Leaders? What leaders ...

... we took a team out for a run tonight and have yet again been reminded that we DO NOT have any reliable leaders.  Here is the team as it was when we left the yard: 

Jasper & Shelby
Kako & Sherman
Rallie
Gus
Marco & Zena

Here is how it came home: 

Jasper & Sherman
Kako
Rallie & Shelby
Gus
Marco & Zena

We made it almost to the turn around before we started having major leader issues.  Shelby's head just was not in the game tonight and Jasper was easy for her to influence to do the wrong thing.  So, we pulled Shelby back to be with Rallie thinking Jasper would be better off as a single leader.  Not so much.  So, Sherman, ever ready Sherman, was put in lead with Jasper.  That worked, for the most part.  Sherman thought it was okay to just stop and pee on the bushes!!!! Which caused tangle after tangle and one of those resulted in Kako having the tug line around her neck!!!  Scary!  Thankfully, we stopped and I was able to clear that before she was in any danger.  After that, we made it home without any other major issues.  

Look like we have lots of work to do!!  Tom wants to run two small teams at the same time to try to get leaders trained up.  Because right now, with the teams the way they are, we are are NEVER going to be able to go anywhere with these teams!!  There is NO way I would trust them to get us into the cabins in the White Mountains!  

In other news, we go the big enclosed trailer moved closer to the pens so the next cold snap we have the dogs will have a warmer place to sleep.  We will put them in there overnight so they have a chance to thaw out and be warm while sleeping.  

We are on the downhill side of winter now!  We are gaining daylight every day and it won't be long before we have nice long days with some good temps for running teams.  

Christmas Day ...

So, what did we do today, we relaxed mostly, but we also took a 6 dog team for a 3 miles run.  It was a lesson in patience!  The team started out with Muktuk in single lead, with Hannah in single swing.  Then, Patton & Panzer together in team.  Shammu was the next one in team.  Bringing up the wheel was Yeti.  Tom got the sled ready and I got the dogs ready.  We got them hooked up and took off.  We didn't make it far before they thought it was too much work!  Boy, do we need to get them out more!  We got them moving and made it about a 3/4 of a mile into the run and the team came to a halt and were all furiously trying to eat something ... discovered that our neighbor must have stopped his team for a snack in that spot and some of it was left on the trail!  Tried to get moving again but Tuk wasn't moving in the right direction.  We tried Yeti in lead ... he was the most enthusiastic of the group ... that worked for about 10 feet!!  Then, we put Shammu up there!  Again, that worked for about 10 feet!  Next up was Panzer!!  She held the line tight and followed Tom down the trail (he was now walking in front of the team to keep them moving in the right direction).  After we got turned around, we both got on the sled again and off we went with Panzer still in lead!  She actually led the team the rest of the way home!!  If you know Panzer, you know what a ridiculous thing this move was, but it is those dogs that you never think will do something like that that pull though when you really need them to!!  Thank you Panzer!  Now, to get our butts back out there to clean pens and feed them!!

I sincerely hope that you had a very Merry Christmas.  Someday, I hope to have my Christmas Spirit returns.  I am not a fan of Christmas any more.  I remember a time when Christmas was a very anticipated and exciting time of year for me.  In the years I have been away from family, it has become just another day.  Just as any other holiday has.  Sure, we could do it up and decorate and buy lots of presents but it's just not the same.  So, for us, it is just a day of being home and not at work, so, really it is a good day for us.

What would you do???

On my way to the vet clinic yesterday morning with Dude in the back seat, I encountered a man along the road waving his hands and jumping up and down.  I had to stop.  So, before coming to a complete stop, I made sure the doors on the expedition were locked.  As I pulled up to him, I was rolling down the passenger side window.  He immediately tried to open the door and gave me a puzzled look when it didn't open and he realized it was locked.  With the window down only about three inches, I asked him what he needed.  He said, "I am homeless and I think I am going to freeze to death."  Okay, now, my brain is working over time ... 

What would you do??? 

Here is what I did:

I told him I wasn't comfortable putting him in my vehicle with me alone.  He said, "Okay".  I proceeded to drive the half mile to the Fire Department and I stopped in there to get a fireman to go back to help this guy.  I told them what had happened and that I wasn't comfortable giving this guy a ride.  They said no problem and one of the guys that was leaving said he would head that way.  

So, after all of this happened, I questioned my intuition.  Was I correct in my actions or have I become a paranoid citizen because of all the the things we see and hear on TV, in the news and on TV shows.  I don't know, but I know I wasn't comfortable giving him a ride.  I do hope the fireman was able to find him and help him.  

Again, I ask, what would you do???  

Thirty Below ....

Our temperature has been hovering between -25F to -35F with the forecast saying it's suppose to be even colder this weekend.  We have 25 dogs and 20 of them live outside in this stuff!  I know, that sounds harsh, but you have to realize that these dogs are made for living in this.  They actually do really well out there.  It surprises me every night when we go out to clean and they run around like it's warm!!  They stand there looking at me, panting because the have been running around playing chase with the others that are out in the open run area!  They are all frosty and look like they need to be shaken to get the frost off!  They all have individual dog houses with warm bedding straw in them. We have taken time to bring the outside dogs into the house to warm up and they get too hot (because of the double coat that is made for the cold weather, not for 70 degrees) before they are dry.  And, you don't want to put a wet dog outside again at -30F!  So, really, since we do not have a heated barn for them to live in daily, they are better off being full time outside dog, even in these temps!

Now, the 5 "inside" dogs are not as hardy and do not really care to be outside in these temps!  The old dogs enjoy the warmth of the house to keep their bones warm!  The pups, well, they aren't really puppies any more at 3 years old, but they are the youngest in the kennel, so they are the pups, the love being in the house and now that they even stay inside over night, they are happy little campers!

So, now, are you wondering how the humans say warm in these temps!  We dress with lots of layers and lots of warm clothes!  Here is my typical layering for these temps: top - cotton shirt, fleece shirt and vest. Bottom - long undies (usually a fleece type), sweatpants (you guessed it, a fleece type) and wool socks.  Over top of all that, I wear a pair of insulated Carhartt pants and a big parka with a hood (with a fur ruff).  I put a neck warmer over my mushers hat and a headlamp on that.  On my feet, I wear either the Baffin boots (which are "rated to 80 below" but are really only good down to about "20 below") or my Ice King boots (these are some of the warmest boots I have ever owned).  I have weighed myself before getting dress and again after to discover that I wear about 20 pounds of gear when going out to the pens or out dog mushing!!

As a matter of fact, I am about to go get all that gear on and get out to the pens.  I am going to add straw to the dog houses.  That is always a fun event in the dog yard.  The dogs love the new straw and some even begin rearranging it before i have all of it in the house!!  They are so fun!

Happy Trails.