Sled dog dreams
Floki is dreaming of racing down the trail with his team. 🖤
Adventuring with friends!
We got a little snow storm in his weekend so we decided to make the most of it and pull the sled out for an adventure! They had a blast! #mushing #sleddogs #happiestdogs
There is a group of people who think that sled dogs are forced to run. What we say to that is “you can’t push a rope” as demonstrated by my team here.
**edit to clarify - yes they are waiting a long time here. I’m not recording. I was helping other teams hook up so we could safely take off. No waiting is not ideal but sometimes it is necessary for safety**
Racing Siberian huskies are incredibly driven to run from thousands of years of selective breeding. It can still be seen in pet bred Siberians because it’s so strong in their genetics. To deny a dog an outlet for their inner instincts is incredibly unfair and cruel. To tell these dogs they can no longer run would be devastating.
The same arguments will likely pop up in the comments “sled dogs are unloved” “sled dogs have no life except running” “sled dogs are housed in inhumane ways” “sled dogs are forced to run for your enjoyment” “sled dogs would be just as happy on a couch” “sled dogs are horribly abused” “sled dogs are not socialized”
Don’t fall for that. Dont fall for the photos and videos that have zero context and are just orchestrated to pull on your heart strings. Ask questions first. Dont jump to accusations.
These dogs are some of the healthiest, happiest, loved animals on the planet. As I write this my 7 sled dogs are cuddling on the couch with me chewing on expensive chews. They get the finest vet care, grooming, supplements and expensive food. They get to go to public demonstrations, come out with me to stores, hike, canoe, backpack, do sports, get to play outside together for hours per day as well as sleep on my bed.
Most importantly they get all my love.
Had an amazing time running my reindogs this weekend! even dressed my racing rig up for the holidays 🖤🎄
What it looks like to be behind the wheel of team untamed on race day! Note - always yelling thank you when I pass volunteers and photographers. We wouldn’t have races without such amazing people!
Inverhuron dryland derby day 1
Quick go pro edit of team untamed flying around the incredibly inverhuron 3.5 mile trail! 💪🏻
You can have high drive dogs that are still enjoyable companions. Teach the off switch! You shouldn’t have to entertain your dogs by keeping them physical 24/7. In fact - using physical activity to “wear them out” often makes very neurotic dogs that NEED constant activity. Nobody should dread having an off day or a sick day because their dogs are going to be stir crazy. Teach them how to handle down time.
A short hill climb challenge for Lycan and his pup Phantom. I am teaching them here that ”they can”. If you push you will always get rewards and praise. I’m teaching them that “when the going gets tough the tough get going” And as soon as I see them confidently put their whole body into the incline I reward and then we play! These sessions are only 60-90seconds when I do them. They call the shots. If they run hard I encourage them and if they say they want to do something else we’ll that’s fine too! This is a positive exercise that I want them to engage in with me. I’m not trying to give them a work out or work on their speed or endurance - this is a mental workout and they LOVE it. I actually had to put them in crates while they took turns because they kept wanting to get back on 🤭 the mental toughness and grit of these boys is just awesome. I can’t wait to see them power up some challenging hills this fall!
*please don’t do treadmill work without the guidance of a trained professional”
Stopped at my moms place today to go for a hike. When the collars come out so do the excitement crazies! They know they are going to get to run free in the forest free to do whatever dog things they want. I use these tools to be allow my dogs to have off leash adventures safely all summer long. When properly trained this is a tool that is used for communication and a reward, not pain or fear. Even tho my dogs have awesome recall skills I would not have my huskies off leash without them. It’s for their safety. I think this video says a lot about stim collars trained right!
What activities are you doing to keep your dogs active and fulfilled in the summer?
Perfect example of dogs being dogs and why not to freak out and micromanage. It is absolutely clear in this to see that ghost is being the target of rough play. And it’s clear to see he isn’t really happy about it. You notice I don’t react or start yelling or trying to reprimand my dogs. You will see part way through this ghost kinda stops giving them feedback and kinda retreats as best as he can. The other dogs immediately diffuse. This is proper dog body language.
Why I don’t interfere: should I start calling dogs or yelling at dogs they only recognize another dog amping up. To them it is just me barking along with their nonsense. It would amp them up further, potentially tipping this relatively benign bullying into prey drive or a pack fight. Should that happen I have lost complete control of the situation and someone is likely to be injured - them, or me trying to break up a bad fight. I don’t interfere unless I have no other choice.
What I could do if I was uncomfortable with this situation (say the target was a tiny pup) or if I noticed an escalation I don’t like:
1.) call one of them off at a time (a few I know I could recall off if done carefully)
2.) run the other way and redirect their attention. Typically doing this would trigger someone to chase me. Or I would go toward the door and ask if they want “dinner”.
I would say 99% of dog park injuries/fights happen when a dog is being a play target (bullied as we humans call it) and an owner or bunch of people start calling/yelling/acting frantic. Even worse when someone steps in and try’s to “rescue” the targeted dog. The dog becomes a resource. And besides a fight breaking out - the human almost always gets bitten.
Val and rune go to the Orchard Park library!
Day 2 of Kearney dog sled race!
Lycan/rune leaders
Valkyrie/nymeria wheelers
Hanging out at Chestnut Ridge today for a meet and greet with the public! Love showing off how well socialized and happy sled dogs are 💓
Trigger warning! Exposing the truth about sled dogs.
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MUSHERS care more and put more effort into their DOGS health than their own! Gasp. My leader lycan is doing amazing this year. But just to have a second set of hands on him to make sure he’s fit and healthy as can be (I work at an animal pain management center) I had my good friend Abby take a good peak at him and do some craniosacral analysis. Turns out he’s got some tension in some areas probably from all the erratic running and playing he does: and although it is not affecting his racing I want to make sure we get it under control as quickly as possible so he is in tip top condition and can continue doing what he loves for years and years to come. I love him dearly. He is the backbone of my team. So I decided to post a video showing some of the massage techniques I am doing to help him out. Seriously guys I can’t remember the last time I had a professional massage. Like maybe 6-7 years ago?
We added a really cool new piece of equiptment for those days where it’s just not good for training and running outside. I can control the climate in my house and I can control the speed and incline. Nice conditioning tool!
When the family is having a birthday for grandpa at the hill - you take advantage of that!!! We have a very large family with lots of kids! And everyone is so good and respectful of the dogs. So I brought the puppies to have a puppy party! They got to meet lots of kids, boys, girls, assorted ages, adults, men, etc. and they got to investigate the creek! Lots of new exposures and nice sleepy pups tonight! Brimstone leaves to finish his journey to his new home in Montana this week!
We just got home from climbing our 37,38,39 and 40th Adirondack peaks! Only 6 more to go before we become 46ers with Nova and Ghost! I am proud to brag about how many people, and rangers complimented us on our dogs adventure dog training this weekend. As always we took the time to stop and talk to everyone on the trail about how and why we train the way we do, and gave demos showing their important skills. We also talk about safety, and how we keep our dogs healthy and happy doing the things we love to do so much together. This was a 4 day backpacking trip up 4 mountains. No small feet for any dog. I decided to make a video with some highlights from our trip this week to show some of the unique challenges the mountain trails sometimes provide to us and how our dogs navigate such things. We begin preparing for this type of adventure the day we bring them home with confidence building, body awareness building and recall - then slowly build up their exposure to new obstacles as age appropriate. Because I know you will ask - We use e collars as emergency back up because you never know what you might run into out there (porcupines, black bears). We rarely need them but it’s for their safety to be trained to understand that tool so that we can keep them safe on the trail.
