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KAREN'S WRITINGS
Training Pups To
Tethers
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Hi all,
I sometimes
hear
mention
made of the “rough adjustment period” for
pups learning to go on their stakeouts. That
takes me to a topic I’ve beenmeaning to
write about for a while. That is TRAINING
pups or dogs tostakeouts so that it is NOT
traumatic.
Starting when the pups are about 10-11 weeks
of age I attach drop chains to their kennel
wall, just far enough apart that they can’t
tangle or reach each other. (Usually, in the
weeks before this, the pups have become used
to their puppy collars and to walking on a
Flexi-lead….getting used to a gentle
pressure on their necks while still having
the freedom to move around.) With their food
bowls nearby but inaccessible, I clip each
pup quickly but calmly to a drop chain,
giving each one a piece of a dog biscuit as
I attach
their collar to the chain. Some may start
bouncing and fussing while others, being
used to the Flexi, may not. As soon as each
pup is chained, I go back down the row
giving them their bowl of food. Most will
immediately divert their attention to eating
and forget about the chain; occasionally I
will have one who leans back against their
chain and refuses to eat. In this case, I
use a dog biscuit in front of their nose to
draw them forward which releases the
pressure from the chain. This may be enough
to relax them and start them eating; if it’s
not, I don’t fuss them about it. They will
eat with the next feeding. As soon as every
pup is done eating (being sure to have
removed the bowl of any who didn’t), I
calmly move each one to a “slack chain”
withanother biscuit and let them off the
drop chain. I do NOT let them off until
there is no food accessible. Once they are
released, I pick up their food bowls and
their “training” is done for that session.
At this point, I’m feeding twice a day so we
will get in two trainings daily. By the
thirdfeeding, it is rare to have a pup that
is afraid of being on his/her chain; now, if
they are bouncing, it is with anticipation.
Always, they get a dog treat for going on
their chain; you can give them a command to
associate when you give the cookie, if
desired. I say their name as I give them
their cookie; it really solidifies the name
response that I like to have!
As the pups become accustomed to being on
their chains to eat, I begin to stretch out
the amount of time I leave them on AFTER
they eat; at first, it’s just enough time to
pick up their bowls, then I will progress
tositting back from them a bit and just
admiring them, scooping their part of the
kennel, changing their water or going down
the row petting each one. The next step is
to leave them on their chains (AFTER they
eat) while I feed the adult dogs. Once
they master waiting patiently through these
timeframes (whether quiet is a criteria or
not varies from person to person), I change
to putting them on their drop chains and
feed the ADULTS first, making the pups wait.
The point is to introduce their chains in a
way that focuses most of their attention on
something more important than the chain.
When the pups are about 4 months old, I let
them up into the main kennel each evening
once the adults have had their playtime and
are back on their chains. I let the pups
rampage around visiting the adults for a few
minutes, then I put each one on a regular
chain/house station, again using the
cookie/command they have learned to
associate with chaining/eating. The first
few times I put the pups on the longer
chains, I lead them to the end of it so they
will know where the limit is; I don’t want
them running full bore and hit the end of a
five foot length of chain. As in obedience,
when you introduce a new training factor,
you lower your expectations;
therefore, on their first few times on “the
real chain” the pups get fed first again.
They get let back off as soon as ALL dogs
are done eating but before bowls have been
picked up. As they become used to this, I
start delaying letting them off until the
bowls are picked up, new poop is scooped,
water topped off, dogs are petted, etc;
again, at this point, the time stretching is
AFTER they eat. Progress to having them wait
a few minutes on the chain before getting
fed. Continue extending their time on the
chain as you see them waiting patiently for
YOU to decide they are ready to get off,
working up to a couple of hours; be sure
this is after a good play session and
hopefully with a full tummy.
By the time I put pups on their tethers for
the day or for the night (between 7-9 months
old), they are not worried about being on a
chain; they have been TRAINED to this
behavior for several months. Therefore, we
do not have a stressful experience for
either of us. The variable factor is whether
a pup is mature enough to wait quietly until
I decide it’s time to get up rather than
announcing to the world that I must have
overslept! If they are not, I put them in
the play yard at night before they are
making noise to avoid the problem and know
that they will do fine later when they have
more maturity.
Using your vision of what you want your
dogs’ adult behaviors to be makes it
possible to create a training plan for them
as puppies. Each level of training then
leads naturally to the next one.
