Dogs

That's a good looking dog, Pete!

Mike, super cute pictures of the pooch.

Our dog is a mixed breed aussie shepherd/terrier/something-or-other. The shepherd/collie coat can be pretty rough in the snow, but she does well with a little fur maintenance and has become a great, if loud, ski dog.

The fur-snowballing in really deep snow has been bad enough that I've had to help her out a couple of times, but generally she does fine. She's only 30-35 pounds, so she floats, but doesn't have the leg length to keep her out of the fluff sometimes.

HA! That photo is priceless Marcus.  I too have stowed my poles in my pack to carry my smaller dog.  I love it!

All this talk of dogs and deep snow has me salivating for winter!

I have a heeler mix too and  he is a great ski dog at less than three years.

can't wait to see Zeke on the hill this year, Aaron. 

3 months later we finally found our blue heeler! He's a purebred but a bit more mixed coat than a show dog would be. So far his favorite activities appear to be peeing on the floor and complaining loudly, but hopefully skiing will be added to that list eventually (and the others removed).

Question: anyone backpack-rig puppies for skiing or have any clever ideas on how to do that in a way that keeps the pup warm and safe? I'd like to take him out this winter rather than leave him in the truck or at home.

In my second season with Ariel, our shelter-adopted mutt(best guess - Lab/Great Dane), who is blessed with a shorter coat that doesn't ball up and long legs with big, webbed paws. I've worked hard to get her off my ski tails on the uphill with a "go on" command to get her out ahead of me. This works pretty well as long as there is a track to follow. On downhills, she is absolutely forbidden to be in front or alongside. She's got to sit and stay until I go and then must obey the "get back" command, sometimes enforced by gently waving a ski pole behind me. So far, so good.

Hey Dog Owners,
No meanness intended here. But on my way out from Source Lake yesterday I almost creamed a poodle (yes, a true poodle) that ran up to me right after I came down the ramp by the watertower. Keep an eye out for downhill traffic (esp OOCs like me) for the pooch's good health. I'd have hated to hit the poor thing. It just wanted to say hi.