We’re thankful for a good many things. Our new camp in New Hampshire’s Great North Woods is one of them. It’s “off the grid” and the toilet is out in the shed, but it’s on good trail and we’ve named it the Dawg House as it has become a very doggy place since we bought it in July. We’ll be spending our Thanksgiving at camp this year with other dog friends, the only other folks who foresake all human family and spend the holidays with their dogs.

It wasn’t until early October that we could get serious about training the team this year as temperatures were too warm for most of September. Also, the puppies had us locked at home because they couldn’t travel until they’re old enough to have had their first vaccinations. But, since early October when the pups took their first big road trip to camp, we’ve been there training every weekend and it’s been WAY worth it. We’ve run through torrential rains and flooded trails. We’ve seen moose dancing in the trail less than 100 feet in front of a screaming 14 dog team. We’ve set and re-set various fencing arrangements for puppies as they continue to outgrow their current space. We’ve gotten some incredibly tough miles on the dogs as they’ve climbed mountains and broken trail through 6+ inches of snow pulling the ATV with me and Sue both riding along. Our leaders have weaved their way through an active log yard as the equipment operators pause and we make our way along where the road used to be. Training has been interesting and pretty good this fall, even if we are a bit behind on our scheduled mileage for the team. They’re looking strong and we’re looking forward to a great winter, and another fun weekend at camp working with the team.


We hope you all have a great and grateful holiday.