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Hookup/Warm-Up
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Hi all,
Everyone has their own ideas and reasons
for what they want at hookup. I DO want
my dogs to use hookup time as a warmup
time for their muscles AND for their
cardiovascular and respiratory
system.....but not to be out of control
about it. What does that mean to
me....?
I expect my dogs to sit quietly at the
truck as I prepare the sled/cart/quad;
if they start to get noisy about it, I
change what I am doing to something they
know is not related to "getting ready".
It might be doing something in the cab
of the truck or in the back of the dog
box. They learn "it's not time yet". I
have some that sit calmly and others
that sit quietly while their whole body
trembles and their pupils dilate and
constrict. Once I head to the gangline
with that first dog, I EXPECT that the
whole truck will go bonkers. The dogs
that are in the gangline will be
bouncing, surging and vocalizing to the
level they want. HOWEVER, what is
important to me is that they are in
control of themselves (yes, really);
their bouncing is forward, no spinning
and tangling, no "alligatoring" of the
dog next to them and no mouths on
lines. And even through the ruckus,
their focus is on ME; they always know
where I am and what I am doing.
I want the dogs to be well-controlled as
I walk them to the line (pulling is OK,
but no spinning or jumping in my face
trying to remove my front teeth), to
present their rear to me when we get to
their spot and then to move forward
"into" their harness so I can attach
their neckline. As I am hooking up the
dogs, I want their surging to be forward
and in a way that does not tangle them.
Again, no hassling the dog next to
them....and no teeth on the
lines.....can I say that enough?!? Even
in their excitement, I want them to know
where I am and to be listening to
anything I say....yes, they can. (If a
dog is misbehaving, a quiet "Leave it"
or "Quit" is all that's needed; if it
has to be loud, they aren't listening.)
When I get on the "rig" and say "Are you
ready?", I say it quietly and all ears
pivot backward, waiting for the "Let's
go". ALL of this is trained behavior;
every time I am working with a dog, I do
so with a mindset of forming the
behaviors that I want in harness and on
the trail.
The time that it IS important to me that
the dogs stand calmy is when I need to
stop on the trail, whether to take a
break, tend to a dog or a line,
whatever. Then I want them to stand
without surging, not expecting to go
until I give them a command.....not just
the fact that I get back to the "rig".
Some sprint racers don't train their
dogs to stop; if they have to during a
training run or a race, the dogs don't
know what it's about and are trying to
pop the hook. By training the dogs to
follow my commands and that stopping IS
OK when I ask it, I save time by having
a controlled situation and a team that
understands that this is just part of
what we do. Now, that doesn't mean that
the team wouldn't take off without me IF
the hook broke loose; they just aren't
hell-bent on trying to do so.
Those are the behaviors that are
important and acceptable to me. By
training consistently, I get them MOST
of the time. And although we're not
perfect at it, we do get numerous
comments that tell me that the style I'm
after is noticeable to others.
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Training
To Harness
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Hi all,
There were some recent questions about
starting a dog in harness. As I was hooking
up my "puppy team" of 3 nine-month olds and
two of their grandparents, I thought how
easy it seemed; that led me to question what
I did that made it flow easily. So, here
goes....one person's way of training a
pup/dog to harness.
First I will say that this jumps in well
down the road of training a pup. From early
on they have been trained to focus on me, to
respond to voice commands and hand cues, to
the concept of response and reward, to the
idea of learning being fun. But, even if it
is a pup/dog that is new to me, the methods
are the same. Also, I am a word person; I
do not house "break", leash "break" or
harness "break" a dog.....I TRAIN. I start
my pups in harness sometime between 6 to 7
months of age, depending on conditions and
the physical maturity level I see in that
litter. No hurry, we're going to be doing
this a long time!
I put each beginner on a drop chain on the
truck by itself; I want everything I do to
be focused on that pup, not on another one
bouncing in my face. Bending the chestplate
of the harness in half to make a tidy hole
of the neck and underarms, I put my arm
through the neck hole with a treat (piece of
hot dog, Rollover, dog biscuit) in my hand.
