Winter Outing 2013

           
President’s Day Weekend was also the annual Winter Outing at Dog Scout Camp, where those of us who are tough and brave enough to plan a trip driving Michigan roads in February gather with our dogs in the snow to hike, sled, skijor, snowshoe and drink lots of coffee.

This has traditionally been Kannika’s big weekend, even though she always disliked

1)      pulling a sled

2)      getting her feet wet   



Kannika

    But she always looked SO good in winter photographs.  My beautiful girl passed away in January, so this was a very bittersweet trip without my Kannika or my Noelle.  I miss both of them so much.  But life, and Dog Scouts, goes on, so I loaded regulars Punch, Tango, and Pascha in the car, along with Winter Outing virgins Lottie Moon and Keebler, and we had a blessedly uneventful drive to Michigan.

 

Going to Dog Scout Camp has always been like going home for me, but now with my trailer there, it REALLY feels like home.  I love walking in and having all of our stuff waiting for us, in our own familiar space.  Lonnie and Joe got my trailer all ready and turned on the electric and the gas so it was nice and warm for our arrival, but unfortunately the propane ran out before we got there at midnight, so it was quite icy inside when I walked in.  I went back to the car, and we all slept nice and toasty in a big pile in the car until morning when we were able to go get the propane tank filled.

 

We had a small but fabulous group.  There were some great activities planned for us, including a class on Search and Rescue, taught by my wonderful and awesome friend, Claudette Smith.  For this activity, we had six people in the room who walked to the center, and one dropped a scent article, such as a glove or scarf, in the center of the floor.  Then each person walked back out to the edge of the room and waited.  The handler brought the dog in, had them sniff the article, then find the owner of the article.  It was amazing.  I am so blown away by the talent of these dogs to do this.  All of the border collies were able to find the owner quickly, and so my confidence was bolstered and I brought Lottie into try.  She ROCKED.  Of course, first she had to greet everyone in the room, but THEN she went to the owner of the article and was very excited that she found her.  Lottie's response to the owner was much different than her greeting of the others in the room, so there is no doubt in my mind that she knew this was the person who dropped the glove.  Part of this training is learning to read your dog, so maybe once she learns to forego the salutations, Lottie can participate in more nosework.  After all, the eyes and ears don't work so well, but there is nothing wrong with Lottie's nose :-)            

I was interested to see how Lottie would enjoy all the Michigan snow (so much prettier and better than awful Ohio snow), but every time we hiked, she was so frustrated.  She had to remain on the leash while the border collies ran free in the woods, and she wasn’t happy about it.  She barked and screamed on every hike, and there were a lot of hikes.  I kept thinking she would finally accept her plight and relax, but no.  She is tenacious, that’s for sure, she never, never, never gives up.  That’s how she is able handle her blindness and deafness with such courage and joy; she just plows forward through life and doesn’t accept that there is anything she can’t do. 

We never even got out the dog sleds, although Lonnie made a half-hearted attempt once, then abandoned the idea for more hiking.  It was after we left and were back in Ohio that a friend sent me a video of a blind and deaf Aussie dog-sledding, and I was so upset that I didn’t think of it for Lottie.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh4RhmrUXMk&feature=player_embedded

 What a great way for Lottie to run through the woods, safely tethered to her buddies in harness?!  If I don’t make it back yet this year, we will certainly do this next year.  I might even have to look at buying a kick sled for my aussie-girl.  We don’t have much snow in Ohio, but there are usually at least one or two good snows each year that we could take advantage of.  I’m so anxious now to try!

Regardless of missing my opportunity to try Lottie at sledding, we still had a great trip enjoying the Michigan woods and snow, and spending time with some of my best friends, both human and canine.

Hiking with Keebler

We miss you, Kannika