First To Lope

Running the Mid Distance Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
Day 70, November 10, 2010
Team Buzzsaw / Stewart Taylor Printing

Running the dogs has taken on a new meaning to me. I am at the stage where you want to find out what speed is best for the dogs to train at. Loping is when a dog starts to run. As a musher, you don't want them running, you need them to trot at their best speed to run 35 miles. If they lope too early or too much, they will get tired and not finish strong. My "first to lope" dog is

Electron

She is young and strong, but she wants to lope all the time. It is my job to find the tempo at which she trots at a comfortable speed. In September, she loped the whole time, pulling and grinding as hard as she could for the entire run, 5 miles. You want that in a dog, determination and strength. Now that we are running 15 miles at a crack, she has finally learned to trot and sustain her pulling power throughout the entire run. She is the first to finish her food when we're done running and could eat twice as much as anyone. I think she is going to be one of the best pullers we got!