Coyote

My neighbor across the street called a little while ago to tell me she had just let her dogs out and a young coyote was in our front yard.  It was the second time she's seen it this week.  She seemed concerned the animal would come after my dogs.  I've never been particularly afraid of coyotes, perhaps because I don't have small dogs or a puppy.  It seems like they would be more vulnerable than my dogs who are nearly of equal size.  I'm right, aren't I, we're not targets for a hungry coyote?  There are bunnies and other small animals that would surely be better suited to them.  Regardless we will make sure both dogs go out together and that we are watching when they're outside, although the fence is a six foot privacy, so that too should work in our favor.

I'm sitting on the sofa with Maddie at my side writing this post and giggling at all the excuses I've had the past six weeks or so to not run consistently. I got off cycle in January when I came down with a crazy cold that just couldn't be shaken. For two weeks I couldn't breathe well so it made sense to stay in. I also began obedience classes with Stetson and have found it too easy to get wrapped up in heeling, pivots, boxes, sits, downs, stays...in the evenings. One thing led to another and one week turned into another.  I ran some, but it certainly hasn't been consistent. Great excuses, don't you think?   How convenient for my brain to have the seed of a new one planted, a coyote in the neighborhood...

Finishers Medals from my three previous half marathons

I've had the Allstate 13.1 Atlanta half marathon on my mind all evening. This is the only big road race I'm planning on for 2013.  It will be October 6th in Brookhaven, Georgia. I've run this race before and it is a good event. Several friends have invited me to join them in various "muddy" events and 5k races, but the venues and distances haven't inspired me. The exception to that would be the Ride N Run with Catherine, that is an event that I would rearrange my schedule for.  Otherwise, I need distance, it seems I am made for the longer races.

There's a magnet hanging on my refrigerator with a quote from John J. Bingham - "The miracle isn't that I finished.  The miracle is that I had the courage to start."  It seems to be particularly appropriate right now.  It is time to begin the miracle again.





 

Achievements

Our two happy kids

 

You set goals, then you determine the steps you'll take to achieve them and the measurements you can use to evaluate your progress along the way.  Some days during your work toward the desired end result, you get to go "wow, that's working great!".  We've had a few of those happy "wow" moments this week. 

One of our primary goals from the day we brought Stetson home has been to develop a relationship based on trust and a solid running partnership. We focused hard the first two and a half months on physical conditioning in order to make him a great distance running partner.  Over the Christmas holiday, I realized he'd achieved a level of endurance that allowed me to take him to the next level - trails.  I get most of my distance on trails on the weekend; Saturday or Sunday are my planned "long" run days.  I try to get a minimum of 6 miles in on these runs.  Running a dog on trails vs. the road poses a couple of different concerns.  First, foot/pad protection for them can be a problem and needs to be handled carefully.  Secondly, dealing with deer, turkeys and other large wildlife we don't see in the neighborhood. 

We worked through the the pad situation while we were building his endurance by gradually increasing distance, frequency between runs and adding rougher terrain as available.  He has super pads and I don't have to be concerned about them not being tough enough for what we do (although they do get checked before runs, at rest stops and after each run to be sure they are healthy and injury free).  Wildlife, deer in particular, have been a concern for me.  Mira didn't attempt to chase wildlife other than squirrels, and most of them she'd ignore if Madison wasn't around to incite a chase.  We could come across several deer on the path or close by in the woods and Mira would simply stop and watch, then off we'd go.  I doubted from the beginning that Stetson would be as unstimulated by their presence, or even their scent as she.  This is a major safety concern for me.  I'm not a large person and if taken by surprise, I could easily be thrown to the ground by a dog that lunges unexpectedly off the trail.  Unfortunately, I know this from experience and I intend to do my best to avoid the drag and bounce injuries I've encountered in years past.  We've been on several trails and he's solid with dogs, even dogs who snarl and lunge at us; but I hadn't had the opportunity to deal with reactions and train expectations on large wildlife.

