I had hoped to be able to run with Stetson on Kennesaw Mountain in January, 2013. Based on his conditioning when he came to us in November, I knew he'd need some time to work his massive muscle from "body builder" type strength muscle into the leaner, longer endurance muscle. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing wrong with this dog. He was drop dead gorgeous, he is a finished Champion in both the American Kennel Club and Australian Shepherd Club of America, and I can see why judges would put him up and award him the points necessary to earn both his Championships. The dog was very well cared for, it was just a different activity type that produced a muscle different from what is necessary of an endurance athlete. Additionally, the terrain on parts of the trail is pretty difficult on pads with large, loose gravel under foot and his pads weren't used to that type of challenge.
When we ran on the beach at Hilton Head during Christmas, I knew we had progressed quicker than I'd anticipated and I began to think greedy thoughts about getting to the mountain on or about the 1st. On the other hand, in the transition from kibble to raw diet, I'd let him get a little too thin. I was working him pretty hard regularly in an effort to get his endurance built up, but I was so paranoid about bloat (something I honestly didn't stress over with the Siberians, I took reasonable precautions, but I did not stress much over it) that I ended up cutting out some of the extra snack meals I had done with Mira, and Maddie before her. I also failed to take into consideration the additional load his system took with being in tact. I've had spayed/neutered dogs in recent years and didn't compensate adequately to compensate for his additional food needs. The result was a dog that was thinner than need be, and he was using his nutrition on "work" days so quickly that we had a couple of instances of stomach upset and untimely bile elimination (Three or Four O'clock in the morning kind of flying out of bed to the sound of a retching dog only to have to clean dog, crate and dog bedding). We had a thorough medical evaluation/exam and blood work done with our Vet to rule out potential medical issues, and it was decided that adding weight and also adding an extra small meal before bed on "work" days would hopefully resolve the problem. He is gaining weight and we have not had any additional vomit problems since we increased food and added a snack before bed on run days. With the weather turning so cold overnight, I could no longer resist the call of the trail. I decided early into the weekend that we were going on Sunday morning for our first trail run together.
Last night I began gathering up the "tools" for our run. For Stetson: harness, lead, collar, nutrition for after the run and water. For me: gloves, head gear, trail shoes, shirt change (dry shirt for after the run to stay warm), post run nutrition and water. I try to take a healthy protein and some healthy carbs for both dog and human. For myself, I'm packing dried cranberries with cashews and walnuts (a mix pre made from Publix). For Stetson, I packed freeze dried chicken hearts, dried apricots and a high quality kibble. We both get just enough food after to help us begin effective recovery.
While I was packing his food, Stetson got to try a chicken heart for the first time. When I finished his packing, I got my nut mixture out and began packing it and pulling out the water bottles...I heard a little rustle behind me and found Stetson had discovered where I keep his new favorite treat, freeze dried chicken hearts!
We got to the mountain this morning before 8:00 and it was 27 degrees. Stetson stopped to pee one time as we began the trail and other than that, he had his head on task. I was very impressed that he wasn't wanting to stop and mark every few feet. I recently read that the Australian Shepherd is a follower, not a leader. I hoped that his view of me as leader perhaps lessened his need to mark. Regardless of the validity of that thought process, it was nice to not have him trying to mark every few feet.
I started out thinking we'd run 3 miles, I was concerned about the large gravel under foot and certainly didn't want to ruin the experience for him by making his pads sore. When we got to the turnaround for the three mile out and back, he was moving fine and we'd already been over the worst of the terrain. After a quick pad check, I decided to go on and we ended up going from the Burnt Hickory parking area all the way to the Illinois Monument and back. He handled the five and a half mile run incredibly well. He was a good partner, although I will fix the pulling that I anticipated I'd regret letting take place, he's just too strong to pull on me, sigh. It won't be hard to correct and I knew I'd need to eventually, but it served as a good measure early in our work together to know how much effort and enthusiasm he was putting into a run.
Even better than the way he handled the run was the attitude he had with the ever so bossy Madison when we returned home. She greeted him at the door with her mouth wide and loud, and her nose pushing up under his belly and rear in typical "left behind, alpha bitch" manner. He humored her for a minute, but before I had my shoes off (and that's almost immediately upon entering the house), he had given her a bunny scoot, flipped his butt in her face and play bowed until she eagerly engaged him in a romp around the house. They are a good match for each other!
