My dog Whisper is half Siberian husky. She has the white face, blue eyes, black nose and black eye rims of the breed. For the most part, she will listen to me, but the operative phrase is “for the most part”. As the food source for the household, I tend to carry a lot of authority with her in most situations, but she is extremely independent and ultimately she makes up her own mind. Which is why I don’t let her around other people/children/dogs as much as I do Blue because I can’t depend that she will ALWAYS listen to me. Blue was her puppy, and he looks like his father was probably a full blooded blue tick. He is very well behaved and always looks to me for how to respond to any situation. Good thing because he’s an 85 lb tall dog that could look scary to some people if they’re not dog people and don’t know better.

So, yeah, those breeds do behave differently. When I give her a command, I can often see her look at me and consider it. It’s just that short split second of thought before she responds. If a person isn’t familiar with dogs, they might miss it, but I know. I’ve had many dogs over the years, and she’s the only one that took that second to make her decision (and no, I don’t beat my dogs to get them to listen to me, lol). It’s a bit irritating, but I suspect that it’s a survival instinct in those dogs, so I just don’t let her off leash around people, etc.

Lisbet has been ‘orphaned’ by Jimmie Lebling scratching. She may choose to scratch at Dawson rather than attempting the Dawson to Circle segment totally alone.

Interesting comment about Jessie Royer. After watching for several years, I’m beginning to see how teams and mushers aren’t always running with the idea of winning. It’s all about developing the dogs and teams for the future.

Hope all the dogs come out of this happy and healthy this time. That’s the most important thing.

Michelle belongs up front. She has earned her position. I’m a bit surprised that Jessie Royer isn’t running higher, but she may be bringing up some new puppies.

Jim almost never scratches, and this is a bucket list item.

I noticed that Michelle Phillips appears to be hanging in there near the front which is fun to see. Looks like Paige Drobny may have scratched which is a shame since she was hanging in there with the leaders fairly well, but it sounds like her dogs weren’t happy. There are about four teams within five miles of each other at the front.

And Jim Lanier is still hanging in there! Go Jim!