Sunday last week, we were finishing a run at Kennesaw Mountain when I caught a glimpse of three deer on the path ahead of us.  I caught sight of them before Stetson, so I pulled him to me and changed the clasp of his lead from his collar to his harness; I wanted to be in total control and able to get his front feet off the ground if he decided to chase.  I decided before we moved further ahead that I was going to use this as an opportunity to "correct and direct" behavior in a way that would help me train him to stay on task.  I had him by the harness, with about two or three feet of loose leash between us.  We began to walk forward until he spotted the deer.  As soon as he left his stand, whined and tried to lunge I took my opportunity to correct and guide him into appropriate behavior.  In this situation, "correct behavior" is, passing without lunging, whining or otherwise acting like the predator we both are.  He took two firm corrections before he was confident that I was right and we should move forward rather than into the woods after the deer, who by now had crossed our path and bobbed deeply enough into the brush that I had to really focus to see them. We finished the run with him receiving tons of praise for moving forward and not looking back again.  I know I'll have to work with him more and he will have to continue to gain self-control.  But for a first lesson, I'm really glad he was willing exchange his instinct for my leadership.

On Wednesday he put his fears aside and took my leadership to jump into the back seat of an extended cab pickup rental I was using.  It was narrow, beyond his ability to visualize where he was going to land once he launched and basically a cruddy place for any pressure sensitive being to have to jump into.  He looked me in the eye and left no doubt in my mind that if things went wrong, he was holding it against me personally, but he did it.  I was really proud of this guy that won't jump into the bath tub or onto a grooming table for this moment of faith in me!

Thursday evening while on our run we had a loose dog in the neighborhood charge down a side street toward us.  Dave had Maddie and I had Stetson.  As I was muttering to Dave that I'd of course left my pepper spray at home...Stetson flipped around to face the dog who was a couple of houses behind us and stood firmly planted in the road.  I pulled him and coaxed him and got annoyed with him for not moving before I realized he'd stopped the other dog in it's tracks.  The loose dog walked over to a mailbox and sniffed and marked it, not giving us any further issue.  I've never had a dog that took control of a situation and left me feeling safe.  Stetson did nothing other than turn and stand his ground.  There was no growl, lunge, whine...he simply turned around and waited for the other dog to offer an acceptable response.  It was an amazing feeling to have a protector.

Today we took Maddie and Stetson to the river for a three miler.  I knew the recent rain and warm overnight lows would leave the mountain a slimy mess, so I nixed the longer mountain run.  The river wasn't much of a picnic - people , dogs, crates and the truck needed cleaning up when we got home.  Thankfully both the Siberian Husky and Australian Shepherd coats clean up easily.  It was a fun way to end a really great week together.

Her tummy was speckled brown and gray from the mud before a good brushing - white again!

 

His front, legs and tum dripped with brown/gray muddy slime before being wiped down and brushed out.

 

 

 

Celebrating Three Months Together

Beautiful boy after 5+ trail miles at Kennesaw Mountain on this cold winter morning.

The morning of November 17th we brought Stetson home for a "test drive".  We didn't know if we could or wanted to live with an Australian Shepherd, but I was in immediate need of a running partner and he was looking for a retirement home from his show career.

We knew in less than 36 hours he was staying; I think it took him much longer to decide about us.  Over the past three months we've learned to run together and take care of each other on the road and trail.  We both needed conditioning.  He needed physical conditioning to be able to run distance and to take on the tough terrain of trails.  My broken heart needed conditioning.  I had to learn to open up for the future while honoring the memory of the past.  We have also dabbled in some dog sports that have helped bond us, and teach us to work as a team and trust each other.

Here are some of my favorite memories of the things that we've done together over the past three months - I can't wait to see what the next three, six, twelve...hold for us!

We began herding lessons - HOOKED!  I love watching his brain work on the task he was bred to do.

 

Stretching is an important part of injury prevention for human and canine - it took some time for him to trust me and allow me to manipulate him this way.

 

He went on his first trip in the RV over Christmas to Hilton Head - he was a very good traveler.

 

I had him entered in conformation to see if he enjoyed the ring as an indicator of whether I think I want to seek his AKC Grand Championship.

 

 

 

We are nearly half way through our first competition obedience class - again, HOOKED.  I've never done competitive obedience and watching his brain work through the tasks that I ask of him is amazing to me.

