Spring Scooter Fun

It's almost summer now but we have had very nice cool spring weather for most of May which has allowed us to do a lot of scootering with the dogs. Lise often goes with me on Sunday or Monday mornings and we are able to get most of the 14 dogs we currently have out for a run. We haven't been doing a lot for distance; generally only two to four miles max. It really is a amazing way to learn more about each individual dog. When we run them in teams of eight or ten it is hard to tell exactly what each dog is doing. You can see the obvious like if one of them is not pulling at all but there are a lot of subtle things going on there that are very hard to detect. Running single dogs with the scooters leaves nothing hidden. You can tell right away if a dog is confused about what to do or exactly how much they are pulling and how fast they are comfortable running. Some of the dogs have really surprised me. Orion in particular. I have always run him in wheel (position at back of team directly in front of the sled or cart) and judging by his behavior in the dog yard thought that he wasn't all that bright. When I took him out with the scooter he responded to commands like a true lead dog! He is also showing me that he is one of the fastest dogs in the dog yard. I would have never found this out if it wasn't for running him with the scooter. He likely just earned himself some time in lead when we begin regular cart runs this coming fall.



The biggest benefit of running with the scooters is that it allows us to keep playing with the dogs long after the snow is gone. Typically we would have packed things up and been in summer vacation mode by now. This year we have been running at least twice a week. It is very relaxing working with the dogs on scooters. It's rare for me to be able to spend one on one time with each dog. Usually as I stated above they are working as a team and when I'm with them in the dog yard they are all together as a group. Having just one dog out at a time allows me to focus on their individual personality.





I have found the scooters to work well in a wide range of conditions. I've been running on everything from class three dirt roads to single track trails through the woods with stream bed like surfaces. It is amazing how much control you have with the scooters. Some of the trails I have been on I have mountain bike on in the past and I have found it to be more stable running these trails with a dog and the scooter than riding them with my mountain bike. The lower center of gravity with your weight being below the wheel axles makes a huge difference. It is also much easier to step off with one foot and give a kick to hop over a rough spot on the trail. All of the scooters I have been using have disk brakes which work very well. My newest mountain bike it about five years old and still have V brakes so this is my first experience with disk brakes. In a word, fantastic! Especially with running dogs where you have the brakes on 90% of the time. It only take a couple of fingers to keep things under control.




I hope we can continue to work the dogs with the scooters right through the summer. They do fine with two mile runs at temperatures in the low 60s so I expect most weeks I can find a morning or two here that are in that temperature range. No matter what the scooters have already allowed our season to expand greatly and provided all of us with a great dry land activity!

Spring Flowers

The snow is completely gone except for a few spots high up on the mountains. The mud has gone away due to a pretty dry April. It's the time of year where every new day brings a fresh batch of green to the landscape. I believe if you sat for the day and watched a tree or a fern you could actually see it growing. It is a short growing season here in northern Vermont so everything seems to be in a hurry. Our early spring flowers have been blooming here, crocuses and daffodils for cultivated plants and trillium, trout lillies and colts foot for the wild ones. Despite my love of winter and the onset of black fly season it is hard not to appreciate the beauty in everything coming to life around us.



Our not so little any more puppy Pacem is doing very well. She weighed in at 21 pounds a week ago. Just like the spring plants it amazes me how much she grows every day. I jump out of bed each morning to be greeted by her at the bedroom door and marvel at how much she grew overnight. She has been a real blessing this spring as I have been dealing with much loss and sadness. It really is impossible not be smile when she comes bounding across the yard so happy and full of life. It certainly feels like she came into my life at this point in time for a reason. As most proud parents will say; she is the smartest little dog I have ever known. She truly seems to be able to pick things up very quickly and has been a pleasure to work with.



Until next time take care and enjoy the new life and spring flowers in your neck of the woods.

Early Spring in Lake Elmore

We have had a early end to the winter here in Lake Elmore this year. March is often the snowiest month of the year for us but this year we didn't have any. What we did have were a lot of forty degree sunny days. Admittedly nice for us human types to be out but a little warm for Siberian Huskies to be pulling sleds through the snow. It's a double whammy for them, not only is it much warmer than they have been used to all winter but the snow is also slushy and soft making it much harder to move the sleds. We packed it all up after the third weekend of March. Now we wait for the rest of the snow to melt and for the mud to dry up.

We have been getting out with the dog scooters a lot. I've been trying to run at least three times a week. No trail runs yet but we have been able to go on the back roads around the area. This is my first year running with the Pawtrekker scooters and I am having a blast with them. I can't wait until the woods dry out enough to do some single track trail running with them.



The other big news this month is that we have a new little one who has come into our lives. We bought a female puppy from Nduring Peace from Ontario, Canada. She has been here just over two weeks now and is really keeping me busy. We are keeping her in the house and crate training her. I hope to have this create a stronger bond between us which will hopefully help to make her more responsive for training. I need a few more good lead dogs to help keep our teams strong. It is very hard to buy lead dogs so this is my attempt at creating one from scratch. So far she is showing a lot of promise. At eleven weeks old she already loves to run, has learned to sit and is 90% house trained. She seems to be a very smart little pup. We have named her Pacem.

I will close for now. Need to get out to the dog yard to start preparing for another scooter run this morning.