Saturn
...she will leap off the ground, or her house, expecting us to catch her in mid air.
Saturn is one of our smallest Sanctuary dogs through you wouldn't know it in winter when she grows in her coat and doubles in size! She rarely uses her dog house, even on the coldest of days. With her thick fur she can handle just about any type of snow and cold right out in the open. She is another one of our shy dogs who is wary of strangers but always puts on a beautiful 'party dance' for those she knows best.
With her active personality it seems as if her paws are on springs. If we aren't watching her close enough she will leap off the ground, or her dog house, expecting us to catch her in mid air.
Since she was young she has been practicing this leap-catch technique and nearly has it down to perfection. Each time we catch her a little thought passes through our minds of how thankful we are that she never grew any bigger!
Saturn has only been in harness a few times and while the experience was exciting for her she has a ways to go before she can settle down to the task at hand and focus on pulling.
Even though she is small she pulls with the weight of three full sized huskies! When she is on a leash we have to be careful she doesn't pull our arm out of the socket in her excitement. Because of her eagerness we have put a heavy emphasis on off-lead training. Her young mind tends to wander at times but she is coming along very quickly.
In time we hope she will start showing leader potential or enjoy being somewhere near the front of the team where her small size wont get in the way of her pulling power.
Since most of the weight is concentrated in front of the sled, we like to run the bigger dogs in wheel (close to the sled) and our lighter ones up front where they can pull to their hearts content. With Saturn's enthusiasm we keep a watchful eye on her to make sure she knows that pulling a sled is a fun way to travel while pacing herself along the way.
Help support Saturn through our Sponsorship Program...
You can read more about Saturn in the November/December issue (2013) of Mushing Magazine.