mostly-tame
The Wild Still Lingers
Torch the West Siberian Laika born Feb 2022 // currently exploring New England but yearning for the west
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I always stop at this beach when I drive through the UP.
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Have any of your dogs ever bitten you? What were the circumstances, and how did you react?
I hope you don't mind the weird question. I like your philosophy about dog-keeping and how you handle your dogs (as best as I can tell from your social media posts). Asking as someone who was bitten by their dog for the first time today, for trying to take a high-value item away (stupid), and is feeling butthurt about it.
Yes, Conker was very resource aggressive when he was younger and there was a bit of a learning curve. Flint was as well, but I knew how to handle that better when I got him.
I teach the dog it's ok for me to take stuff by trading. I start with lower value items and trade for something significantly better. A stick for a piece of chicken, until they will happily allow me to take the stick before they get their chicken. I gradually work up to higher value items, and it can take them a bit to give up the item depending on what it is. I will also give that item back after I have looked at it, so they learn that me taking/trading doesn't always mean they never get that thing they originally had. The dog needs to learn I'm not just going to steal from them, and especially that they will not get in trouble for having it. It shouldn't be something that they feel they need to hide from me because it will get them yelled at and their prize stolen.
If the dog is a very young puppy, like Flint was, I do the trading game, but I will also hand feed high value items like a raw chicken leg, and they have to strip meat off it while I hold it. They can't just take the whole thing from me. Hand feeding can work with an adult too with various foods like kibble and ground or chunked raw, but it's a little trickier if food is the thing the dog is guardy over.
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Full moon cemetery walk
#west siberian laika#torch#dog boy joined us and we ended up on a diff path than usual#and im v pleased with it#we had a bit of uhhhhh ceremonial smoke#and im very mellow#which is a nice change from the stress of lately#dog boy also just has that affect on me; more than half of this feeling is just. dog boy affect lmao
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Heelwork and parkour practice this morning 💕 I adore this dog so much, he's so fun to work with, and our walks together bring some much needed routine and time to think into my life.
#west siberian laika#torch#to say nothing of the time we spend just chilling together#rest is best acquired with a fluffy friend
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Jessie Holmes at the Ceremonial Start and ReStart of Iditarod 52. Holmes is most known for his time on the Alaskan Reality TV Show "Life Below Zero" before he turned his attention on the Iditarod. Holmes said at the end of this racing season that this was his best year yet. Holmes led the race on the Yukon and onto the Coast winning the "first to the coast" award, however he could not maintain his lead in the final leg of the race, ultimately coming in third.
To view high quality photos, or purchase, click here.
For more see ReittersBlock.com
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Dallas Seavey at the Ceremonial Start and ReStart of Iditarod 52. Dallas. Seavey. The kid that believed he was on a trajectory for an Olympic career and not a dog mushing one. Oh, sure, he was like many others of his generation who not only grew up in the presence of many great mushers - all the while helping his dad build a successful racing kennel - but one who watched Iron Will and tried to recreate many of the scenes from the movie... but as he often told tourists - he had no desire to make it his life like his dad had.
Then injuries sidelined his Olympic wrestling dream (was on his way to making the 2008 USA team) so he came home and continued helping his dad build monster teams.
After a while running the puppy team just wasn't enough. Puppy teams are competitive and if you know Dallas even a little bit you know the dude is extremely competitive.
He studied like he was working on a Masters Degree. No one knows the science and stats of the race more than Dallas. Guarantee it.
He won his first title in 2012, then again in 2014, 2015, 2016... took a break after his second place finish in 2017 (we won't rehash the whys) and came back in 2021 to win it again (granted the shorter "Gold Loop Trail" - thanks Covid - but he battled the Rainy Pass Pony Mafia so it still is a huge accomplishment). His '21 race meant he tied for most wins, sharing that record with the legendary Rick Swenson. Swenson was one of Dallas's childhood heroes... and Dallas had broken or tied just about every record Rick had.
This year, Dallas won number six. He is the winningest Iditarod Champion.
It wasn't easy. In November he and two of his handlers took teams out on a training run. His handler running many of Dallas's top dogs was hit by a snow machine. Dogs were killed, some injured with career ending, life altering injuries. The mushers were physically all fine, but mentally... mentally it took a while to feel "normal" on the runners.
Dallas borrowed dogs from his dad to make a competitive Iditarod team, it wasn't ideal - but he'd done it before. The Ceremonial Start and ReStart seemed to go on without an issue. Crowds cheered the musher on and he quickly slipped into the routine.
Monday of race week rolls around. Dallas' birthday. Early that morning an aggressive moose plowed into Dallas' team, the only thing for the musher to do was dispatch the moose. If you've followed the race you know what happened next. Dallas did not properly gut out the moose, one of his dogs was injured but it wasn't noticeable right away (dog is fine now), he was penelized for the improper dressing out of the moose. Dallas was not going to win.
Then things changed in the second half of the race. Teams who decided to try to outrun Dallas who was already dealing with time penalties pushed too hard, too long, too soon. Dallas caught up. And then Dallas did what Dallas does.
And now Dallas Seavey is the only six time champion in the history of the race.
That's a wild ride. (see what I did there? no, oh, well.... you can find out what I mean here.)
To view high quality photos, or purchase, click here.
For more see ReittersBlock.com
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A French Red Cross dog has his wounded leg bandaged, 1916
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Behold a story of companionship
Of loss
Of discovery
Of hope
Of betrayal
Of disappointment
Of crime
Of forgiveness and the desire to make things right
The end
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Took Torch for a hike and chilled at my pine tree through the eclipse. I read, carved a little stick, and petted and played with Torch.
#ive got more photos and words later but wrist hurts rn lol#torch#west siberian laika#hiking#solar eclipse
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