Today was a very wonderful day! It started out as a cold crisp morning with a beautiful blue sky. The temperature was 8 degrees F when I walked out this morning. We had our last half of Site C to clear of snow today and then most of the digging would be complete. But first we had to harness up the dogs!
Before taking a ride I got to know my dogs. This is Biscuit.
Caitlin got to know Spunky!
The first thing you must do it get to know your dogs. The first dog I helped to harness was Biscuit. She is a very friendly and happy pup. Caitlin gave some love to her dogs and before we knew it the teams were ready to go. These dogs are very eager to be out here. Can you tell what kind of dogs these are? What makes this a good breed for pulling sleds through the snow?
Dr. Natali was the first one to take off this morning.
Dr. Natali took off like the pro she is! In the morning her and Caitlin took the dogs out to the study site with Corine in the lead. Corine owns the dogs and takes very good care of them. They love her and they listen to her.
Andres had a great time with his dogs!
It's a lot of fun riding a dog sled!
In the afternoon, after we finished clearing the last half of Site C, Andres and I got our chance to take a ride. There were a number of things to learn. You need to make sure the dogs don't become tangled. You also need to learn where to hang on and where the brake is. The brake it along the ground between your feet. You stand on it when you need to slow down or get the dogs to stop. You need to hang on because the sled can tip over easily in turns or uneven ground and the dogs don't stop for you if you fall off. You also have to watch out for trees! A sharp turn or a slip in the sled can put you right in to the center of a tree, and that is a problem.
The break is for slowing the dogs down and stopping. Sometimes you need to step hard on it.
You need to hang on and watch for trees!
In the end the ride was great! The countryside is beautiful and the sound of the runners in the snow is very pleasant. When the dogs get thirsty they grab a mouth full of snow or run their tongues along the snow while they run. I think this would be a wonderful way to come to school each day. Instead of bike rack, we could all let our dogs spend the day together while we learned more science!
It was a beautiful day to ride dog sleds!