And more dogs

I'll digress briefly here to discuss some of the business of driving the dogs.  Two familiar commands came into the sled dog practice from driving horses and oxen in earlier times. Gee and Haw (hah) are used in the traditional way to indicate right or left to the dogs, especially the leaders who direct the course for the rest of the team.  Different mushers use a variety of different commands for other actions. Nobody says "mush" that I have heard of. The command to get moving can be "Let's go", "All right",,"Hut or "Hike"and more rarely just "Okay". Most dogs are very attuned to their normal driver's voice and inflections so even in races when a number of teams may be in a fairly constrained area at a check point, there are few signs of confusion. They are listening as keenly as the familiar little dog listening to the gramophone in the old trade mark!

Kyia uses "easy" a lot and "down" to make the dogs calm down and not jump so much. When harnessing up that is nearly almost cause, though. She has a series of commands when you're getting ready or starting again after a break. It goes "Line out" (get back to your place along the gang line,)"Tighten Up"  means tighten your own tug-line and get ready to move. Then it's "Ready" and "All Right" which says the brakes are off and it's time to go.

A few words on the harness and gear, too. The gang line is a cable long enough to space out however many pairs or single dogs you want to run. It's connected to the sled or the vehicle very securely. The tug lines are smaller and shorter, just long enough to give each dog some maneuvering room. This clips to a loop in the rear of the harness at the root of the dog's tail  and is where the pulling takes place. Some mushers also use a short neckline to link each dog to the gangline and it runs from the big cable to the ring on the dog's collar. This is usually used for training new dogs and can be used at other times, depending on the musher's choice and conditions. I'll provide more detail and photos later but now to introduce a few more dogs.

Rudy is a character

We go into the second of the pens near the cabin. The first dog is Rudy. He's a funny little guy, black and white with speckles like you might see on an Aussie Shepherd and some other breeds. He is goofy but Kyia says he is a good leader. Unfortunately he also has seizures and had two while I was there. He  is not a typical husky of any kind but just a unique character.

Behind him we find Duke, another black and white dog but typical of a lot of contemporary huskies. He's rather reserved. Behind him is Sylvester, a brother to Newman and Redford, another older dog. (The three actors--get it?) He's reddish too and somewhat timid and sad looking. Kyia says that is just his way; he has never been abused.

Quanik

Ting and Tipi

Clyde in the first snow

In the back corner, we find Iluq, another of the 'big dog' litter, the common gray-brown color and markings. He's quiet unless it's time to go. Down from him we find another brother, Tinginik. He too is the gray brown and moderately friendly. In front of him is yet another brother, another yellow-rusty colored guy. His name is Tipinik and he likes to be called by name. He warmed up to me slowly but we got to be pals.  The last brother is next, another darker one, and his name is Quanik.
Then we come to Clyde, another black and white guy, a strong puller and a kind of happy-go-lucky dog.

The whole "big dog" crew went out on one run with a couple of the racing  dogs in lead, Cowboy and Piper.  They live in the lower yards and I'll visit them next time.