Sunday, November 30, 2014

Peace and Quiet

No longer is it muddy, the ground is frozen solid. The day was beautiful, cold and peaceful. I put the boys down for naptime and took the team out (the hubby was home, don't worry). It, like always, was noisy getting the dogs ready (though they were quieter today than normal, but still excited). Once Tank and Okie led us down the drive it was quiet and so relaxing from start to finish. 

The dogs were dialed! Like has become the norm they ran by all the dogs (including a few unknown dogs in not usually dog infiltrated locations).

It was wonderful. Love being with my dogs!




Tank, Okie, Flier, Paluk, Buzz, Buck, Isis, Tensaw, Whip, Jig




Speeding along, was a fast 5 mile run. 




Didn't I say it was beautiful out?!!




Nice tight lines!!




On the he stretch! Home base on the right. 




Almost there and still going strong!




Up the drive, home sweet home!




My wonderful leaders!!! Biggest size difference in the dog yard, Okie and Tank. 




Good dogs!!


Love your puppas!

Friday, November 28, 2014

Soggy, Wet and Still Running


It has been a muddy last few runs! We got a lot (6in) of wet heavy snow on Tuesday and, in typical Bitterroot fashion, it warmed up, and fast. The pictures below with patches of snow and puddles was taken Thanksgiving morning. By Friday morning the snow and puddles were gone. 

The dogs did great on the runs. Even water adverse Tensaw. Friday's was especially well run given all the dog distractions. There were 4 tiny barking snacks that were biting at ankles and the dogs ran by them. 

Awful muddy Whip. 



Jig doesn't seem to be phased by the mud. 



Tensaw could be happier. 



Buzz taking after his dad, Tensaw, not enjoying this as much as Buck. 




Tank's a mudder. His mother is a mudder, his father (I assume) is a mudder...loves the slop. 



And here's Tank's mother, Paluk. 



Here is the moat Buck built around his dog house. 


Flier and I after our Thanksgiving run. 



Fridays run, without Buck and Buzz. 



Puddles in the tire tracks. 

But none at home (the water on the right is from watering the dogs). Man it dried up fast. 

Love your puppas!

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Upcoming Race

We sent in our entry this week for the West Yellowstone Dog Sled Races Rodeo run on Dec 19-20. So, we have a goal and we're now preparing for our first race. We have a great base conditioning under us and we need to add the miles and speed. 

Today I ran 8 dogs, 7 miles. Buzz and Buck unfortunately were left behind. The boys are young and eager. Because of that they've developed sore wrists. They have rather large frames but are not filled out muscularly yet but they pull like thy are. So they're letting their wrists heal but they were not happy abou it today. 

Paluk and Flier were my leaders and they did very well. Especially given we had a very aggressive dog bothering them at one point and they ran right by it! 




Flier, Paluk, Tank, Okie, Jig, Whip, Isis, Tensaw









Tank happy after the run!



Okie quite pleased with herself. 




Whip and Jig always lay down!




These two make a great pair!


Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Beautiful, oh so beautiful!


Saturday we had a great run in the (still) very cold fall (we're loving it by the way)!  Tank and Flier were amazin leaders. At one point we were gaining on a whole herd (probably about 30 head) worth of deer crossing the road ahead of us. We had to slow to let the last stragglers pass. Then Tank and Flier kept on running down the road, barely even batting an eye at the deer! 


Flier, Tank, Buck, Okie, Jig, Whip, Paluk, Tensaw, Buzz, Isis



This video was so short because I didn't think the camera was on.  But it's just enough to see the deer darting across the road.






Already looking down the trail!


Having fun in the sun with the best dogs ever!



Just beautiful!


This weekend we were also fortunate to buy, for a really good deal, a whole bunch of equipment from a retired musher (who ran the Iditarod in 1993). So I had fun putting lines together and dreaming of bigger teams. 


Dog coat, mittens, handle bar warmers, snow hook, harnesses, sled sleeping bag...and lots of lines and booties!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Another Visitor

 
This week we had more visitors to our kennel. A coworker of mine and his family are moving back to their home country of Japan. To Hokkaido, actually, so they will be seeing more snow than us!   Unfortunately, we couldn't take them out with the sled but at least it snowed recently enough to look wintery!











Brandi musher with Yuko!


It was COLD! But still fun!



The dogs were definitely showing off for our visitors they did spectacular!

Safe travels back to Japan Matsunos. 

Love your puppas!

Saturday, November 8, 2014

These are the runs

These days are what make everything worth it. When the team is in sync and, while not flawless, listening well and responding. So prou of the team and our great dogs!


Okie, tank, Paluk, Buck, flier, whip,jig, buzz, Isis, Tensaw

















The fog up ahead was somewhat eerie as it rolled in. By the end of the run it was foggy at the house. 


Love your puppas!!!

Thursday, November 6, 2014

ByDog Siberians 2014-2015 Team

We tried our best to take conformation photos of the team. Some of them were easy, others didn't like the height of the table, some were super stars! Here are our running dogs for this season (the two retired gals, Kona and Blue, are not included in this post).



ByDog's Buzzsaw Millwright, male, 1 year
Buzz is turning into quite a sled dog.  He may not have the best body for the job (too long in the back) but he's got the heart and loves it! He is a good addition to the team, if not just for the cuddles and joy!








ByDog's Whipsaw Lumberjack, female, 1 year
This crazy girl, Whip, is NUTS!  She LIVES to run! We just need to teach her to take all that energy she uses flopping, wiggling, spinning, and squealing and send it all forward!






ByDog's Jigsaw Carpenter, female, 1 year
Jig is a great all around dog and is doing well with the team. Good runner, friendly girl.  We're working on her confidence!







ByDog's Bucksaw Cooper
Buck has already got this working dog thing figured out.  He's like an old pro.  Calm and collected, all energy directed forward, focused, driven and loves it!  Very much looking forward to what he can do!







Windtalker's Tensaw of ByDog, male, almost 7 years
It's hard to believe but Tensaw one of the most veteran on the team. And he shows it, he may not be a leader but he's a very VERY solid team dog!







Kelim's Quiddich Flier of ByDog, male, 2 years
Flier is a phenomenal dog.  Fast, driven, smart.  He gets himself a little worked up nerves wise.  Had been running him lead but currently giving him a break so build confidence.








Absaroka's Tank of ByDog, male, almost 4 years
Tank is proving this season during training to have some great leader skills and I'm finding I can trust him more and more in tough situations like loose dogs, critters on the trail and passing other distractions.  I'm looking forward to how he will grow this season.







Absaroka Okanogan Naryshkina of ByDog, female, 9 years
My little faithful leader.  Okie is back this season, after having her puppies mid last season and I'm glad to have her back.  A very reliable leader, hoping she passed those genes on to her kids and if not, hopefully she'll teach them for us!



(This is the most still close up shot we could get of Paluk, she's a bit wiggly)


Absaroka Paluk Naryshkina of ByDog, female, 10 years
This gal never tires and always wants to go, even at 10 years old!  She'll probably run until she dies, no retirement for this dog, she loves it too much!  As always, an important part of the team for leadership and drive!








Betty's Isis of ByDog, female, 4 years
Isis also has become quite the dog sledding veteran and, like Tensaw, is a very reliable team dog that knows what to do!




This is going to be fun! Love your puppas!