JudyN wrote:Yay, we'll get to see at least two of them grow up then!
Do you do any normal 'pet dog' training, like sit, stay, come, drop, etc.? Or do they learn everything more or less on the job and by watching your other dogs? How much time will the pups spend indoors, as presumably you need to housetrain them even if they spend most of their lives outside? Also... if someone wanted one of these pups just as a pet, never to pull a sled, would they be totally unsuitable because of the way they've been bred, or would they be fine as long as the person understood their nature?
What a shame you can't spend much time with them - I hope that changes soon!
I do more behavior training than most mushers, especially during summer as a form of enrichment. Nearly all of the dogs are trained to jump on top of their houses ("hup") for handing, pets, body condition exams and so forth. Most of them have a reliable "sit", "Off" cues some of the more jumpity ones to stand on all four feet rather than jumping up. Innoko has a pretty good "down". One of these days I'll try to remember to wear the helmet cam while I do kennel chores and put some of them through their behaviors.
I would not release any of my own dogs to a non-mushing home. With some 4,000 plus years of selective breeding for the traits associated with running and pulling, every strand of DNA in their bodies SCREAMS at them to work. If they don't have a suitable outlet for that energy they'll find other ways to use it. For example, we got our Amazing Grace after she was relinquished to a rescue organization at five months of age because she was "hyper and destructive." That noted, MANY mushers place retirees into pet homes and the majority of them do just fine. Those mushers put a lot of time and work into matching the right dog with the right owner. Some are perfectly content to embark on a second career as couch warmer and dish pre-washer. Others need to go to somewhat more active settings - recreational mushing teams, athletic owners who take the dog as a running partner, dryland mushers, and so forth. It really depends on the individual dog.
While most of the northern breeds are considered "challenging" dogs to train, they are just as trainable as any other dogs once one understands what motivates and reinforces them (running and food are HIGH on their list).
The only significant difference between sled dogs such as my Stardancers or MPBandmom's scooter/bikejoring dogs and the many other wonderful dogs we share on the forum is that the sled dogs are pets who also perform work.
"Once infected with the mushing virus, there is no cure. There is only trail." - Sven Engholm