7:30 am. 3 degrees.

Today the sun came out, but it never warmed up. The fields shone with ice crystals, sparkling with the soft flow of wind. I was back with my dogs Cobra and Axle in lead. Halfway through, Duke moved up and did a nice job bringing us home. Our job now is to try new and different leaders to find out temperment and reliability. Another job is to make ‘respectable citizens’ of the younger puppies. That is to say, make sure they are paired up with older, steadier dogs. If it’s a female, pair her with an older male, so there’s less of a chance of female jealousies. If they are paired up with another puppy, it’s important to keep an eye on them to make sure they keep working hard and not goofing off too much. This is almost impossible if they are paired up with Admiral. Admiral must be about six years old, but is still a puppy at heart and no matter who he’s paired up with he seems to get them acting like a puppy as well, running on the same side of the line, pushing against each other, getting into each other’s space. I just sigh and give up.

We made it back and turned around to take the older dogs on a longer run. As it stayed cold – never above low twenties, they had a great time. It’s hard to believe Tyson is 20 years old, turning 21. He was as spry as a spring leaf, running and jumping. Sage led with him and did a great job. She’d gotten a little ill from eating rocks so has been getting back into running slowly, but she was ready to go. Bandit’s ear continued it’s cycle of flopping only on one side. The sheer brute strength of some of these dogs is to be greatly admired. When Auggie was pulling earlier, it was like he could carry the fourwheeler on his back.

Every day these dogs amaze me!