Here’s some interesting food for thought I cam across this weekend. A recent article in Scientific American looks at another aspect of the nearly infinite variation in dog breeds.

Read it here: Changing Minds: Has Selective Breeding Restructured Some Dog Brains?

Thinking about this from a Life…Through Dogs perspective, it gave me pause to consider how body type and shape affects how we sense, perceive and interact with the world — for both humans and dogs alike.

Humans tend to treat many dogs the same, presuming they are all (take your pick) noisy, keen sense of smell/hearing/eyesight, rambunctious, will bite, etc. etc. Yet as many variations as there are in humans, there are at least that many in dogs, even within the same breed. Perhaps more.

So what can we learn from this? One lesson that comes to mind (pun intended) is that being fully present is so important, to see and experience exactly what it in front of you, not what you expect to find. Whether dogs or humans, this opens us up to the infinite possibilities of the world, and a way to be true to ourselves.

On a less philosophical level, it also gives us the reminder to provide a relationship and training with a given dog which meets that specific dog’s needs. Needs which will vary, sometimes subtly, sometimes not, from every other dog on the planet.

What do you think? What lessons jump out at you?

Just came across this quote, which pretty much sums it up:
“In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn’t merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.”
– Edward Hoagland

Thus, the point of using the dogs as teachers is certainly to strengthen that bond we have with the dogs in our lives.  But it is also to communicate better…with them, and how we do that is by meeting them half-way. Then the magic occurs…we find we are better communicators overall, with everyone in our lives, 2-legged as well as 4-legged. Edward has hit the nail on the head.

And, we can apply that across the board. Be the leader for your dog…be the leader for your own life…relish the ability and opportunity to take charge. Build your team for scootering, sledding, urban mushing, skijoiring…build and nourish ALL the teams in your life…in your work, family, community of faith, or civic purpose.  Communicate with your dog like both your lives depended on it…they do…and apply those skills and principles in all your communications and roles. Unsure how to overcome adversity or rise to a challenge? Look to your dog…they’ll tell you exactly what they need, and what you can provide or do.

Thanks Edward! What do you think…more to add?

Barb and I are often asked about our experiences with our sled dogs, out on the trail during races or training. Those are some of the most intense learning experiences we have, due in part to the wide variety of “teaching moments” that arise unexpectedly — so many variables of trail, dogs, gear, wildlife, supplies, other teams, weather,just to name a few! But we don’t always need a race or long training run to have the opportunity to learn a profound lesson. The dogs are willing teachers wherever they are and whatever they are doing, so long as we are receptive students.

I had an incredible experience with one of my dogs the other day in my dog yard.  Just an everyday, run of the mill summer day — too hot to train, so just take the time to feed, water, scoop, chat, scratch, and hugs while getting some dirty paw prints and kibble-breath kisses. As a special treat during the summer I occasionally give them “meatsicles” — frozen patties of ground meat. Just like a kid with a popsicle, the dogs LOVE them and get very excited when I open the magic bucket and out comes meatsicles. A perfect mid-summer treat, given sparingly, so as to not have them bulk up on unnecessary calories.

I always do the same route and routine going through the yard, from dog to dog, each in their circle, so as not to miss anyone. First 2 rows along the bottom of the yard, from left to right, then move up to the 3rd row in the middle, then finish the last row from right to left so I end up back where I started.

I was passing through the middle of the yard on the 3rd row, when below me I heard a very strange sound. Sort of a cross between and bark and a yipe, or maybe a strangled bark.  When you spend literally hundreds upon hundreds of hours together, you know what all the normal sounds are, even if they don’t fully register in your consciousness. When an abnormal sound occurs, it really jumps out at you.

I looked up, and it appeared that Gus, back down on the first row, was wrapped up in his chain somehow, probably wrapped around a leg, since he kept backing and pulling away. I calmly stopped what I was doing and bucket in hand headed back down to his circle. I couldn’t quite see what was going on, but he was getting increasingly frantic to undo whatever it was. When I got there, I understood why. Somehow the ring on his collar had flipped up and over his lower canines, and he had his entire lower jaw stuck inside the collar ring. In his struggles the ring was cutting his mouth and there was blood everywhere.

I got him and asked him to let me help, then tried to pull the ring back over his teeth and out of his mouth. Wasn’t happening…how he managed to get it flipped up into his mouth remains a deep mystery, because no matter how I moved his head or the ring or collar, it wasn’t coming off. I wasn’t as worried about the bleeding as I was about him knocking one or both of his canines out or breaking them in his frantic attempts to free himself from the collar ring.

