Musings from the Trail

  Ok, I was seriously going to try to keep this blog strictly "everything sled dogs", but while I'm scooping the yard or out on the trail I can't help thinking about all kinds of things (not always sled dog related) that are worth sharing (at least, I think so!). This is a warning: you may find yourself reading philosophical ramblings in later posts. I find that philosophy (also called your worldview) intertwines everything we as people do in life - whether it's running dogs or writing books...or neither!
    First off, as we were hooking up dogs the other day I though Scott made a comment that is quoteworthy. It goes thus: "I know my dogs aren't the best in the world, I just treat them like they are." He truly does treat the dogs like the world-class athletes that they are, and it makes them happy to perform for him.
    Another thing I've begun to wonder is why musher's don't take care of themselves as well as they take care of their dogs? Perhaps it's because I've been raised most of my life with a wonderful mom who researched health foods and takes the time to make bread and cheese for all us kids. This year, after being disgusted at how little I felt I could help the dogs when running up hills, I began to run on the mountains at home. It just seems to make sense. After all, we mushers are the other half of the team! If we can't take care of ourselves, dog care suffers!
    A funny fact: I'm sure all you musher's reading this have heard about biting a dogs ear, right? For the rest of you, just watch Snow Dogs to see it in action. Well, several weeks ago a dog came in with a bloody ear. I assumed it had gotten nipped by another dog and thought nothing of it. However, we were discussing dog discipline at the dinner table and Scott started talking about how the dog, named Maggot (poor dog, he's really a nice boy!), had continued to ignore his commands and he went up and bit his ear - a little harder than he intended (hence, the blood).
    As you can imagine, I blinked and with a laugh, asked if he was kidding. Nope. It is a fact that, when a dog refuses to mind, you can sometimes get their attention really quick by biting their ear. It works because there are a lot of nerves, making it extremely painful for the dog.
    Now before you all go out there to bit your dog's ear, please remember to clamp their mouth shut as you do it - so you don't get your ear bitten off! Another tip that Aaron shared is to make sure you only do it in extreme circumstances - that's half the reason it works...