The harness is positioned with the
breastplate toward the top and the body
hanging to the ground; this makes a tidy and
less threatening presentation from the pup's
view. I gradually let the pup nibble on the
treat while I slide the harness down my arm
and over its head; as the harness goes over
the head, I draw my treat hand slightly
toward me saying "Get dressed". The pup is
focused on the treat rather than the new
"thing" going over her head; by inducing her
to move slightly toward me, I am training
her to put her head in the neckhole ON
COMMAND. I rotate the harness 180 degrees,
so that the body and breastplate are in
proper position. As I work the harness back
on the pup's neck and move the collar
forward of the harness, I do so gently and
keeping contact with the dog; at this point,
I have them positioned with their side
touching my legs; this gives me control of
their movement in every direction. I slide
my hands down the leg to the far side of the
pup and bring it up in a natural tuck to put
the leg through the underarm strap; keeping
the pup against my body and my arm around
their far side at the chest, I lift the
closer leg in a tuck and put it through the
near strap. Keeping my hands on both side
straps of the harness, I "release" the pup;
usually it will move forward at which point
I say "tighten up" and give praise. Then I
release the harness and we are done. In the
first couple of runs, I may choose to put a
belly band on also, to prevent the pup from
accidentally popping out of the harness.
Having secured the front of the gangline,
either with an experienced leader or to
something stationary, I take the pup
forward. I have a leash on the collar. I
walk the pup with both the leash AND holding
the withers-strap of the harness, keeping
the pup touching my side and in control.
Keeping this positioning, I attach the
tugline to the harness, gently move the pup
forward into the harness and give them BOTH
the command to "tighten up" AND a treat at
the same time they feel the harness
tighten. (This sequence eventually teaches
the dog to present its rear for me to attach
the tugline, then move itself forward into
position.) Placing myself slightly forward
of the pup, I continue to give the command
and to give praise and treats. I attach the
neckline while keeping the pup in control
and in position using the leash. (Tugline
first, move into it, then the
neckline....always focusing on moving
forward into the harness.) Then we pet and
praise FROM A POSITION FORWARD OF THE DOG'S
SHOULDER, to keep her "into" her harness.
If she tries to back up, spin, nip at
another dog next to her, I give a gentle tug
on the leash in the direction I want her to
be. That's ONE! Leave the leash on her,
laying on the ground in a forward direction
and go for the next one.
Always keeping an eye on the pups already in
line, continue until they are all hooked
up. If you have one or more helpers, they
can continue to give gentle guidance to the
pups already hooked up. If not, know that
this is not meant to be fast; it is meant to
be slow so that the pups get used to the
feel of the harness and so that you can use
this to TEACH them proper behavior. Each
time you return to the gangline, put
yourself forward of each pup, smile and say
"tighten up" while inducing them into their
harness with another small treat. Your
position forward of the pup brings them into
their harness rather than them turning
around to get to you; a simple thing, but
very deliberate.
Now, it's time to make sure your leader
lines are attached to DOGS rather than an
immovable object..... I release the snubline
and with pressure still on the brake, I give
the adults their command, "are you ready..."
they surge forward and the pups bounce
against their harness without a
clue...."let's go"...the leaders move
forward and I KEEP THE BRAKE ON.....letting
them move out ONLY at a crawl until I see
that the pups are not bothered by the feel
of the harness, moving in harness or the
noise of the cart/sled. Gradually I let
them speed up to a SLOW lope, still using my
brake to keep the speed very controlled.
All tuglines are tight; if a pup has a loose
line, I slow them down but keep moving....I
don't care if we are walking! This is to
TRAIN the pups to pull against the feel of
the harness, it is not a conditioning run.
It is all about contol. Several times
during this first "run", I stop the team and
set the brake (in whatever way you KNOW that
the cart will not leave without you; that's
not the lesson you want them to learn!), go
forward and praise each pup, petting them
FROM JUST FORWARD OF THEIR SHOULDER
(remember that everything is designed to
teach them to lean into their harness).
Complete your TRAINING run keeping the pups
moving consistently in their harness and
NEVER letting them move to their top speed;
you want those lines tight and you don't
want to hurt a young, unconditioned body.
Back at the truck, leave the dogs/pups
hooked in the line; training continues! As
you move up the team, pet each pup FROM
FORWARD OF HIS SHOULDERS and give praise.
Then get your "really good treats" (mine is
half of a hot-dog) and start back down the
team, leaders first. Give each pup their
treat from in front of them, getting them to
lean into their harness firmly to get it;
again give the command "tighten up" then
praise. Give them water in line using the
same method; the pan is just forward enough
that they have to be "in" their harness to
drink, but not so much they have to strain
for it.
Finish your training run by undoing the
TUGLINE first, then the neckline and walking
the pup on their leash back to the truck.