I realized I needed to be more creative. If I loosened his collar, it should give enough slack so that I could square up the ring and slide it off his jaw. But in order to loosen his collar, Gus had to hold still and let me handle him — the collars are normally tight enough so the dogs can’t slip out accidentally, and they are extra secure with a good layer of embedded dirt, meaning that they’re not very flexible and it takes some doing to loosen them. Of all dogs, it would be Gus…Gus who is shy, Gus who is reluctant to be touched or handled except for food, Gus whom I have a wrestling match with to cut his toenails, Gus who I have worked constantly with for years to overcome his shyness and who I could imagine would be so traumatized that all the training and socialization would be for naught, and we’d have to start all over again. But there was simply no other choice.

So, calmly and securely, I put my hands on him to reassure him (and myself) that I had the situation under control, and asked him to “WAIT”. I kept reassuring him and telling him to “Just Wait”.  And he did…he became perfectly still, the frantic attempts to free himself ceased, and he put himself totally in my hands, literally and figuratively, to take care of the situation. It took several minutes of concentrated effort to loosen the collar, finally producing enough slack so that I could square up the ring and smoothly move it up and over his canines and back out of his mouth. The entire time Gus sat patiently and calmly, reflecting my self-assurance and ensuring we got it over with in the quickest way possible.

I was TOTALLY blown away.  So many different lessons emerged from that seemingly simple interaction. The amazing power of Trust, to be able to solve a crisis calmly as opposed to making matters much worse. Gus trusted me…took the accumulated experiences of all the times when trust was tenuously granted and reaffirmed in intent and action, and made the instant decision to trust me completely this time. I would solve the problem. And simply because he trusted me and believed in me and my ability to help him, therefore I could. Gus is a big strong dog — if he were fighting and struggling, there would be no way to hold him still enough to loosen his collar.

I had to trust him as well, and trust myself. My trust in my ability to handle the situation was like a self-fulfilling prophecy.  We talk often about how the dogs mirror what is going on within ourselves, and this was no exception. I approached the problem with calmness to my core, reflecting my self-assurance in my abilities and creativity. I’d not seen or dealt with anything such as this before, but I knew that I could figure it out. I HAD to…Gus was depending on me, and me alone, and there was no one else around.

And because I was patient, Gus was patient with and for me. He did exactly as I asked…he would just sit and Wait, wait until everything was better. Once the collar ring was off he stood up, but I asked him to wait while I re-tightened his collar, which he did. Then when I released him with a verbal “OK, GOOD BOY!!!”, it was like our teaching moment bubble popped, and life went on as normal, as if nothing had happened.

Gus and I both learned some powerful lessons that day about Trust. Or was it Patience?

What do you think? Have you had similar experiences in your life, with your dogs?

Some of my sled dogs and I were very honored to be able to attend Camp S.O.C.K. yesterday, and we spent a terrific morning with the campers and their peer counselors and staff. What a delight to be part of that community and see the campers partake in all the various activities offered. Camp S.O.C.K. is an annual affair supported by many different Southern Oregon Kiwanis clubs and members, and open by application to all. It is held at the United Church of the Brethren Camp Myrtlewood, in the coastal mountains between Roseburg and Coos Bay Oregon. The mission statement of Camp S.O.C.K. is: Southern Oregon Camp Kiwanis is dedicated to providing a fun, accessible, affordable, and safe camping experience for youth and young adults with mobility impairments or physical disabilities. Thus we were invited to be one of those activities!

I’ll have another post later about the “chariot races” with some of the wheelchaired campers, which were tremendous fun for all involved and watching. I hope to even have some video to share with you. For now I wanted to share an observation. As with most any group of people we’ve engaged, presented to or worked with, as soon as the dogs appeared the campers and peer counselors immediately started gravitating to the dogs, wanting to pet and get to know them. And, just like with any other group of people, the dogs responded in kind, gravitating to the campers, in a very gentle and open way.

We always say the dogs are perfect mirrors, reflecting what is going on inside of whomever they are interacting with. Thus the dogs meet openness with openness, gentleness with gentleness, joy with joy. They truly didn’t care about the wheelchairs, walkers, or a given camper’s lack of fine motor skills…those things didn’t matter. They weren’t the essence of the person, merely superficial aspects of how they interface with the world, and the dogs understand that at a very deep level. They ignore all that “junk” that we humans are often distracted by, and instead focus on the spirit, emotion and energy of the people around them.

