesome and has given me renewed confidence that we really will be OK from here on out.

Anyway. Yes, Tempo is an amazing, amazing little dog. It's always a gamble getting a pup, but the odds were definitely stacked in my favor with her! Her entire litter, from what I have heard, is turning out phenomenal. Her brother Kerouac was harness-broken this week for the first time, and apparently was incredible too. 

She is WAY smaller than I wanted, but it's actually kinda neat - it's a running joke around here that I have a Miniature Husky. LOL! I'm also really, really liking being able to just scoop her up and carry her around (which she loves!) and she is a total lap dog on the couch. Also, she's the only one out of my crew that can really safely go visit my friends who have very small dogs, which is kinda fun. Me and DH just adore her, she is spoiled rotten (well, all the dogs are!). She is really a cool dog. And my favorite part? She is socialized to the extreme! Super dog-friendly, loves kids and strangers, and fearless. Lets you handle her anywhere. Makes all the agony of puppy-raising worth it.  (hehe)



MountainDogz said:


> Hi Nekomi! Your dogs are beautiful! I have just started bikejoring with my two huskies, they love it and I love it! They both will be 1 year old this coming week! Where did you get your cart? How long have you been doing this? Any tips/advice?


Hey there MountainDogz!! It's awesome that you've started bikejoring! That's how I got started too, except I used a scooter instead of a bike. Like you, we all loved it right away! 

I bought my cart from Henning Bartel of Arctis Carts in California. It is an extremely pricey piece of equipment (embarassingly so!!!!) but IMO, it's completely worth it once you are running 3 or more dogs.

I've been doing this for a little over 2 years now. This will be my 2nd full winter running dogs. Last year was my rookie year, and this year we are taking things much more seriously, but still having a blast! Our motto is, "We may not be the fastest, but we're having the most fun!" 

Tips/advice... hmm... well, my biggest piece of advice would be, to make sure YOU are in control at all times. If you can't control your team, you can't train. It's that simple... you have to be able to set up the situation so that doing the right thing is easy. Make sure your equipment has brakes that can stop your team under any conditions (wet, mud, sand, gravel, etc.). At hookup, if you have to, tie the bike down so they can't take off without you. Make sure you never run more dogs than you can safely handle. Concentrate on training before you worry about adding miles to your team (especially at their age).

Are you having any specific problems with your team? Maybe I can give you some pointers. I know that when I first started out, by far my biggest problem was my dogs wandering around at hookup, causing tangles. Or, we'd stop briefly on the trail and they'd be in a tangled mess, off in the bushes before I could even get going again. 

My dogs would also stop to greet everyone on the trail as we passed by, which caused a lot of trouble too! I'd run over the gangline with my front tire, or they'd annoy strangers with their wagging and bouncing around. This isn't completely resolved yet but we are definitely MUCH better than last year.

The best advice I was given as a newbie was, Be consistent and show the dogs what you want. It takes creativity and patience, but it can be done - even if you have to show them 100 times - in a single run! And the other great piece of advice was, "If you're having a problem with your dogs, run them through it." It meant that if you are having an issue with your team, just keep running them... and amazingly they DO seem to work out the kinks with some guidance. Practice makes perfect, even if at first, you feel like your dogs will never learn. They will!

Have fun! If you have more questions just let me know. You could check out my website (google Hoof and Howl Farm) for a lot of links to sleddog forums and websites, equipment suppliers and more. I am by NO MEANS an expert, so definitely seek out mentors in your area if you can. There are lots of sources to help you get started in this sport. 

And be warned, it is VERY ADDICTING!


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## MountainDogz (Dec 19, 2007)

Thank you for the feedback! Yes the only problem I have with them is them getting tangled! It can be so frustrating! I stop for 2 seconds and its a tangled mess!!! As far as them passing other people/dogs on the trail they do awesome, for the most part! People they always pass by no problems...Dogs....well they pass by most of the time..but if they are getting tired I guess they forget to listen.. At their age (1 year) how many miles do you think is ok? I am trying to teach them to pace themselves too. 
Yes it is very addicting, I want to be doing it all the time! Do you know of any posts that help you build a cart or sled? My husband and I would like to build something that would possibly be able to be switched from wheeled to skis for the winter time!
Again thank you


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## nekomi (May 21, 2008)

Regarding tangles... it took some time and practice. At the time, I was running just two dogs (Bandit and Loki). I taught Bandit a solid "Stay" command, and we practiced in the house first - I'd ask him to Stay, then I would walk behind him and reward him for staying put (I used the clicker and yummy treats). Eventually I could walk 10 - 15 feet behind him and he would stand still, just looking over his shoulder. I would always make a point to return to him completely before giving him his reward, so he wouldn't get into the habit of walking towards me when HE thought we were done.  I also proofed him to all the typical things he'd experience while on the line - I'd talk in a happy voice like I was praising another dog, bend over to pick something up, rattle a handful of collars, etc. Eventually I harnessed him in the house and attached the line to a heavy piece of furniture. I'd ask him to stay, then walk behind him and shake the line, pull on it, let it go slack, etc. Or I'd mess with his harness or his feet. The key is to go very slow, one baby-step at a time. Depending on your dogs' personality, he may not need such indepth proofing. Bandit is a "velcro" dog who can't stand to be more than 2 feet away from me at all times. So, we had to work really hard to get him to stay put 10 - 15 feet away.