Again, they always move forward into the
line rather than spinning around or you
pulling them backward.
Tempest, Thistle and Topaz started their
training at 7 months of age with their
grandparents Tucker and Katie in lead; at 9
1/2 months old and over a dozen training
sessions in harness, the girls push their
heads through the harness to "get dressed",
walk on their leash (pulling) to the
gangline and position themselves at my side
where I can reach their tugloops, surge
forward as soon as they are attached and
swing close in to the center to have their
necklines attached. They bounce and surge
forward but in control until I am ready.
When I say "Are you ready", all tugs are
tight....at "let's go" their heads are down
and their hind legs driving into the dirt to
get going! The "easy lope" that I will
allow them is faster than when we started,
but never top end. Sometimes we stop and
take a break during the run, sometimes not.
They come in happy and tired, but not
exhausted. And they will be ready for next
year's race season when it comes around;
both in conditioning and BEHAVIORS. (Written
March ’03)
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Line Lengths
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Hi all,
Calculating Lengths For Ganglines-
There's a lot of variability in what
you see in line lengths, from musher to
musher and manufacturer to manufacturer.
It's not so much the actual lengths that are
critical as it is the PROPORTION of the
lengths of the centerline, tug line, neck
line and overall harness length. So, here's
some points as I know them.
Tuglines: I see tug lengths listed
from 40" to about 55". The shorter the tug,
the more the diagonal angle of pull from the
centerline to the front of the harness; the
greater the angle, the more the distortion
of how the harness sits on the dog's body.
The "pull pressure" is trying to create a
straight line. Longer lines have a more
gradual angle of distortion and will not
tend of "offset" the harness as much.
However, the longer each section is, the
longer your overall team length is;
depending on the style of running and the
types of trail you have, too much length in
front of the sled may not be an advantage.
Choosing to have a longer tug length for the
wheelers gives a little more distance
between the front of the sled/cart; several
reasons for this choice. 1.) It gives more
"error" time if the drivers responses aren't
as quick as they could be. 2.) In addition,
having longer wheeler tugs gives a more
gradual UPWARD angle from the sled to the
harness tug, thus DECREASING downward
pressure on the rear of the dog. It is
desirable to add this length to the tug
instead of extending the section between the
sled and the back of the wheelers tugline as
this maintains better responsiveness to the
power of the wheel dogs, better steering and
less "whiplash" effect. This is important
on a sled; however, when I am running a cart
or the quad, I do use a bungeed extender
from the front of the rig to the back of the
wheel section since most of my control is
coming from a steering wheel in this case.
Neckline lengths also vary according to the
whims of the musher. Ranges from 7" to 12"
including the snap are common; the shorter
lengths keep the dog closer to the center
line, longer ones allow more lateral range.
Tight, narrow or windy trails are times when
"close in" can be an advantage; rough,
uneven trails where the dog may need to vary
the track without jerking on it's neighbor
are where longer necklines are good.
Harnesses should be of a standard OVERALL
length. This means the length from the top
of the neck (withers) opening to the back of
the tug loop. Smaller harness sizes should
have longer tug loops and larger harnesses
have shorter tugs, to keep the overall
length about the same. A range of around
29"-32" is what I have seen in measuring
different brands of harnesses. It isn't
important what your "standard" is; the
consistency of length in all of your
harnesses is the thing to check. The
TAIGA's that I use run about 31" in length
(withers to end of tug loop).
Spacers, when needed, I like to be about 12"
long. I use them in between gangline
sections when I am concerned with the
possibility of a dog chewing the tug in
front of them. My centerlines are cabled,
but tugs aren't.
Centerlines: So, now you take your
chosen tug length (including snaps), add
your "overall" standard harness length and
your neckline length (including
snaps)......that is the length that
your centerline sections need to be. Be
sure to account for any shortening of tug
and neck length in attaching to the
centerline. Also, as you calculate your
centerline lengths, remember to add any
length BEHIND AND FORWARD of the tug/neck
attachment points, ie. if they are resting
at the back of a joining loop. I make about
a 4" loop at both ends of my centerline
sections and they join by interlocking,
making them easily modified. Therefore, the
necklines sit at the back of the forward
loop while the tugs sit at the front of the
rearmost loop. I have to remember to add
the "loop" length to the centerline
measurements. I like making individual
centerline sections, tugs, necklines and
spacers that can be taken apart when needed
for repairs, changing team size, etc.
