Americano Blue's musher/mushing chat thread

[charnic44]

Not unlike humans, dogs and wolves are preferably lazy.
In the wild wolves will use the same trails time and again because it was easier to walk on it rather than constantly slogging through 3 to 5 maybe as much as 6-7 feet of fresh unpacked snow.
Dogs will do that too preferring a packed trail rather than "GEE" into "unchartered" open country.
Humans take 9-5ers to make money to buy food, clothes and creature comforts because it's much too much hard work to kill a deer, take the brains out, rub it into the hide after scraping all the hair off of it with a section of leg bone sharpened on a rock to use as a scraper, then work it(hide)back and forth over a tree branch for like 4 days till it's(hide)soft, then gather wood and make smokey fire to waterproof it, then cut it with a knife made from flint fastened to a stick with rawhide, then punch holes in it with a bone taken from a rabbits leg and sharpened on a stone, then stitch it(hide)with sinew from the deer's back(after it's[sinew]been separated into threads and dried) put through a needle made by grinding a small animals leg boneon a rock to sharpen it(bone), all that to make a pair of moccasins(Cree word for shoe is mus-kuh-sin). The same process for pants, shirts, and any number of items.
Blankets were kinda tougher to do because the hair had to be left on and the hide still needed to be soft.
The children started their training for this lifestyle when they were young.
It's much easier to just do what is required to get that 9-5 job.

Yup. The 9-5 job sounds much easier. Though, when I get my first deer/elk I'm going to tan the hide and hang it on my wall.

 

[SternRose]

What are some realy good facts that I can use about making hank an outside dog by himself for now?

And what are some things I need to look for a wheel dog or lead dog?

 

[Americano Blue]

I'm happy for you that you've made up your mind.
Personally tho, I would've taken the sled and gear.
The pix are nice. Yup, nice sled. Good size, nice shape/condition, colour too.
Cooker, well....holes shoulda been at least three quarters of the way up.

My daddy went and looked at the sled. Its about 10 years old and has a couple cracks he fixed. The harnesses are a worn to. The big reason i couldn't because it would take at least 6 well muscled dogs. (I have 4)
Plus i can use the ATV in the summer for fun!

 

[SternRose]

My daddy went and looked at the sled. Its about 10 years old and  has a couple cracks he fixed. The harnesses are a worn to. The big reason i couldn't because it would take at least 6 well muscled dogs. (I have 4)
Plus i can use the ATV in the summer for fun!

Well you chose right then.

We set up some panels and gates for the puppy pen. It's only temp. But it's doing its home. Hanks so cute! He started chasing me today. Lol

 

[RezChamp]

What are some realy good facts that I can use about making hank an outside dog by himself for now?

And what are some things I need to look for a wheel dog or lead dog?

Fact......he's far too young to be by himself outside, for many reasons. Comfort on all levels of his being mainly.
Fact......he'll most likely die. Comfort regarding at least aspect of his being.
Fact......if he don't die he'll either be a nuisance with whining and barking(separation anxiety disorder) and/or turn out to be rather retired.
No, I correct myself. Not "retired", more rather distant and a loner.
Would you go sleep outside by your self in a house big enough for you to run laps in? Without your mom? Dad? Or a sibling? He's just a baby, why in the world would you put him outside all by himself???!!!
If you remember my message before they were even born, leave them outside to begin with. The operative word in this message being them.

The reason I told that big long story in post#576 is in hopes that y'all would read it and because it seems so random it would make y'all think.
The point of the story is of course Nala will stop feeding them. She's lost her direction, her purpose, her responsibility. A pack of Homo sapiens sapiens(modern human) has taken over her role. There's no need for her to be looking after them.

Dogs are pack animals just like wolves, humans, beef, buffalo, horses.
If you want a good leader he or she will need to be OK with other dogs around him or her, and not just at breeding seasons.
If you want a goo wheel dog he or she will need to be OK with....
If you want a good point dog he or she will need to.......
If you want a good swing dog he or she......
If you want a good team dog......
We all need someone/something we can relate to. It's just Nature.
Thats why I no longer ever bring my pups in the house to be pets. Now indeed to kick them out to the elements after I would make them house pets. Besides, I've found when I make pets out of my dogs they become really needy,.... ...and clingy,.... ....and hard to train to be sled dogs because they always turn around wanting me to love them up.
I don't do needy. I save that for my children and grandchildren. Yes, even though it may be hard for y'all to think of me as a doting father/grandfather because of my straight-up ways here, at home I'm just an old softy.. mostly..

 

[Americano Blue]

Fact......he's far too young to be by himself outside, for many reasons. Comfort on all levels of his being mainly.
Fact......he'll most likely die. Comfort regarding at least aspect of his being.
Fact......if he don't die he'll either be a nuisance with whining and barking(separation anxiety disorder) and/or turn out to be rather retired.
No, I correct myself. Not "retired", more rather distant and a loner.
Would you go sleep outside by your self in a house big enough for you to run laps in? Without your mom? Dad? Or a sibling? He's just a baby, why in the world would you put him outside all by himself???!!!
If you remember my message before they were even born, leave them outside to begin with. The operative word in this message being them.

The reason I told that big long story in post#576 is in hopes that y'all would read it and because it seems so random it would make y'all think.
The point of the story is of course Nala will stop feeding them. She's lost her direction, her purpose, her responsibility. A pack of Homo sapiens sapiens(modern human) has taken over her role. There's no need for her to be looking after them.