Teaching him to Stay facing away from me was a big help and mimicked what the Line-out command is like on the sled. Of course, I still had Loki to contend with! Teaching Stay to him has been a very slow process! He is a go-go-go type of dog and can hardly ever sit still. So, I needed a different approach for him if I wanted to scooter/sled at all that season!

My typical hookup went like this.

I'd tie the scooter to a nearby post or tree with a quick release line (also known as a snub line - do you have one?). This allowed me to safely secure the dogs and feel comfortable taking my time during hookup. 
I'd bring Bandit out first, who was more likely to stay put, and ask him to Stay. Then I'd go grab Loki and bring him out to the line. Usually, when I got back with Loki, he'd start moving, which would pull Bandit out of position (no matter how much he'd try to hold his ground). Calmly, I'd grab the top of their harnesses and walk him over to where I originally put them, then fix any tangles that had occurred. 

I'd ask the dogs to Stay, and reward them immediately with very small treats (don't overdo it, you are going to work them after all). I'd do this a couple times as long as they stayed in position. Then I'd smoothly take one step backwards behind them. Of course, they would move to follow me (Loki would start it, but Bandit would just follow along), or move off the trail. When they did, I would reach out and grab the backs of their harnesses, half-walk and half-carry them back to their spot, and place them there (all gently of course, but firm). I'd reward them several times for staying, then try again.

I kept repeating this process over and over... often, in those days, hookups took me 30 minutes or more, and really tested my patience - I felt like all I was doing was hauling dogs back to their spot and untangling legs! But I was determined not to quit until they understood that their job was to stay put, where I placed them, until I gave the "Let's Go" command. My rule was, We will not head down that trail until both dogs are calmly standing where I want them. At first I only wanted a few seconds out of them. Suddenly I'd get that precious few seconds, and I'd quickly say "Let's Go!" and off we went. 

On the trail, you'll want to practice stops often, just for a few seconds at a time (or less at first). This REALLY helps cement the "stay put" mentality. At hookup, dogs are most excited and have the hardest time listening. After that first adrenaline rush of setting off, they settle into a more relaxed state of mind, and are easier to teach. This doesn't mean you want to "let things slide" at hookup, though. Teach them at hookup and they'll do it for you anywhere. But, reinforce it often during runs by requesting a stop (I say "whoa"), braking firmly on your scooter, and while they are STILL lined out from the sudden braking, tell them "Let's Go!" and start off again immediately. It doesn't give them a chance to wander and get tangled. Gradually you can increase the length of the stops until you are confident that they understand their job. I used the 300-peck method (adding 1 second to each stop, so the first one was 1 second, next time it was 2 seconds, then 3, etc., and if they broke their stay, you go back to 1 second and start counting up again). Eventually you get to the point where you can trust them to stay still for minutes at a time (which is really plenty in most scenarios). I recommend stopping a dozen or more times per mile at first. REALLY practice it. Also, you're teaching the dogs your stop and start commands, so you're really working on 3 items at once.

OK, that was very long-winded. LOL!

More in next post...



> At their age (1 year) how many miles do you think is ok? I am trying to teach them to pace themselves too.


This is a really tough question - opinions vary wildly. I have heard that over one year of age, the dog can begin training fulltime with the rest of the adult team. They say they are physically mature enough to handle it, but mentally it takes another year or two before they will really hit their peak performance.

I would ask around on Sled Dog Central and see what the others have to say on their forum. 

IMO, more important than age is conditioning. You have to work up to higher mileages slowly. For instance, we are just beginning serious fall training, and I plan to start with just 2 mile runs. By "runs" I don't mean going full-out, either. Start slow, ride on the brake and really make your dogs pull. Early in the season, you want to keep their speed moderated so they don't injure themselves. As they get into shape, you can give them more freedom to run at speed. 

The problem is that this can really hurt their morale - they like to go fast! So some advocate an 11-day conditioning cycle that looks something like this (this is what we're currently doing this week/cycle, your starting point may be different):

Day 1: 30 minutes slow, sustained pulling (I keep speeds under 8 mph)
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: 30 minutes slow, sustained pulling
Day 5: Rest
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: 2 miles speed run (I still won't let them go full-out so early in the season, but I'll give them more freedom)
Day 8: 2 miles speed run
Day 9: 2 miles speed run
Day 10: Rest
Day 11: Rest

Each 11-day cycle you increase the mileage and time slightly (recommendations vary on how much). The way I'm doing it, by January 1st, if I follow this religiously, we'd be doing 10 mile sprint runs and 6 hours slow pulling without any issue. I doubt I can find the time to do 6 hours on the sled at a time, though - as much as I'd want to! 



