JORING

(my wording for Em pulls me in something!)

A tired Emmy means a happy family...

Back in Harness > August 20, 2007

Em was back in her harness for the first time in a while today.  I'm not sure what is holding her back but she isn't pulling.  Maybe her shoulder is bugging her but she is lagging behind Whisper.  I have a few tricks up my sleeve to see if she'll pull.  I hope they work!

Skijoring Outing 1 > Jan 19, 2007

Em and I joined Natalie and Alika for some skijoring today.  We had a nice time.  Em was a little creeped out at first.  The combo of Alika, my tension and 4 sticks near her would do that!  But once she got going, it wasn't bad at all.  She gave it a good pull then decided that she wasn't in the mood anymore so I took her off the line.  After a few minutes we tried again and followed Alika closely and that did it.  She pulled her little heart out.  It was quite fun but the conditions were frustrating.  Too icy to ski well or pole effectively.  Oh well, it was a great first run!

Getting ready for Winter > November 17, 2006

Em and I went out to Komatik (dog sledding shop) yesterday to get geared up for an upcoming season of skijoring!  A new harness and lines for Em as well as a new ski package for me.  We're all set to get started.  We've started doing line out training indoors for her to get a feel of the new harness and lines.  So far, so good.  If only it would snow :)

A Summer of Joring > August 27, 2006

Although the heat restricted a lot of our joring efforts this summer, Em has gotten used to pulling ahead of me while I'm on rollerblades and she adores canicrossing with me (Em pulling me while I run).  I'll admit that her Gee (right) and Ha (left) commands are not excellent but her Hike and Whoa are pretty good.  She definitely is more tired after we canicross since she physically pulls me more than when we rollerblade.  Either way, we have fun together.

Our First CP Run > July 7, 2006

My pup is sleeping...  YAY...  We went for our first canicross run at Conroy Pit.  I was looking for a good motivator for Em to run, and I think I found it.  She didn't pull as hard as I expected but she did pull consistently through a 15 minute run.  I've had problems lately getting her to forge ahead of me.  She will pull something when I'm running next to her or she will run, but not pull, if I'm rollerblading behind her.  Today was a good breakthrough.  And the best part, she ignored dogs as she was running!

The Basics > June 11, 2006

Em and I have been working on skijoring/bikejoring commands.  We're starting with HIKE (pull), WHOA (slow stop), GEE (right) and HA (left).  So far, not bad.  It's been hard for her to understand that she can pull on the harness but not on her collar (especially with all the Rally O work we're doing!).  But it's been a good way to burn some energy and get her back in shape after surgery.  She is used to pulling a small full coke bottle.  As her fitness increases, I'll add a Bunny ahead of her so she can really run.

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