Dogs are pack animals just like wolves, humans, beef, buffalo, horses.
If you want a good leader he or she will need to be OK with other dogs around him or her, and not just at breeding seasons.
If you want a goo wheel dog he or she will need to be OK with....
If you want a good point dog he or she will need to.......
If you want a good swing dog he or she......
If you want a good team dog......
We all need someone/something we can relate to. It's just Nature.
Thats why I no longer ever bring my pups in the house to be pets. Now indeed to kick them out to the elements after I would make them house pets. Besides, I've found when I make pets out of my dogs they become really needy,.... ...and clingy,.... ....and hard to train to be sled dogs because they always turn around wanting me to love them up.
I don't do needy. I save that for my children and grandchildren. Yes, even though it may be hard for y'all to think of me as a doting father/grandfather because of my straight-up ways here, at home I'm just an old softy.

. mostly..

the first two bolded sections are things i agree with.
The third i have a different opinion on. Cindy was a house pet i turned into a sled dog. Personally, if the dog understand a time for work and a time for play they can be a house dog. Cindy understands that when she has any harness on, it means work. When she has just her collar on, she gets loves. (Cindy has like 5 different things she wears that mean time to work. She kind of is an al-purpose dog)

 

[RezChamp]

My daddy went and looked at the sled. Its about 10 years old and  has a couple cracks he fixed. The harnesses are a worn to. The big reason i couldn't because it would take at least 6 well muscled dogs. (I have 4)
Plus i can use the ATV in the summer for fun!

Oh my. Well then, I guess I might have jumped the gun to buy it. I'm glad your dad checked things out first. May have ended up just being a humongous headache.

The sled I'm buying is 15 years old and in in excellent condition. It's been in his garage for 11 years. He would take it down every summer to clean it and oil it. The harnesses are good shape too. They ain't rotten anyway. Apparently they were kept in plastic with bounce sheets. ??? I've never heard of that before.
The ganglines are like new. They look like they were hardly used. Polyethylene. Thats the good stuff. The stake out cable and drop lines are in really nice condition too.
Like I said, I think I'm getting a pretty good deal here.

I have 4 dropped racing dogs. Oreo must be only about 30-33 lbs, Ace has to be 60 easy, Sparticus(not Spaticus) about 50-52 and Ashliegh around 55-60. My sled weighs around 70lbs or so, my buddy Cam at around 160 and me around 185. These skinny little K9's pulled the whole works( about420lbs)at at a dead run for well over a cpl miles. Just a interesting(to me) piece of trivia.

 

[Americano Blue]

Oh my. Well then, I guess I might have jumped the gun to buy it. I'm glad your dad checked things out first. May have ended up just being a humongous headache.

The sled I'm buying is 15 years old and in in excellent condition. It's been in his garage for 11 years. He would take it down every summer to clean it and oil it. The harnesses are good shape too. They ain't rotten anyway. Apparently they were kept in plastic with bounce sheets. ??? I've never heard of that before.
The ganglines are like new. They look like they were hardly used. Polyethylene. Thats the good stuff. The stake out cable and drop lines are in really nice condition too.
Like I said, I think I'm getting a pretty good deal here.

I have 4 dropped racing dogs. Oreo must be only about 30-33 lbs, Ace has to be 60 easy, Sparticus(not Spaticus) about 50-52 and Ashliegh around 55-60. My sled weighs around 70lbs or so, my buddy Cam at around 160 and me around 185. These skinny little K9's pulled the whole works( about420lbs)at at a dead run for well over a cpl miles. Just a interesting(to me) piece of trivia.

I'm thinking of trying Meringue at a sprint race. She is a tiny little thing. We hooked her up to my friend's yearling team and she was a small even compared to them. On the bright side she got to run lead and did awesome.

 

[RezChamp]

the first two bolded sections are things i agree with.
The third i have a different opinion on. Cindy was a house pet i turned into a sled dog. Personally, if the dog understand a time for work and a time for play they can be a house dog. Cindy understands that when she has any harness on, it means work. When she has just her collar on, she gets loves. (Cindy has like 5 different things she wears that mean time to work. She kind of is an   al-purpose dog)

Wow. Right on. You must have more patience than I have left.
I need to rephrase I guess. For me, lacking the amount of patience I once had, training a house pet to be a sled dog takes too much effort.
Also because of my diminished amour of patience, I save what little I have for my kids and G-kids as opposed to animal pets.
Don't get me wrong, the respect I have for my dogs you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else excepting darn few.
And time is a big thing now too. I had more time before. There didn't seem to be so much to do as there is now.
Yeah, it awesome what a dog can learn if you're patient.

 

[Americano Blue]

Wow. Right on. You must have more patience than I have left.
I need to rephrase I guess. For me, lacking the amount of patience I once had, training a house pet to be a sled dog takes too much effort.
Also because of my diminished amour of patience, I save what little I have for my kids and G-kids as opposed to animal pets.
Don't get me wrong, the respect I have for my dogs you would be hard pressed to find anywhere else excepting darn few.
And time is a big thing now too. I had more time before. There didn't seem to be so much to do as there is now.
Yeah, it awesome what a dog can learn if you're patient.

We finally found a person who can help me get Cindy into therapy work. Anyway, I need help with food. I'm having a hard time keeping the weight in need on the dogs. Any ideas of food choices?