If you choose to have some sections a
different length than others, you might use
a different color rope for the centerline,
making them easily identified. Same thing
with different length tuglines.
So, it ultimately is the length of gap
between the tug and neckline that is the
most important factor. Too short a length,
the dog will be forward too much and tend to
get it's legs over the neckline. Too long a
length, the dog will be "strung out" too
tightly and believe me, they don't
appreciate that! If you routinely run with
other teams, it helps to coordinate your
ganglines in case you want to swap dogs on a
run or if you need an emergency spare
part....they will have what you need or vice
versa!
Hope that is helpful. You can use this info
to make new ganglines or to check the
balance on your existing ones and make
adjustments.
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Trotting vs.
Loping
|
Hi all,
Training Boot Camp style puts an emphasis on
strengthening the pulling response,
consistently and on command. It also
teaches us how to train a controlled,
well-behaved team. To seek out and solve
behavior problems (like alligatoring) that
can damage a musher's reputation on the
trail rather than avoid them. It doesn't
focus on pace or speed for those reasons.
Last year at Boot Camp (April '02), my
yearlings responded to a challenge
especially well.....I immediately let them
move faster. Another musher asked
Ann about that and she (knowingly) told them
that I was training the dogs to consider
MOVING FASTER as their REWARD.
Even though I run sprint with my Sibes, I
"cross-train" when it comes to pace. Large
team training slow with heavy quad and lots
of resistance, moving to less resistance and
rewarding them with moving faster....then to
the smaller quad and varying the
resistance. What I aim to train is that I
SET THE PACE; I want the dogs to slow to a
trot when I ask, stand and wait calmly while
I work in the team AND to pick it up to a
lope when I ask it.
In a given training run, I will vary the
speed several times; the goal being that I
can judge the conditions and guide the team
appropriately and with control. (This is
basically "interval training".) Then my job
is to know how much to ask and when to ask
it. Depending on your planned distance,
overall pace goals, terrain, temperatures,
size and conditioning of team, etc. you will
need to assess what is fair to ask. A six
dog team is probably not going to lope for
thirty miles; but you can alternate your
pace between the trot and the lope if you
have trained them to YOUR pace commands. If
you are wanting the dogs to stay in a lope
lope longer, stop them and rest them before
they change to a trot. Do this
numerous times on a training run. Do this
separately from a training run where you are
focusing on varying your pace. As the pace
setting, their conditioning and their
command response come together the
distances between needed pace changes will
increase as will YOUR control of the pace.
What I DON'T do is increase the speed by
helping the dogs with the quad motor; motor
equals resistance training, neutral equals
speed. I want the dogs pulling at speed,
not just running at speed.
We don't have it perfect, but we keep
working on it!
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Functional
Structure
|
Hi all,
OK, here goes...what Karen looks
for....neither right nor wrong...but my
observations.
Yes, I can see a lot in a puppy before it is
even dry, but I find that for my lines it is
about the 7-8 week mark that I want to
really take a good look. What I see then
will hold true as the dogs matures.
First, I get the puppies running and playing
until they drop over in a sound sleep! Then
I position them on their side and start
"measuring"; I simply use my fingers as I
find this accurate enough.
I measure the
length of the "shoulder" from the top of the
scapula to the forward point of the
shoulder; note that this is NOT the length
of the scapula itself and but is used as a
reference length. Keeping my finger gap
stationary, I rotate downward to measure the
length from the point of the shoulder to
the back of the elbow. I want this
measurement (the upper arm) to be equal to
the length of the shoulder, not shorter. If
these lengths are equal, the angle should be
"proper" for providing good reach and
good cushioning of the joint. Too short an
upper arm brings the front down straighter
and decreases the shock absorbtion
capability; this can make a dog who is more
prone to front end injury. Next I
shift down again and measure the lower arm
(elbow to wrist); this should be equal
(or preferably)
slightly longer than the shoulder
measurement. If this measurement is shorter
than my reference length, I would hold a
high suspicion that this is going to be a
short-legged dog.
Now we move to
the rear of the puppy. I again take my
reference (shoulder) length and match that
up to the length of the pelvis. This is
from the point of the hip to the very back
of the pelvis. To find the point of the hip
if it's not obvious, run your fingers up the
front edge of the dog's thigh; the tip of
the bone at the
top of the thigh is the front of the
pelvis. The pelvis should be equal to the
shoulder length, again not shorter. Rotate
down with your measurement to compare the
length of the thigh, from the back of
the pelvis to the front of the knee; again,
this should be equal to your reference
length. Down again to measure from the
front of the knee to the back of the hock
joint; this should be equal (or slightly
longer) than your reference
(should equate to the lower arm on the
front).
