Baby It's Cold Outside
This morning we woke up with a rather rare event for the desert. The grown was dusted with snow. It is our youngest dog's first snow. As you can see from the picture she is not keen on this change in her outdoor bathroom run. Of the good many things a dog can handle, there are a good many dogs who are no longer equipped with the coat to handle the cold or sudden temperature drops. I've become quite spoiled to the warm temperatures the Mohave Desert has offered us so I can quite understand this little one's eagerness to do her business & get back into the house where it's warm and shelter from the howling wind.
Still I can't help but lift my chin to sniff the wind and stand for a moment with my big working dog to smell the change in the weather. Any kind of weather change seems to stir my Native blood the older I get. This gives me the urge to hunt. To take up the track line and let my working dog track man or beast. The worse the weather the stronger the urge. I have a good Dogman to thank for that, for the worse the weather the more important it is for those who track dogs on human scent to get out there. No one ever goes missing or gets lost in fair weather. They might but it's rather the exception than the rule. My Giant had the zoomies outside & seems all the happier for this weather change.
I went out this morning to unlock the gate and spent some extra time tucking in here & there & watching the big dog go to work using her nose to find me. The first track I ask any of my dogs to do is to track me. They have a strong instinct to be reunited with their handler. It does my heart good to see her fly around the yard and suddenly realize, I've become lost from her sight. She goes from playful and goofy to serious and the careful observer would notice that within seconds she begins to sniff the wind, to back track and find my scent. Next she moves carefully until she's locked on and she finds me. In an instant when I say, "good find" she gets a solemn pleased look on her face and before you're certain of what you saw, she's returned to goofy and ripping the ground up as she runs circles around me.
A storm like this now and again is good for the primitive parts of the soul. For the Dogmen, Search And Rescue teams, those dedicated to use foul weather as a means of serious training for your working dogs I wish you the weather that stirs your blood, feeds your souls and makes our dogs tremble with excitement when they see you lift your gear or put your boots on. For it's in these storms that was find the magic.
Still I can't help but lift my chin to sniff the wind and stand for a moment with my big working dog to smell the change in the weather. Any kind of weather change seems to stir my Native blood the older I get. This gives me the urge to hunt. To take up the track line and let my working dog track man or beast. The worse the weather the stronger the urge. I have a good Dogman to thank for that, for the worse the weather the more important it is for those who track dogs on human scent to get out there. No one ever goes missing or gets lost in fair weather. They might but it's rather the exception than the rule. My Giant had the zoomies outside & seems all the happier for this weather change.
I went out this morning to unlock the gate and spent some extra time tucking in here & there & watching the big dog go to work using her nose to find me. The first track I ask any of my dogs to do is to track me. They have a strong instinct to be reunited with their handler. It does my heart good to see her fly around the yard and suddenly realize, I've become lost from her sight. She goes from playful and goofy to serious and the careful observer would notice that within seconds she begins to sniff the wind, to back track and find my scent. Next she moves carefully until she's locked on and she finds me. In an instant when I say, "good find" she gets a solemn pleased look on her face and before you're certain of what you saw, she's returned to goofy and ripping the ground up as she runs circles around me.
A storm like this now and again is good for the primitive parts of the soul. For the Dogmen, Search And Rescue teams, those dedicated to use foul weather as a means of serious training for your working dogs I wish you the weather that stirs your blood, feeds your souls and makes our dogs tremble with excitement when they see you lift your gear or put your boots on. For it's in these storms that was find the magic.
Please just remember to be kind during this kind of weather - whether you're in the cold white north or the desert which seldom sees snow- be kind to one another, be kind to your animals, even those in the wild need a little understanding on these days. Food, water and shelter make a world of difference to all in these conditions.