Cache Valley K-9 Challenge/ Simon's first sled race.

Simon and I had our first dog sled race this winter. It was the Cache Valley K-9 Challenge race in Logan, UT.

The beautiful sunrise over Bear Lake on day one.  

It was a beautiful location and a wonderful way to end our sledding season this year.

My team and I finishing the race.

I was really excited to get to experience my first race. I was lucky that not only was Linda there to help me but my friend Amy also joined me so I had a ton of support and lots of friends to share the experience with.

I was excited.

 The trail was a bit of a challenge it had a lot more hills than we normally have also it was a bit higher altitude than normal. For being only four miles it was a lot harder than the much longer runs we have gone on.

New friend New puppy win win.

We also haven't really gotten to do any passing before or running with other teams or any of that so a ton of it was new fun. The other mushers were very friendly and helpful and just wonderful.

Talking to Simon. I do that. A lot.

 The race consisted of going two miles and then turning around and going to two miles back. Most of the first Two miles was going up a giant hill and so most of the last two was going back down the same huge hill.

Simon enjoying a drink.

So the first bit was physically hard and the second bit was more technically challenging. It was so much fun and I hope I get to run that race again.

A friends adorable dog.

It was just so amazing. 

This is Google. 

Loving on a friends beautiful dogs.

Visiting Friends.

This month my dogs have had more friends come over to visit than almost any month before.
I am going to let Sadie and Simon introduce them and tell you what they though of them.

First Kooper came to hang out with us.

Simon: I really like Kooper. Well most of the time. Occasionally.  Sometimes. Kooper can be... How do I put this. He can be a crazy annoying hyper puppy. And I know that sounds like a lot of fun but Kooper is huge. Like massive so when he is being crazy it's a big pain in the butt. But other than that he is cool. Also sometime we sing together.

Sadie: Kooper might be bigger than me but he is really just a puppy as such you have to play with him a lot. And sometimes you have to tell him when enough is enough. But mostly you play with him and it's all good. Also when he hangs out Mom takes us for lots of walks to try and make him a little tired so that's awesome.

Next Napoleon hung out with us for a little bit.

Simon: Okay well one thing I do have to say for Poe is that he has gotten less annoying as he has gotten older. However he still follows me around all the time and tries to play with me and get my attention. But when I actually try to play with him he gets scared and runs away. Make up your mind dude.

Sadie: I try to play with Poe but sometimes he gets scared. He is such a little guy. I try to get down so I am as small as possible but he still acts scared sometimes. But he has finally started to play with me and I love that. My only issue with him is I will be trying to nap and then he walks on me. Don't do that Poe let sleeping dogs lie.

Finally Axel dropped by.

Simon: The best thing about Kooper and Poe is that they are not Axel. Axel is super playful and hyper and has no idea of personal space. He even tried to sit on me once! Can you believe it! Once or twice I almost forgot and played with him but then I remembered and didn't.

Sadie: Axle is alright he is brindle just like me so he already has that going for him. He also is really friendly and fun to play with. The only issue is that he sometimes sits on me and I don't really like that. But he has his puppy dog eyes down so he is starting to get it.

Well that is it for the friends who have played with us this month. I am working on writing about the dog sled race Simon and I were in at the start of the month. I hope to have that post up soon!

Simon's new friend.

Just a quick little picture heavy fun post. Had some adorable pictures to share.

Meet Kooper.

  Simon has made a new friend. Meet Kooper the 9 month old German Shepard.

Such a pretty dog.

 I have been hoping to find a training buddy to help be a distraction for Simon, Sadie and I.

Kooper is a little bit bigger than Simon even at 9 months old.

As well as giving me some one else to talk dog training with.

Look at those cute faces.

I also really enjoy getting to train with another person it helps me stay motivated.

Simon's head is about shoulder height. 

Honestly I think Simon has really enjoyed getting to have a friend to do dog things with.

It has been a lot of fun getting to see this young dog start growing up and learning.

Kisses.

Hi mom!

Simon at training class.

Dog Sledding Adventures.

Simon with the other sled dogs and me.

             Something new I have been getting into is dog sledding.  I was lucky enough to be introduced to some fantastic mushers a couple years ago. They are based out of Ashton, ID and run a dog sledding tour called Sliver Sage Mushing. You can follow that link to their website or click here to check out their Facebook page.  After getting a taste of dog sledding I knew I was hooked. I loved everything about it; the thrill, the fun, getting to work with the dogs and see them so happy doing what they loved. It is a blast and if you ever get the chance to give it a try I highly suggest it.

