The first ever dog of the week goes to a year and half old dog named Jerry. Her enthusiasm tops all the dogs and her natural ability as a leader has set her apart in the first week of training. She is a black and brown 45 pound female with a very smooth stride and more energy then you could ever imagine. Last april in the arctic Jerry showed lots of potential, and quickly made her way to the leader position for many long runs. Jerry was also one of the dogs I worked with this summer with the mountain bike. On cool nights I would take two dogs out with the bike, one experienced leader and and one young dog, like Jerry. We go out on short two mile runs to get the young dogs familiar with being in lead and also teach them the commands. We use GEE for right and HAW for left. When the dogs are pulling me down the trail on my bike I give them a gee command the experienced leader takes the command and turns right, while the young dog follows and begins to learn the commands. It can take weeks, months or even years to train a good command leader, patience and a really good leader are the key to success. Luckily I have that in Silver, his great response to commands and strength really makes him an excellent leader trainer. Jerry is one of the easier ones to train, she has learned the commands very quickly and has the makings of a great leader. She will definitely be in the hunt for a spot on the Quest team this year. Her mother is Minook (Butcher Blood Lines) and her father is Ling Ling. Ling Ling is one of my original dogs and has been with me and finished both Quests. So with the combination of good blood lines and some solid training Jerry is defiantly a dog I see leading the Wild and Free team into the future. Hope you enjoyed learning more about Jerry, make sure to check back every friday for the Dog of the Week.
Happy Trails
Brent
