Lots of adventures on the trail thus far. We've got about 400 miles of training now and are having the same problem we had last year - worn out feet. We have a lot of rock in our trails and until recently it's been hard and dry. The rain is nice because it softens the trail, but we're backing off to let some of feet heal up - until we get snow.
I've noticed it's the larger, hardest working dogs that have the most trouble...and it's almost entirely rear feet affected. But foot ointment and booties work wonders, so I'm optimistic they'll be back to normal by the time we hit snow. A little extra care now means tougher feet down the road. The dogs that had the worst trouble last year are not the worst this year.
Regarding foot ointment - a while back I shared the ointment recipe I've used. It's been quite a process rounding up the ingredients for batch number 2. Apparently Iodine Ointment is no longer made, which means I have to mix it up myself. Hopefully it'll turn out ok this time...
It's hunting season and we've had few encounters with live animals. However, the other day we saw our first bull moose. I don't think I've seen a bull move so fast before. It was a rainy day and I looked up to see him standing on the edge of the road halfway in the thick pine trees. He trotted down the trail and I paused for a few seconds to give him room, of course the were dogs barking and lunging in their harnesses. But when we rounded the bend, he decided not to go up the steep mountain and dashed in front of us to the river. Boy did he move fast! He was a pretty guy - but I'm glad he had the sense to get out of the way.
One day we came to the trailhead to find a pile of deer trimmings. I had to clean them up because I've been letting the dogs loose after the run to unwind before getting into the box (all but Saxon, that is - he had me chasing him for an hour one day).
The next time, we arrived to find folks shooting their Halloween pumpkin. The .22 didn't make enough noise to scare the dogs at all, but they were thrilled to come back from the run and find a bunch of muskrat carcasses. As you can imagine, the dogs lucky enough to find them were very proud of themselves. Let's just say it was rather messy cleaning up...
In other news, I'm excited to announce some up and coming leaders. As part of training, I try every dog in lead. So, one morning I put Frost up front. He is NOT a leader and made it about 4 miles before I swapped him for Odysseus...who didn't make it a mile. I think Odysseus will eventually lead, he's just very submissive with the older dogs still. Time will tell...
Just for kicks, I thought I'd put Saxon up front with Legolas before trying out the puppies. He cranked out the rest of the run like a pro! I put him up the next night with Urchin and again, he did excellent. It also happened to be our fastest 14 mile run yet (not impressive speed wise, since we train very slow right now, but I found out who can trot at 12 mph comfortably).
Last weekend was the yearlings turn to shine. Owl gave poor Urchin quite a time of it. He wanted to go on the left side of the road and even tried to go into the river. But he didn't balk and kept a tight line. Sunday I put mother and daughter - Rowdy and Bea - in front. What a team! They kept the team animated and insisted on bursting into a lope two miles from the truck. I love the bloodlines drive and general happiness...I'm sure you'll be hearing more about them as the season progresses.
Snow is in the forecast...happy training!
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