[Lynn Cheffins]

Hello - my name is Lynn and I live in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada. While I wait for the day I will have a nice "working dog" I have to content myself with dogs that work - my 12 Siberian(racing lines) and Alaskan Huskies and one GSD/husky cross. I love all aspects of sleddog sport. I retired from the military and have a small business sewing custom equipment for dogs and horses. I have been doing heavy duty sewing for many years and would be happy to help any DIYers with their projects.

here is a two of my Alaskans - Poppy and Cliff(as in Claven :roll: )



here are Poppy(alaskan 4yrs), Silona (Siberian - age 15) and Tell(Siberian-8 yrs) and Sparrow(Siberian - 8 yrs)


and my big GSD/husky cross playing with "Sedna" age 4 months


that's all - I probably don't have much to contribute but I will be lurking alot!

 

[Jerry Lyda]

Glad you're here with us.

 

[Bob Scott]

Great seeing you Lynn!

 

[Andres Martin]

Welcome...
Sled dogs! How cool is that?!

 

[Woody Taylor]

Hi Lynn!

Welcome, we are glad you've joined us. We had a recent speculative conversation about sleddog crosses...I can't find the thread...was your GSD/Husky cross "intentional?" And have you any visibility to herding dogs (GSDs/Malinois/Dutch Shepherds) or herding dog crosses used in sleddog competition in Canada or elsewhere?

If someone has the link to that thread, please post it for Lynn. Maren or Jeff, I think you all were "participating?"

Your Huskies are great, I love the pictures. Please contribute as much you can about your breed and their behavior...us folks in here tend to think there are only three or four breeds out there, it's a good reality check for us. :wink:

 

[Lynn Cheffins]

GWN....

Hello Woody - glad to be here! No the GSD/Husky cross wasn't intentional. Though he is a very good puller he is really too sharp with strange people to be a sled dog you can use everywhere. He is handy as I don't have to lock the truck... He is also on the "too big" side unless as a freight dog(85-90 lbs) - he sticks out on my team who are mostly between 40-55 lbs. I think just abut every dog has been used in the development of Alaskan Huskies and I have a couple of older pictures of GSD crosses. Border Collies are another thing that has been used and even a couple of Border Collie teams. Vorhster, GSP, EP, Greyhound and Saluki are more common in the present day racing dog usually crossed with AH. Siberian Huskies are kind of like GSD - split between racing lines and show lines. The racing lines put very little emphasis on apperance and you get generally a leggier, racier dog often in colours and markings that don't show up much in show lines. Siberian teams are much less common in competition than the AH who are generally faster dogs.

 

[Andres Martin]

Lynn,
Your dogs pull sleds, then?
If so, how do you condition them? How do you care for their pads during the season/off season? How do adjust their feed according to work? How short do you keep their nails?

If you could give schedules and details, it would be very valuable info...

that's all - I probably don't have much to contribute but I will be lurking alot!

Yeah, right!

 

[Woody Taylor]

Lynn,
Your dogs pull sleds, then?
If so, how do you condition them? How do you care for their pads during the season/off season? How do adjust their feed according to work? How short do you keep their nails?

If you could give schedules and details, it would be very valuable info...

that's all - I probably don't have much to contribute but I will be lurking alot!

Yeah, right!

And what drive are they in when they try to attack moose? Inside joke, sorry.

 

[Andres Martin]

Woody...for sled dogs tha 'propriate word is "gear"...

What GEAR are they in..!

 

[Bob Scott]

Sled dogs only have one gear. Fast forward! :wink:

 

[Lynn Cheffins]

Yes, they pull sleds! Right now they are on summer holidays - Too hot here to do any conditioning training on the dogs but they stay in pretty good shape as I have two large fenced areas and as they can all be loose together(supervised) they stay in pretty good trim by chasing and pursuit games, which they will do for hours in the evening when it cools off. They also dig holes ALOT and really love it - I have some real big ones in the dogyard! - that takes care of most of the toenail trimming. If you ever watch a dog dig a big hole - he gets a good workout and it is good exercise for their front ends. We do a little leader training and stuff with the bike/scooter on cooler days. I play and goof around with them alot and we work on manners and that kind of thing - lots of grooming at this time of year, too . I have a "play structure" in my dogyard, too and they like to climb on that - kind of like a confidence course! I am working on building some obstacles(kind of like agility aquipment)for more confidence training. Training in earnest begins in the fall and the dogs pull a "rig" which in my case is an engineless ATV. The pads stay in pretty good shape as the dogs are mostly on natural surface - grass, gravel, dirt etc. Lately they have been getting thier amusement following me around as I was working re-building my kennel runs - stealing tools is big entertainment to them. They are quite different dogs in their outlooks and behavior than the working breeds, but in the proper situations they are more trainable than most people give them credit for. None the less they are pretty active and "high-drive" kinds of dogs.

 

[susan tuck]

Howdy Lynn! I am so glad to see a sled dog enthusiast. I have always admired your sport.