Hi folks! Libby Littles here!  It’s finally fall.  I’ve been hearing about it for months from the big kids (dogs). They LOVE fall because it means winter is not far away. And winter means snow! And snow means sleds and sled dogs!   Now I’m experiencing it for real.  First, the leaves started turning yellow and red and orange, then the air started to get cooler, and the big dogs started to get super happy.  Then all of a sudden…

Fall In Upper Peninsula Michigan

I don’t know what it’s like where you live, but we just got a preview of what winter will be like.  All of a sudden it got REALLY cold, and then a bunch of white flakes started falling.  And then there were more and more and more.  When they let me go run in the stuff, I went “flumpffff” all the way in.  It was cold and wet, and it was soooooo fun.  The humans aren’t so happy.  They say it’s not really winter yet, and that we will still have a bunch of muddy trails ahead before winter really comes and they can break out the sleds for real.  Me? I may not get to pull the sleds yet, but I think I’m going to like winter!

Do you want to know what sled dogs do when there isn’t snow? I’ll tell you. When it’s hot in the summer, the humans take the big dogs romping and running off their leashes, and even swimming.  As it got a little cooler and I got a little bigger, I got to run with the big dogs!  It’s so fun! They race as fast as they can ahead on the trails, then race back again so the “slowpoke” humans and I can catch up with them. We bound along trails, then scoot sideways into the leaves and brush when we smell something interesting off the trail.  We bounce over logs and brambles, then we bound back onto the trail to catch up with the humans.  I love bounding and bouncing and jumping.  In fact, I ’ve started to get a new nickname: Leaping Libby!

Training by 4-Wheeler

Now that it is cold enough, the sled dogs get all dressed in their harnesses, and they pull their mushers over the dirt and mud.  You might be thinking:  how can they pull when there is no snow?  Well, their mushers get on scooters or bikes or carts or 4-wheelers, and the sled dogs pull them anywhere there is a trail.  They sometimes pull even where there isn’t a trail.  They go through mud puddles and across streams. I’ve heard some mushers even have big teams of dogs pulling trucks!  I suppose the truck motors help out, but can you imagine pulling a truck? The mushers call it fall training. I can tell that the big dogs are SOOOOO excited to finally be back in harness again. I just know they are thinking: “MORE SNOW! We want MORE SNOW!”  I say, “Bring it on!”

Check  back soon for another little story.

Libby