It was another wet week here with plenty of rain & also warm temperatures. It has been so mild & humid that the flies are hatching! The forecast is for more this coming week & then colder temperatures.
However, we also got 3 days of cold mornings allowing us to get in three days of training. The runs were with the 16 racing dogs only in two teams of eight. Every run was a quality one as seen by the photos above. The dogs enthusiasm & drive is truly inspiring! 
The yearlings are being worked in smaller units with the emphasis on pulling.
For a Halloween greeting from Miortuk, please copy & 'paste and go' the following to see a Monstrous Show!
http://www.jibjab.com/view/OaPAWL9USGO4Zz57y26g9w
Until next week........

Yes, Dog Mushing can be a humbling experience. Just when you think you know what you are doing, the mushing gods smack you in the back of your head & bring you back to reality! With the three days of training, each day had a new challenge. However, it was when we ran the second team  on the third day that proved the most challenging! We have had this week 5 of our females in heat & 2 just out. Of coarse this makes the males a little randy. Well while we were changing a couple of dogs position in the team, Cupid shoot his arrow & the two leader,Willy & Angel, decided to breed! As an experienced musher, I should have known better than to run a male next to a female in heat! However, I have normally been able to prevent breeding's by keeping a close eye on the leaders & with a verbal command when stopped prevent breeding's . This time with the distraction of changing the position of the two dogs in the team, Willy literally jumped on the opportunity! After 3/4 of an hour delay & a change of leaders, we continued the training run. The results is the possibility of Christmas Puppies & discovering another leader candidate!
Yes, some times you just have to laugh at Mother Natures little jokes!
We also took the opportunity to visit with Indy & Bella's Puppies who are now 5 weeks old. They will be coming here in another two weeks.
The weather this week has been cold, warm, & wet!
Until next week........

Playing with puppies & running dogs made for a fun week here!
We made a trip to Valerie & Laurent's Kennel to visit & see Indy & Bella's puppies who were 19 days old. They had all doubled in size since the last time we visited. As you can see in the photos above, Michele loved interacting with them & can't wait until we bring them here when they are 7 weeks old.
We also had great conditions to get in 4 days of running the dogs. They are quickly getting into shape. Hinto & Hok'ee are improving with each run and look to be everything expected when we did the breeding with Tony & Cobalt. 
The two girls are receiving more leash training before we introduce them to team work. They are displaying more confidence with each day.
This has been a week were we have had several days of snow flurries & colder temperatures. Unfortunately, we have also had periods of rain.
We also received news that Carmella will not be able to join us this season. So, if anyone is interested in having a Winter adventure , please contact me as one the positions of Handler/ Trainee is open.
Until next week...........

The conditioning/training program continues with runs on Monday & then shut down until Sunday due to rain & warm temperatures.
We did get an opportunity to hook up the yearlings & experienced varying degrees of success. Hok'ee is doing great,Hinto started great & then was distracted by a couple of females that are in heat. Halona was pulling back not wanting to run with the team, so we took her out & placed her back in the team at the end going back into the kennel. Hurit started very good & then after a rest stop started pulling back & was taken out , returned to the team to run into the yard. Both of the females need a little more leash work & then introduced back to team running in a smaller team to learn what is expected. Some dogs take naturally to team running others require more work to give them the confidence to run with the adults.
The forecast is for colder temperatures this week & we even had some snow flurries today. There are several photos of Indy & Bella's puppies on the "Puppy Page".
Until next week........