 

Sunrises are abundant on weekend runs; this is one of many we've seen at the Chattahoochee River

 

Sunrise on Hilton Head Island at the end of a "turning point" run; it was this run that I knew he was ready to increase mileage and I began to dream of trails on Kennesaw Mountain again.

 

He heard the ocean and tasted the salt of the sea for the first time.

 

He doesn't like to go outside to potty in the rain, but a downpour on New Years Day didn't keep him off task for a run at the river.

 

New memories were made today on the steps of the Illinois Monument - I honor the previous memories but I am at last willing to make new ones.

 

 

 

Thanks buddy, we're so grateful you're here.  You start every day giving us a giggle watching you wiggle and squirm waiting for breakfast and end each night with a warm snuggle.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frosty River Run

Sun rising over the trees at the Hooch

Two weeks ago Saturday night, we set the alarm for 5 am.  The plan was routine: get up and feed dogs, go back to bed for 2 hours, then get up and head to the river.  I had scheduled a herding lesson for the afternoon, so it was predetermined that we wouldn't work Stetson hard that morning in order to eliminate the potential for an overuse or fatigue injury.  The river is a perfect outing for either recovery, or just taking it easy.  It's flat, relatively soft and the path is wide; so no matter how many dogs you encounter, there's always room to give each other space.  It is the perfect place to get a nice workout without risking much in return.

The alarm goes off, I bounce up off my pillow in anticipation and hear myself muttering "ah, sh____!, I'm sick" followed by a cough and a wheeze.  I think to myself "okay, no big deal we go back to bed".  Then I get to the back door to let the dogs out and glance over at the thermometer - it's 29 degrees.  Holy cow, we haven't had many cold mornings this year and I'm not going to miss this one.  There's something about running in the cold, when you can see your breath and you cannot tell if the pain in your legs is muscle fatigue or just plain coldness that brings a new level of enjoyment and a different rush to the whole process.  No, I was not going to miss this cold morning after having dealt with rain and muggy conditions for weeks.  So I brought  the dogs in, bounced back to the bedroom, lathered myself in Vicks to open up my wheezy chest and reset the alarm for 7ish.  When the alarm goes off again I flip out of bed and decidedly "feel great".

The dogs are packed and we're off.  I swear there is nothing that ails me that a few minutes in my sneakers with one of my dogs on lead cannot cure, at least for a minute.  We walked the usual 3 miler as a precaution in the event there was really something wrong with me and also to keep Stetson in check for his herding lesson that afternoon.  And healed I was, or so I thought.

The trail was kissed with frost.  Fog hung low over the river.  Occasionally you could see a group of ducks float by as if in an old movie; no volume, just a visual moment to see the grandeur of nature waking up before your eyes.

The river, "awake", after our walk

After the walk and our typical Sunday lunch out, I took Stetson for a herding lesson.  He was exceptionally good (my opinion, which does not necessarily count) and we had a grand time working together with Amy and watching others who had come out for an opportunity to work sheep with their dogs.  It was a great afternoon filled with lessons, friendship, laughs, observations and camaraderie between dog people.  Somewhere near the end of the lesson my voice began to escape.  I became hoarse and vocally weak.  We joked that I must have yelled at my dog, (who was a barking spectator for a period of the day), too much.  And so the next two weeks went.  From A to Z, I've battled and eventually found victory over symptom after symptom of the common cold.  Two weeks of coughing, sneezing, wheezing, blowing and otherwise feeling awful.

I've occupied my time and the dogs minds with some obedience work and other non-physical activities.  Stetson was shown in conformation in Jonesboro this past weekend, so we have not lost much time other than the pining for a run.  Runners long for the pavement or trail the way others ache for the warmth of sun on a blustery February day.

Tonight I managed to get sneakers on, dogs in harness and we took in a short run under thick cloud cover.  It was humid and there was a damp chill in the air, but I only felt it while I went up the driveway.  Once we turned onto the road, all that seemed to hold me back for two weeks vanished into the night air. Topping each of the small hills in the neighborhood felt like I'd reached some far away snow covered summit in a rocky mountain range.  Stetson even gave a whine when I brought his harness into the house, it seems he too missed the pavement.