Pulling us up a hill. Simon is the second from the back on the right.

         After meeting and becoming friends with Linda and Rosie I started helping them handle their teams. Getting teams of anywhere from 6-14 dogs ready to go can be a lot of work and I enjoyed the chance to get to learn more about all of the aspects of dog sledding and caring for that many dogs. They have also known Simon since he was a little fuzz ball and watched him grow into the start of a good sled dog.

Muddy Simon face after a fun run.

        It is so much fun dog sledding is my winter passion and I can't wait to have more snow on the ground and bust out a sled.

Happy Rainy and Simon.

        So there is the update for anyone who was wondering what I have been up to. Pretty much work, studying for finals, homework and dog sledding. It's pretty sweet.

12 good dogs.

Busy Bee. Updates

I figured writing it down will help me to be a little more organised. I posted on our facebook but I haven't actually written down anything yet.

On 11/5/15 Simon turned two years old. I wasn't able to get his birthday off work but we celebrated that week by getting to drive up to Ashton Idaho and he got to run on a dog sled team.  Simon and I love getting to go up to Ashton and learn more about dog sledding.

Currently I am working full time and I am going to school as well and trying to manage with the holidays coming up so I don't think I am going to have has much time to post as I would like. Also I have to work on my application for my program.

So I will post as much as I have time for but see you more after the first of the year.

Happy Birthday Sadie!

Sadie turned 6 years old on October 10th. She (and Nik) have been in my life for almost 5 years now and I love them both very much. 

To celebrate we planned a day that we thought Sadie would enjoy the best. Everything we did that day had her in mind. First thing we went to our local pet supply store and Sadie picked out two huge raw knuckle bones for later and got treats and attention.

"Are we there yet?"

After that we picked up Simon and headed to the dog park to run around and play with all the other dogs.

"How about now?"

You can see that both dogs were super excited to go to the dog park. It had been a while since we had gone and they loved it.

Happy dog.

Now we have to be careful with Sadie at the dog park as she has been known to run so hard and fast that she has worn down the skin on her pads until they were bleeding. For looking so tough Sadie is pretty delicate and her feet especially so. We make a point to have her take breaks and do some leash walk while we check her feet.

She doesn't love this, as she would rather run and play, but she is a good sport about it. She will walk nicely with us even in the park so it can't be to terrible.

Floppy face.

And after a short break she gets to go back to running and having fun.

derp.

I mean just look at the silly happy face!

There was a little white pit bull puppy. Sadie didn't really seem to care about him but Simon and the puppy played a lot.

You have to keep an eye on the little dog section they might be getting up to or into something.

Looks like a game of football.

Simon playing with the puppy crew. There was a german shepard puppy as well as the white pit pup. And the brown and white pit mix had just turned two so about Simon's age.

After we had burned off some of their energy we headed to the farmers' market. The dogs got all dressed up; they both had backpacks and Sadie also had a tutu and necklaces. You might be thinking "How is this in line with doing things Sadie likes?" Well; other than she doesn't mind it so much, she loves people and strangers are a lot more likely to love on her when she is dressed up than normal.

"Mom the sun is in our eyes this is the best you get."

I kind of think that people find pitties less intimidating when they look kind of goofy. I also like the idea of Sadie maybe making someone have a different impression of what these dogs can be.

"Why are we stopped? Lets go go go."

Simon was still super hyper so his backpack was also to try and help take the edge off his energy.

"Treats?"

We made sure to have lots of treats with us and kept the dogs close to us and under control at all times. I love taking my dogs with me but I understand not everyone is a dog person and I respect that.

"Yes, shade."

As it was starting to get warmer we made sure to take plenty of breaks in the shade.

We also used them as a chance to get some cute pictures of the birthday girl in her birthday outfit.

Everyone mentioned how well behaved both dogs were and some even asked if they were service dogs.

More treats please.

Sadie "Hey look I'm sitting give the treats to me".

Sadie "Simon Sit or we wont get treats"

Good news!

I totally thought I had already written this, so anyone who was waiting for news on here I am so sorry.

Simon's results came back as just an overly inflamed section of skin. Totally benign. NOT CANCER!

Sorry for the delay. We are thrilled that he is totally fine.

He did manage to rip out his stitches five days after his surgery in normal husky style, so we took him to the vet and they just wrapped it and said he had been healing just fine. He is now back to normal other than having a weird naked patch.

I know not how the meme is supposed to be used but it's what I think of when I hear "Good News".