Yesterday It was pretty warm, about 60 degrees. The sky was cloudy and we had rain in the forecast, you could definitly smell it coming. I really needed to get Lux out though, because I needed to give his soon-to-be new owner a report on how he was doing in harness, since It has been a while since I hooked him up.
Right as I walked out the door it started to drizzle, but I really needed to get Lux out. The humidity unusually wasnt all that high, so I was determined to get him hooked up with someone reliable. I ended up choosing Waylon... YES the same dog that used to harness bang, scream and chew lines is now this perfect boy who lines out and waits for commands. So yeah, I am a proud Ma :)
Got them both hooked up in double lead (because I didnt know how Lux would do his first real time in harness running behind a dog) plus it minimizes tangles. Poor boy didnt know what was going on and as soon as I finnaly got to the rig (after I kept having to return up to him and say STAY and push his butt down) park brake off, he automatically went a complete 360 behind the rig (don't ask, I really dont know what he was thinking lol) and then got frustrated he could'nt go anywhere and flopped down. I lined them out again, and had to do the STAY thing all over again and then quickly hopped back to the rig and pushed it forward saying "OK!". Waylon either wasnt paying attention or was mad at me for hooking him up with a total nutjob and just kind of walked along as I pushed the rig, making the shock absorber scrape the ground. It wasnt that big of a deal they werent pulling all the way yet because the driveway curve is pretty sharp and I didnt want to cut it too deep. We made it past the curve and then said OK and waylon slammed into his harness like he always does. Lux then caught right on and started pulling like a natural, head and tail down, harness pulled tight tearing down the road headed for the hill. Waylon is one of those dogs you're not really sure what you would do without him.. I knew he must have read my mind because he went a perfect speed untill we passed the curve. The road hill is very steep and I had to peddle (actually ran up it this time, which is good for me!) almost all the way up it. Almost made it to the top when I had to stop, and then realized I forgot my inhaler.. AGAIN. We managed to average 8 mph going up the hill, which isnt bad in itself.
Made it onto the paved road where I met my neighbor, Bobby and he was asking me all kinds of questions about the rig (of course everyone thinks it is such a cool looking thing) and then about the dogs. He had seen me run my dogs before but we never really got a chance to talk, just a quick hey, how ya doin type of deal. He was lucky and actually got to see a really good take off and haw from my team, even though we didnt go all that far before we then did a pretty nice gee around and came back down the road again. Lux had already memorized the route and saw the driveway and I noticed that look he gave like he was gonna whip down in there but I yelled "on-by boys!" just in time and he snapped back into it. As we went flying down the road I glanced for a second down at my Odometer and read "27 mph" and gasped... I had never gone that fast, as long as I know. I slowed the dogs down a bit, but carefully.. if I push too far on the brakes I would skid and actually get a "wheel" lol (yes, rigs can squeal around turns too!).
There was another hill as we came up to it, and I peddled for the most part, but decided to take a break because Waylon runs hot in balmy weather and the boys did a nice Gee over on the side of the road and we sat there. I went to check the speedometer again to see if I was really seeing things or was we really going that fast, but the magnet slid a little so I had to fiddle with it.. I swear I'm gonna glue it on there. We sat there for what seemed like 10 minutes and even watched a school bus pass by, which waylon seemed to be interested in it and I joked with him and told him he couldnt be chasin' no cheesebox.
We turned around, this time a little harder and the rig clipped my heels (talk about ouch!) then hopped back on as I yelled Hike and we were off again. As we came back down the hill one of the neighbors dogs tore down his yard and ran right at my team, teeth bearing, snarling and barking viciously, chasing my rig uncomfortably close as we whizzed by. Waylon again made me proud as I yelled "on by boys!" "on by!" trying to just get out of there before one of us got bit. He didnt even glance at the dog and was focused on running, but Lux wanted to take a visit, but Waylon pulled him through it. I praised him greatly for being such a good boy as we got closer to the driveway. I have already told myself if that guys dog bites me or one of my dogs (she, the dog, already is responsible for the death of one of my rescued dogs) It will be her last straw because she is just getting too dangerous.
We came to the driveway and I told the dogs to haw and they did it perfectly, BOTH of them. We stopped for a minute so I could calculate the best way to get down the driveway since it is all downhill coming back, and then slowly let off the brakes a tad and just let the boys walk down the hill, which worked pretty well, except for one point where the boys got carried away when I let go of the brake for a minute but I got it back under control. I let go of the brake totally after we came down the last stretch of hill and we took another haw back into the driveway. I need to make some kind of camera mount for the rig.. I love taking videos of us running.
Anyways... I am very proud of both of my boys, even Lux for his first real run he did pretty well. Another successful run, even at 60 degrees. After I put the dogs up and giving them some water and lots of praise, It started to rain.. now that's perfect timing! I checked my speedometer when I got back inside and it read-
Average Speed- 9.1 mph
Max Speed- 32.1 mph (WOW)
Distance- 1 mile
Time- 6 minutes 26 seconds (really good considering we stopped for two breaks, and several turn arounds and corrections!)
well, time to go scoop the kennels.. we have some snow in the forecast so I need to get everything done.. fingers crossed!!
