Young Dogs

The "egg litter": Benny, Diablo and McMuffin.

Fall is a good time to let the young dogs lead. With two of us on the ATV, one can get off and switch dogs around if they don’t want to stay up at lead. This group of “puppies” is 2 ½ years old now and ran the full season last year. We tried them one at a time last year at lead for a little while on the way home. That way, all they have to think about is going home, not how far we are going. They all passed the initial test well, so we are hopeful. Most kennels have a few leaders in the group. We have been lucky in our last several litters and over half of our dogs lead.

A little responsibility at a time and if they don’t love it, we put them back in the team for a few more months. The position of their tail and ears tell us how they are feeling. This group of pups (2 ½ year-olds) each got a chance this fall to co-lead along with their mom or dad. Ears back, tail down , focused on the trail ahead. Just what we like to see. How about a turkey thrown in for something to chase! Those wild turkeys can run fast and fly easily when they have 18 dogs on their trail. Lucky for them, the brakes work pretty well with two of us on the ATV.