> Do you know of any posts that help you build a cart or sled? My husband and I would like to build something that would possibly be able to be switched from wheeled to skis for the winter time!


Unfortunately I don't know of any websites that help you build a cart or sled... it's a really exact art to build a sled, and way more complicated than it looks, so I highly recommend buying one from a sled builder. 

As far as the cart goes... you can make one out of pretty much anything with wheels! I recommend against building a "sled with wheels" that can be changed over for winter, simply because it will be so narrow that it would be really unstable around turns. Also, the steering mechanism for a cart and sled are completely different and not interchangeable. 

At Tractor Supply Co., you can buy an adult pedal cart that makes a good training cart... my friend uses one. You could also consider rebuilding from a broken go-kart frame. You can frequently find used carts for under $500 that would probably work great for a 2-dog team.


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## Finkie_Mom (Mar 2, 2010)

Wow!!! Tempo is really growing up to be quite the beauty, with mad skills to match, it sounds!

I wasn't around for a lot of your struggles with Jasper, but I know that you did try so very hard. And it seems like he is in a great place with a new friend, and he honestly has you to thank for that. You are so good to all of your dogs... They are very lucky to have you! Including your new Tacoma


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## MountainDogz (Dec 19, 2007)

Thanks for all the info I appreciate and will try some of those techniques and go slowly, I will also look at sled dog central to get more info!

A couple more questions (sorry) Lol

What is the warmest/safe temp outside to train in?
Do your dogs ever try playing while they are running?
For their feet do you use boots or something like mushers secret?

I really appreciate all your advice! Thanks again! And by the way your dogs are gorgeous!!!!!! Is tempo an alaskan husky?


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

Hey Neko, clear out your inbox...you are a very popular girl!!!


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## nekomi (May 21, 2008)

Not popular, just lazy about tidying my inbox! 

I'm clearing it now.


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## nekomi (May 21, 2008)

> What is the warmest/safe temp outside to train in?
> Do your dogs ever try playing while they are running?
> For their feet do you use boots or something like mushers secret?
> 
> I really appreciate all your advice! Thanks again! And by the way your dogs are gorgeous!!!!!! Is tempo an alaskan husky?


Warmest safe temp, I've been told, is 50 - 55 degrees. This means I'm usually out running early in the morning this time of year!

Yep, my guys sometimes try to play while running!  It's pretty common. As long as they aren't interfering with the team or the run, I let them work off some stress.

I used booties last year, but was told by many other mushers that it isn't necessary to boot unless the dog has a history of foot problems... better to let the pads slowly toughen up on their own as they start fall conditioning. To help keep the pads healthy and tough, I do supplement the entire kennel with Zinc Glutonate from Howling Dog Alaska (a supplier). In some cases, booties can do more harm than good; I have one dog in particular (Bandit) who runs poorly with booties - his gait seems off, and I worry about him slipping or stepping the wrong way.

If I have a dog with issues this season, I'm going to try Musher's Secret first, and if that doesn't work, use booties as a last resort. I DO keep a supply of them on hand for each dog, just in case, though. They are useful for healing up pad problems too, if you use them to protect an injured foot.

Thanks for the compliments on my dogs!  Bandit, Willow, and Loki are rescues from pounds. Tempo is an Alaskan Husky bred by a good mushing friend of mine here in Ohio.


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## theyogachick (Aug 2, 2009)

Just watched the video--amazing. Tempo sure holds her own! I can't believe how tiny she is...


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## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

Tempo reminds me so much of Megan, the little racing lady that my breeder has. She's only about 35 lbs at 3-years-old, but man can she pull!


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## alphadoginthehouse (Jun 7, 2008)

JessRU09 said:


> Tempo reminds me so much of Megan, the little racing lady that my breeder has. She's only about 35 lbs at 3-years-old, but man can she pull!


That's girl power at it's best!


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## zimandtakandgrrandmimi (May 8, 2008)

If Jazz gets into a good home in reasonable distance are you going to try to keep up with him? I gotta say...Im a little upset...not because of your decision because I totally am cool with that, i know you did everything possible, sometimes the circumstances just are the way they are. You're to be commended for your efforts, most people would have just given up immediately without trying to understand or address the problem..the fact that you didnt makes you a cut above the rest and show that you really care about your animals...I just really liked Jazz...he's been my screensaver for a while now...

anyways..Its good to see the pups and Tacoma is a very pretty boy. and Tempest(i like storms so imma call her by that name) is much more...well...you can see the strength in how she is built..size isnt always a benefit...


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