Right as I walked out the door it started to drizzle, but I really needed to get Lux out. The humidity unusually wasnt all that high, so I was determined to get him hooked up with someone reliable. I ended up choosing Waylon... YES the same dog that used to harness bang, scream and chew lines is now this perfect boy who lines out and waits for commands. So yeah, I am a proud Ma :)
Got them both hooked up in double lead (because I didnt know how Lux would do his first real time in harness running behind a dog) plus it minimizes tangles. Poor boy didnt know what was going on and as soon as I finnaly got to the rig (after I kept having to return up to him and say STAY and push his butt down) park brake off, he automatically went a complete 360 behind the rig (don't ask, I really dont know what he was thinking lol) and then got frustrated he could'nt go anywhere and flopped down. I lined them out again, and had to do the STAY thing all over again and then quickly hopped back to the rig and pushed it forward saying "OK!". Waylon either wasnt paying attention or was mad at me for hooking him up with a total nutjob and just kind of walked along as I pushed the rig, making the shock absorber scrape the ground. It wasnt that big of a deal they werent pulling all the way yet because the driveway curve is pretty sharp and I didnt want to cut it too deep. We made it past the curve and then said OK and waylon slammed into his harness like he always does. Lux then caught right on and started pulling like a natural, head and tail down, harness pulled tight tearing down the road headed for the hill. Waylon is one of those dogs you're not really sure what you would do without him.. I knew he must have read my mind because he went a perfect speed untill we passed the curve. The road hill is very steep and I had to peddle (actually ran up it this time, which is good for me!) almost all the way up it. Almost made it to the top when I had to stop, and then realized I forgot my inhaler.. AGAIN. We managed to average 8 mph going up the hill, which isnt bad in itself.
Made it onto the paved road where I met my neighbor, Bobby and he was asking me all kinds of questions about the rig (of course everyone thinks it is such a cool looking thing) and then about the dogs. He had seen me run my dogs before but we never really got a chance to talk, just a quick hey, how ya doin type of deal. He was lucky and actually got to see a really good take off and haw from my team, even though we didnt go all that far before we then did a pretty nice gee around and came back down the road again. Lux had already memorized the route and saw the driveway and I noticed that look he gave like he was gonna whip down in there but I yelled "on-by boys!" just in time and he snapped back into it. As we went flying down the road I glanced for a second down at my Odometer and read "27 mph" and gasped... I had never gone that fast, as long as I know. I slowed the dogs down a bit, but carefully.. if I push too far on the brakes I would skid and actually get a "wheel" lol (yes, rigs can squeal around turns too!).
There was another hill as we came up to it, and I peddled for the most part, but decided to take a break because Waylon runs hot in balmy weather and the boys did a nice Gee over on the side of the road and we sat there. I went to check the speedometer again to see if I was really seeing things or was we really going that fast, but the magnet slid a little so I had to fiddle with it.. I swear I'm gonna glue it on there. We sat there for what seemed like 10 minutes and even watched a school bus pass by, which waylon seemed to be interested in it and I joked with him and told him he couldnt be chasin' no cheesebox.
We turned around, this time a little harder and the rig clipped my heels (talk about ouch!) then hopped back on as I yelled Hike and we were off again. As we came back down the hill one of the neighbors dogs tore down his yard and ran right at my team, teeth bearing, snarling and barking viciously, chasing my rig uncomfortably close as we whizzed by. Waylon again made me proud as I yelled "on by boys!" "on by!" trying to just get out of there before one of us got bit. He didnt even glance at the dog and was focused on running, but Lux wanted to take a visit, but Waylon pulled him through it. I praised him greatly for being such a good boy as we got closer to the driveway. I have already told myself if that guys dog bites me or one of my dogs (she, the dog, already is responsible for the death of one of my rescued dogs) It will be her last straw because she is just getting too dangerous.
We came to the driveway and I told the dogs to haw and they did it perfectly, BOTH of them. We stopped for a minute so I could calculate the best way to get down the driveway since it is all downhill coming back, and then slowly let off the brakes a tad and just let the boys walk down the hill, which worked pretty well, except for one point where the boys got carried away when I let go of the brake for a minute but I got it back under control. I let go of the brake totally after we came down the last stretch of hill and we took another haw back into the driveway. I need to make some kind of camera mount for the rig.. I love taking videos of us running.
Anyways... I am very proud of both of my boys, even Lux for his first real run he did pretty well. Another successful run, even at 60 degrees. After I put the dogs up and giving them some water and lots of praise, It started to rain.. now that's perfect timing! I checked my speedometer when I got back inside and it read-
Average Speed- 9.1 mph
Max Speed- 32.1 mph (WOW)
Distance- 1 mile
Time- 6 minutes 26 seconds (really good considering we stopped for two breaks, and several turn arounds and corrections!)
well, time to go scoop the kennels.. we have some snow in the forecast so I need to get everything done.. fingers crossed!!
ha! proof.
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