I got on a sled for the first time this season yesterday.  The snow was real wet and it rained the whole time.  It sure is cold when it is 38 F and raining.  We had a real good time.  The young dogs are looking good.  There is only one month to the Siskiyou Race, and the Wyoming is not too long after that.

Thanks to everyone that has been supporting us this year.  Especially my sister Lisa.

We had a new litter of puppies a few weeks ago.  Three boys and two girls.  Tudor is the mom and she is doing a great job taking care of them.  Otto is the father.  This should be a great litter of dogs.  Tudor and Otto are two of my very best leaders.  I really love watching them grow up. 

Last night I was taking the race team for a 16 mile run. Sometimes we train in a state game refuge near our house. It was about 7:30pm when we left the dog yard to start our run. I really like training at night because it is cooler up in the mountains and I can see the headlights from oncoming cars.  I hardly ever see cars, maybe only one in ten runs may I see someone out there at that time of night. Everything was going smooth. I had one of the younger dogs, Dolly, in lead with Otto. About 4 miles into the run I noticed a plane that seemed to be going real slow, but I didn't think much of it at the time. I began to wonder if that plane could see me after it had started to circle overhead a few times. It was making really big circles over top of me, sometimes getting closer and sometimes far away but always staying in sight. I wasn't sure what to think of it so I just kept training. I had two thoughts as to what they were doing. The first was that they could actually see the dogs in the four wheeler's headlights and they were just getting a better look. The second thought was that they too were training for some night flights. About 12 miles into the run I found out what that plane was doing. Two trucks started rapidly approaching me from behind. Usually I stop and go stand by my leaders when cars go past. But these trucks didn't want to pass. When I went back to the first truck to say hi, I found out they were both state game wardens. The plane had spotted me from above and thought I was poaching. The three of us had a little laugh about it. I talked to the two wardens for awhile and then we said our goodbyes and parted ways.

I couldn't help but smile about it the rest of the way home. The dogs and I caused those two officers to travel about an hour by truck because that plane overhead didn't know what we were doing.

Just a little excitement on a usually routine training run!

This is Bags and Screamer. They are two younger females that I am borrowing from my friend Bill to fill out my team this year. Both dogs are doing a great job. They are beautiful looking girls and fast. Thanks Bill.

When I hook up the dogs for the first time, we take one or two mile runs. We stop a lot and tell them how good they are. Our goal is to make the run very very fun. Sticky is a natural leader. Usually dogs don't try lead out until they are about one year old. I have known since he was 8 weeks old that he was born to lead. Just like his dad, he has an unbelievable eagerness to please. We will be careful not to run him in lead too much or we may overwhelm him at this young age. We just want to give him a little sample of what it is like.

Sticky, Otto and Vancouver

Me telling Sunshine what a good girl she is!

Doug instructing students at the 2006 Sierra Nevada Dog Driver's Annual Fall Clinic
October 7-8