I took the team up Skalkaho again today. This time without Keegan. This allowed me the opportunity to run the team farther. I realized right before we took off that I DO have a GPS...it's on my phone (Doof!). So I fired that thing up before we took off.
I initially had Shilah and Tank in lead but as Shilah is a horrible dipper (and by that I mean she practically stops the team every time she dips for snow. I don't mind if they dip as long as they don't disturb any other dogs' gait). I placed her in swing and gave Okie a stab at lead again. After that switch, things were going much smoother and Okie did great!
We passed by the spot we turned around at yesterday and determined we indeed went 9 miles. I was trying AGAIN today to make the falls but by 6.25 miles we weren't there I decided the team had gone far enough.
On the way back though I was glad I had Okie in lead because Tank would have probably taken us off the mountain (Doof!). He's not the brightest teammate; he smelled something so he was going to follow his nose, right off a steep drop off. Okie looked over there and within a split second decided that was a BAD idea and she pulled with all her might to keep the team on the trail. This short "tail" may seem dire but do not worry, it wasn't as bad as it may sound. I have complete trust in my dogs (especially Okie's ability to lead the team past distractions and hazards) and I have to believe Tank has self preservation instincts and would not have followed the plan all the way through. I can only hope.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN_cjeXtfMQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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