Pairings

Four days of training and they're already looking like a real racing team. Every night, Bill creates a roster. He has to choose twelve dogs very carefully. Two males together will usually get over excited, two females together will usually fight, and then there are just dogs that don't work well together. If Hudson goes out, Rincon has to because they're brothers and would get too jealous otherwise. Osiris and Zion are crazy next to each other, but they match each other perfectly in size and stride. Lynx has run as leader every day, with veterans running beside him to keep the team in line. It's important to try dogs at different positions to change the energy of the team, as well as find the best possible pairing or them. At this point, the main goal is to pair up veterans with new runners. There are a lot of 2 or 3-year-olds that need more experience and a veteran will usually yank them back into line. Sometimes the veterans can get a little frustrated. For instance, Ahab was pulling next to Kobuk this morning when Kobuk started screwing around. Ahab tried to set him straight, but they ended up fighting; Kobuk came out of the run with a puncture wound above his eye from Ahab's canine tooth. He'll listen next time. This might sound harsh, but this is normal for the kennel. These are not pets, these dogs are just shy of wild. They have a hierarchy and they use it when needed.
When the team all works together, it's perfect. Twelve dogs running in unison, with tongues hanging out and the occasional look over the shoulder for praise. Sitting on the 4-wheeler, I think of only one thing...I've learned everyone's names according to their face, now I have to learn them according to their butts.