Now, check the length of the
croup/placement of the tail on the pelvis.
Lift the tail so it is perpendicular to the
pelvis and note where it attaches; this
should be in the middle third of the length
of the pelvis, ideally close to the middle
of that region.
The length of the pelvis acts as a hinged
fulcrum from which rearward extension
occurs; a short "hinge" reaches it's end
range sooner than a longer one and the dog
has to "pop up" in the rear to complete
it's rear stride. In the trot, you will see
this dog sway it's back to attempt a longer
rear motion. A short
croup/high tailset also acts as a limiting
factor in this movement and you will see a
similar result. A short length from the
knee to the hock joint straightens the angle
of the leg relative to the ground and also
inhibits rearward drive.
Back length
(point of the shoulder to the back of the
pelvis) should be slightly longer than the
height of the dog (from top of the withers
to the ground). Some people use actual
ratios which are good; I'm just not that
accurate.
Within the range of "good length", theory is
this.
A more square dog will move well in the lope
because it doesn't have as much back length
to lift and carry forward with each
stride; if too short, will tend to interfere
with itself in the trot as there is not
enough separation between the front and rear
to clear. It may also have less flexibility
in the spine which inhibits tuck and
extension of the back in the fast gallop. A
longer backed dog will be a good trotter as
it has the space to move it's legs under the
body without interference; it's back will
also have more flexibility to tuck and
extend in the gallop. In the gallop, the
longer-backed dog has more of a load to lift
and thrust with each stride, so MAY tire
more easily. (Think of carrying a load of
firewood close to your body and then
carrying it out at arms length.) Too long a
back will have weak suspension (ie. like a
bridge), may look swayed and may become a
literal sore point under working
conditions. So ideally, a dog who is
slightly longer than tall will have the
clearance in the trot without having
excessive "load" in the gallop. Makes a
versatile dog.
Head size should be proportional to the dog,
but should NOT be heavy. While a big head
may look impressive on a male in the show
ring, it has no place if a dog is going to
be asked to be a sled dog (strongly stated
opinion there, eh?). Again, think of that
piece of firewood held at arm's length from
your body; now, trot down the street holding
the wood out there. Tired? Do it again at
a run....every time the dog lands on it's
front, the weight of it's head adds to the
impact on it's shoulders. Heavy head makes
the dog more prone to fatigue and front end
injury.
Depth of the chest should be slightly less
than the length of leg from elbow to the
ground; this means that the bottom of the
chest (not the fur) will be at or slightly
above the height of the elbow. (Said
conversely, the length of the leg below the
bottom of the chest should be slightly
longer than the vertical depth from
the withers to the bottom of the ribcage.)
Shape of the torso should have a flatness to
the sides of the ribcage; this allows the
front legs to glide along the sides without
distorting the gait. A round ribcage will
tend to flare the legs outward and the dog
will have to move in a side-to-side rolling
fashion to bring the legs toward center as
they do in the trot; this gives a movement
more like a bulldog than a Siberian.
From the front, the chest should be
proportional to the dog but never wide; a
narrower chest gives more efficient movement
in harness. Again, the dog should
single-track without significant rolling
motion in the trot.
I watch puppies and dogs for agility, for
lightness of movement, for endurance
according to their age and development. But
the proof of the pudding is once they are
trained and conditioned to harness work.
I look for all of these things as I assess a
puppy or an adult. With the puppy, they are
indicators; in the adult, they are the final
product. (Assessing for tightness or for
changes caused by injury are another
subject.) I am looking for things that say
a particular dog would not be happy doing
the job I would ask of him/her rather
than looking for that one pup who can. I am
looking for the things that determine WHAT I
would reasonably ask of a dog who runs for
me. No body is ideal. If I know what the
physical limitations may be, I can ask the
right things of that dog without injuring
it.
Again, these are my ways of looking at
functional structure in the Siberian. The
dog should be fast and efficient in harness;
nothing said that the goal of the "origins
of the breed" were to come in last behind
the storm or last to the now empty dinner
table.
Wordy enough for one edition! Respectfully
submitted.
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