Iditarod 2021 – Day 2

by Bryan

12 comments

1 hipparchia { 03.08.21 at 7:27 pm }

i didn’t look really in great detail, but i didn’t find any all-siberian husky teams this time.

2 Bryan { 03.08.21 at 10:06 pm }

You are correct. Nor are there any “rescue, rejects, & runts” teams. The Siberian teams, like last year’s winner couldn’t make it through the COVID restrictions into Alaska. Mille & Joar both train in Alaska and didn’t come in from Scandinavia. Michelle Phillips & Aaron Peck are the only Canadians. Gunnar Johnson and Cindy Gallea are the only teams from the “Lower 48”.

3 hipparchia { 03.11.21 at 8:22 pm }

i know the alaskan huskies have been developed just for this kind of sport, and are better at it than the siberian huskies, but i always like to support whoever is breeding and training the purebreds for their actual working abilities (unlike what has happened to the german shepherd).

and who couldn’t love the “rescues, rejects, and runts” (which is what most of my menagerie has been over the years) 🙂

4 Bryan { 03.11.21 at 11:40 pm }

If you you own a shepherd you to provide some sheep, because they want to herd something.

The Alaska husky is a cross breed. The Sibs may not be as fast, but they are definitely good looking puppies. I always enjoyed rooting for Zoe and her R³ crew and Penny in lead bossing dogs that weighed twice as much. Now I want to see at least three women in the top 10.

5 hipparchia { 03.12.21 at 9:10 pm }

before the fbd there was the frd, much the same shape and coat type, but in not-quite irish setter red and only about 33 pounds, and he bossed all my friends’ german shepherds, rottweilers, and dobermans, and the one mastiff that we knew. i had horses at the time, and he always herded them around the pasture (definitely herding, not chasing), and twice he tried to rip the face off of people who approached us in a suspicious manner when were out walking. the only critters that ever threw him for a loop were a herd of bison that we saw near our campground on a camping trip.

6 Bryan { 03.12.21 at 10:26 pm }

Bison are like moose. It may be possible that their horn/antlers grow into their brains. At least FRD was smart enough not to engage with bison.

If the herding genes are there, they will show themselves. It’s very old wisdom that it isn’t the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog. It’s always nice to walk with a friend who will but up a decent defense.

7 hipparchia { 03.13.21 at 7:13 am }

Bison are like moose. It may be possible that their horn/antlers grow into their brains.

ha! that would explain a few things. but yeah, red dog had all the brains, energy, athletic ability, and fight of any four other dogs put together, and the will to use them all, all the time. he was definitely my einstein dog.

fbd had all the athletic ability and was pretty brainy too, but fight was not his thing at all; he would definitely have fit in with the welsh on honoring poetry and singing. fbd needed for me to be the defender in any situation, but since he was large (ish), black, and drooled huge sheets of foam (instead of strings of slobber) in a stressful situation, nobody ever wanted to come near us anyway.

life lesson learned — if ever you need to walk through the bowels of hell, take a cute fluffy dog with you 🙂

8 Bryan { 03.14.21 at 4:58 pm }

The long-haired dachshund is the perfect breed for hell. The miserable little sucker probably dug the way in. 😉

Yeah, BFD would have taken the attackers home and shared his kibble with them 🙂

9 hipparchia { 03.15.21 at 12:57 pm }

BFD would have taken the attackers home and shared his kibble with them

oh heavens no. he was the scardiest of scaredy cats. he only invited in birds, squirrels, mice , possums, cats, and a few select dog friends. but yes, he was the sweetiest of sweetie pies.

https://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/dog-breeds/chiweenie

have to agree with you on the lh dachshund, and i would add the chi-weenie dog, though i do approve of those breeders wanting to rescue the pet dachshund from the uselessly deep chest and overly short legs and return it to the working dog it still believes itself to be.

10 Bryan { 03.17.21 at 8:49 pm }

Dachs is a badger in German. The dog was bred to go into badger burrows and deal with the tenant. They were definitely not bred as pets, and have had fear bred out. If you don’t have a badger problem, you shouldn’t have a dog designed to hunt them.

People shouldn’t have dogs designed to live in the Arctic or sub-Arctic in Florida, but they buy them and discover they require a walk in cooler.

If you want a little dog, get a Bichon Frise. They were bred to be a lapdog and don’t require much space or exercise.

11 hipparchia { 03.18.21 at 6:42 pm }

i’m not really a fan of the little dogs, but i would seriously consider getting a havanese, just based on the ones i’ve met in person. not to mention that a cuban breed, if any, ought to be able to cope with florida weather.

also, fbd a couple of times tried to invite the neighborhood rabbits in, and all the geckos and anoles invited themselves in, which fbd loved and the cats were all afraid of.

and there weren’t any more mice or rats to invite in once snake moved in under the house.

12 Bryan { 03.19.21 at 9:42 pm }

The Havanese remind me of a neighbor’s Shih Tzu that I would occasionally walk for her. Of course the Tzu’s are from a much colder climate than Havana.

There’s nothing like a resident snake to eliminate the rodent problems. I live in a small town that wants lawns and no snakes. Feral cats have to take up the slack.