On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 17:56:43 -0500, Melinda Shore wrote:

That's unfortunate especially because they do tend to favor head
halters, which I think are a bad idea for a dog that's apt to bolt.

I'm kinda skeptical about those things. I mean when she's out and sees a
cat or small dog she will do all sorts of lunging, backing, squirming and
dancing to try to get out of the collar.

Don't have a clue about weight pulling. If there's a local
breed club they'll be a great resource.

I just want to know if it's safe (for the dog) for one dog to pull a cart
plus person or if the load should be lighter since it's only one dog.

Emmett's got great steering and frankly he learned it
through osmosis. From the time he was a puppy I gave him
gee/haw commands every time we went out.

Do you give him those commands when you walk him? My husband was telling
her "hike" when walking her and I said I'm not sure you should teach her
that if you later want to teach her that "hike" means start
pulling/running. I guess gee and haw wouldn't matter though since
they'd mean the same thing regardless of activity.

I think it's a *great* idea, with the caveat that you have
to be careful about overheating a dog with a heavy coat.

How hot is too hot for bike running? We have very cool summers where I
live. It rarely gets above 75F and it's usually cooler in the early
morning and evening.

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 08:33:31 -0500, sighthounds & siberians wrote:

isn't. Anyway, you have some people's worst nightmare - - an
adolescent Siberian. Which is probably why she was in the pound.

Hehe, I think she's cute. She wore me out a bit yesterday, but today she
got a good run and I got to bike. I can't believe that after 8 miles of
running she is in here right now bouncing all over and flipping her toys
in the air and pouncing on them. You'd think she was a cat and one that
never tires. Anyway, it seems like the majority of the time most of the
dogs in the pound are about 1 or 1.5 years old. Is this just a bad age?
They stop being puppy cute and hard to control because no one trained them?

DH and I used to do Siberian rescue, and we saw quite a few dogs that
were hand/head shy. Sibes can be frustrating, but nothing justifies
hitting them to the point that they cower.

Yeah she hated having collars or harnesses put on her, but she seems to be
fine with me doing it now. I took her to PetSmart and also stopped when
there were other people coming toward us on the bike trail. I let everyone
who asks pet her so she gets over being so shy. She still cowers away from
a lot of people, but she's getting better. I think some of her shyness is
just not wanting to be caught and restrained. Silly beast. But other times
I can tell she's genuinely afraid.

mind busy, and train. Now to the important stuff. You mentioned
different colored eyes, and I'm a fool for bi-eyed Siberians. I must
know what color she is. What are you calling her?

She has one blue eye and one brown eye. I've been calling her coyote until
I pick another name for her. Her coloring is *a lot* like that of a wild
coyote. She's white and grey and black and tan.

On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 15:56:52 -0500, "Jen R."
wrote:

Anyway, it seems like the majority of the time most of the
dogs in the pound are about 1 or 1.5 years old. Is this just a bad age?
They stop being puppy cute and hard to control because no one trained them?

That's it exactly. They're suddenly big and not as cute, and out of
control because they're untrained.

She has one blue eye and one brown eye. I've been calling her coyote until
I pick another name for her. Her coloring is *a lot* like that of a wild
coyote. She's white and grey and black and tan.

She sounds beautiful. Good luck with her, and please keep us posted.

Mustang Sally

sighthounds & siberians wrote:

Yep, making like a tree isn't going to work with a dog that thinks it
can pull a tree out of the ground. I think many people, trainers
included, don't grasp just how hard Siberians can pull, and how
strongly wired they are to pull.

So far I've had some really amazing successes with the Sensation and
Easy Walk type harnesses. I just recently used one on a spectacular (but
fairly -ahem- "other" focussed lil Sibe puppy) and I liked the results.

Anyone else here used them on many dogs yet? I'm especially curious
about those with Sibes, Mals, Eskies....yanno, the genetically based
sled dog breeds (as opposed to individual dogs that merely aspire to
that sort of thing).

Working with a three month old Berner at the moment (he's staying with
me for the next week) and I've decided to fit him for a Sensation
tomorrow to see how he does with it. My feeling is he'll adjust to it
nicely.

Tara (nyc)

In article ,
Jen R. wrote:
I just want to know if it's safe (for the dog) for one dog to pull a cart
plus person or if the load should be lighter since it's only one dog.

It depends on the cart. Something like a Sacco cart, which
rolls easily, should be okay.

Do you give him those commands when you walk him? My husband was telling
her "hike" when walking her and I said I'm not sure you should teach her
that if you later want to teach her that "hike" means start
pulling/running.

I use "let's go" both on-leash and sledding. The dogs know
the difference.

How hot is too hot for bike running? We have very cool summers where I
live. It rarely gets above 75F and it's usually cooler in the early
morning and evening.

It depends on the dog. I wouldn't run a dog with a bike at
75F but 50F should be fine (although I'd keep an eye on
her). Humidity and sunshine are also things that can make
the dog uncomfortable. Some dogs have more trouble with the
heat than others. I've got a dog I can run with during the
summer but another of my dogs had trouble with a 4-mile walk
when the temperature was 75F and it was humid.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

2/3 of the Social Security Trustees are political appointees