Here he's enjoying the reward for being a good partner and working hard on the trail for me - dried apricots, freeze dried chicken hearts and some high quality kibble.
And finally, he gets a well deserved rest before dinner. I'm glad to be looking forward to weekends again, and runs with my dog. Today was a great way to close 2012 with a very special dog, who has a very special place in my heart. Welcome Stetson, I'm so glad you are here!
When we ran on the beach at Hilton Head during Christmas, I knew we had progressed quicker than I'd anticipated and I began to think greedy thoughts about getting to the mountain on or about the 1st. On the other hand, in the transition from kibble to raw diet, I'd let him get a little too thin. I was working him pretty hard regularly in an effort to get his endurance built up, but I was so paranoid about bloat (something I honestly didn't stress over with the Siberians, I took reasonable precautions, but I did not stress much over it) that I ended up cutting out some of the extra snack meals I had done with Mira, and Maddie before her. I also failed to take into consideration the additional load his system took with being in tact. I've had spayed/neutered dogs in recent years and didn't compensate adequately to compensate for his additional food needs. The result was a dog that was thinner than need be, and he was using his nutrition on "work" days so quickly that we had a couple of instances of stomach upset and untimely bile elimination (Three or Four O'clock in the morning kind of flying out of bed to the sound of a retching dog only to have to clean dog, crate and dog bedding). We had a thorough medical evaluation/exam and blood work done with our Vet to rule out potential medical issues, and it was decided that adding weight and also adding an extra small meal before bed on "work" days would hopefully resolve the problem. He is gaining weight and we have not had any additional vomit problems since we increased food and added a snack before bed on run days. With the weather turning so cold overnight, I could no longer resist the call of the trail. I decided early into the weekend that we were going on Sunday morning for our first trail run together.
Last night I began gathering up the "tools" for our run. For Stetson: harness, lead, collar, nutrition for after the run and water. For me: gloves, head gear, trail shoes, shirt change (dry shirt for after the run to stay warm), post run nutrition and water. I try to take a healthy protein and some healthy carbs for both dog and human. For myself, I'm packing dried cranberries with cashews and walnuts (a mix pre made from Publix). For Stetson, I packed freeze dried chicken hearts, dried apricots and a high quality kibble. We both get just enough food after to help us begin effective recovery.
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| Finding the stash of chicken hearts |
We got to the mountain this morning before 8:00 and it was 27 degrees. Stetson stopped to pee one time as we began the trail and other than that, he had his head on task. I was very impressed that he wasn't wanting to stop and mark every few feet. I recently read that the Australian Shepherd is a follower, not a leader. I hoped that his view of me as leader perhaps lessened his need to mark. Regardless of the validity of that thought process, it was nice to not have him trying to mark every few feet.
I started out thinking we'd run 3 miles, I was concerned about the large gravel under foot and certainly didn't want to ruin the experience for him by making his pads sore. When we got to the turnaround for the three mile out and back, he was moving fine and we'd already been over the worst of the terrain. After a quick pad check, I decided to go on and we ended up going from the Burnt Hickory parking area all the way to the Illinois Monument and back. He handled the five and a half mile run incredibly well. He was a good partner, although I will fix the pulling that I anticipated I'd regret letting take place, he's just too strong to pull on me, sigh. It won't be hard to correct and I knew I'd need to eventually, but it served as a good measure early in our work together to know how much effort and enthusiasm he was putting into a run.
Even better than the way he handled the run was the attitude he had with the ever so bossy Madison when we returned home. She greeted him at the door with her mouth wide and loud, and her nose pushing up under his belly and rear in typical "left behind, alpha bitch" manner. He humored her for a minute, but before I had my shoes off (and that's almost immediately upon entering the house), he had given her a bunny scoot, flipped his butt in her face and play bowed until she eagerly engaged him in a romp around the house. They are a good match for each other!
Here he's enjoying the reward for being a good partner and working hard on the trail for me - dried apricots, freeze dried chicken hearts and some high quality kibble.
And finally, he gets a well deserved rest before dinner. I'm glad to be looking forward to weekends again, and runs with my dog. Today was a great way to close 2012 with a very special dog, who has a very special place in my heart. Welcome Stetson, I'm so glad you are here!
Looks like Stetson is fitting in great. I didn't realize bloat was an issue for Aussies. Wouldn't have guessed that. In greyhounds, it is a common problem in AKC greyhounds, but rarely seen racing greyhounds.
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