~Loki and Erica

Boy did we have a busy winter! Things have finally slowed down enough to email you with an update. Loki had a fantastic ski season– we worked really hard training for avalanche rescue. Though we weren’t quite ready to test for certification at the end of the season, we were very close– and I’m happy with that for an 18 month old Weimaraner 🙂 we will work hard and hopefully be ready to test near the beginning of the next ski season. I will be happy to feel a little more solid on the obedience side– we’re working towards full compliance off the leash, and we’re getting close, but there are just so many interesting distractions sometimes!

Maybe in my next update I’ll send you some footage of our obedience work. Right now, we’re debating how to spend our summer months– I would like to cross-train him on another discipline so we have something to keep us busy during the summer. The key is to find something that won’t confuse the work we do with avalanche rescue. Some avalanche dogs do water work in the summer months, so that’s one option we’re considering. In the meantime, I’m enjoying looking through our pictures from this winter. It was hard to pick just a few… so I sent quite a few… you may have to pick and choose 😉 

Here’s a day in the life of an avalanche dog:

First thing in the morning, it’s important to check all your ropes and boundaries. Loki wants to be sure no one gets lost.

Safe travel skills are important! Here, Loki is practicing with one of the other patrollers, in case one of them ever needs to handle him.

Here, Loki rides with me on the chairlift. This is the main reason for the load-rated harness he wears while working. 

(to be continued…) –Erica

Breeder Comment

We are very happy to receive this update from you and Loki–and especially proud of the two of you. Thanks for all this hard work, you are doing great!