Once again, the dogs reaffirmed and demonstrated why they are superb teachers of humans who are open to their teachings, regardless of the person’s age or abilities. They shared exactly what these campers needed. Over lunch we were already making plans for next year! If you know of a group that the dogs can help and connect with, please let us know how we can be of assistance.

What do you think? Have you had a similar experience with your own dogs?

(gee, can a movie deal be far behind?)

Crimp here, panting at you from hot and sunny Southern Oregon. Mom Liz tells me most of the country is hotter than we are (hard to believe!), so I hope you’re managing to stay cool this summer. I’ve talked it over with all my buddies on the team, and none of us can figure out why they call this the “dog days of summer”…none of us dogs like it! Well, sometimes Gus and Achoo can lay out in the sun for a while, but they’re white so that’s kind of cheating. All the rest of us just hang out in the shade and dream of cold days (and nights!) and our favorite dream of snow covered trails. Soon….

Well, I have some exciting news. Mom Liz tells me that humans are already thinking about something called “back to school” and something else called “holiday shopping” — does that mean dog treats? But she was all excited about it and wanted me to tell you that my book is just now available on Amazon.com! Mom Liz said once we get a couple of more reviews and orders, it will pop to the top of the list when you search for Crimp! On-By!! (just like what happened for Be the Lead Dog). So for now, you can find it by going directly to the Crimp! On-By!! listing page here:

Book cover for Crimp! On-By!! The True Story of a Most Unlikely Iditarod Lead Dog

Of course it is still available on my website, CrimpOnBy.com!

I wanted to say thanks for all the nice fan mail, it is super for a sled dog like me to know I’ve inspired so many people. I hope to get to meet each and every one of you someday, cuz I know we’ll be good buddies — I like EVERYBODY! And — it is nice to know — that you all are interested in what us sled dogs are up to these days (not much during the summer, but we have big plans for the cooler weather!). We do have a trip planned this week. On Wednesday Mom Liz is taking me and Sinclair and Hasp and Circle and Tie and Uncle Brick to Camp SOCK, a Kiwanis Camp for differently abled campers. We are going to get to hang out with the campers and get lots of pets and hugs (and treats, I hope) while Mom Liz shares some of our stories with the campers. Those campers are differently abled just like me, so this will be a lot of fun!!!

If you’d like me to come and hang out with your event, group or class, just let me know and I’ll have Mom Liz set it all up. I LOVE to come visiting…Mom Liz has a lot of fun sharing our stories and answering questions, and my job is to be petted, and that’s the BEST! Everybody is thrilled to get to know me in person, and I don’t mind they stare at my nose or touch my bad foot…especially if they do good butt scratches! Mom Liz says a lot of people have really enjoyed our presentations and asked tons of good questions, so I’m glad everyone thinks they’re a hit and they get a lot out of them.

For those of you who have read my book, Mom Liz would like me to ask you a favor…if you could please post a sentence or two on some of the book websites, that would be great. That way people who haven’t heard of me yet will understand what a cool story I have and how I like to share it with everybody and inspire kids and adults to do their very best, no matter what kind of obstacles get in their way.

Some of the places you could post your thoughts or a short review are:
Amazon.com
BarnesandNoble.com
LibraryThing.com
GoodReads.com
Shelfari.com
Bookhitch.com
and of course posting your thoughts on Facebook or other social media will help spread the word.

If you’d like to get a quantity of my books for a group, club, classroom or meeting, just let me know and I’ll pass the word along to Mom Liz and make sure she takes good care of you. We’ve got quantity discounts available starting at 5 books, and lots of options for non-profits and schools as well as libraries and the like.

All this writing is making me thirsty, time to wander downstairs to the porcelain water bowl in the bathroom. The water there is nice and cool and I like to drink my fill, and then let it run out my lips and down my chin — ahhhh! I don’t understand what Mom Liz gets so upset about when she goes in the bathroom after I do…something about not liking a wet seat…whatever, humans just do strange things sometimes….

Happy Trails and hope to see you soon! Your Buddy — Crimp

We’re glad you’re here!

There’s so much happening, we’re starting up our blog to help you (and us) keep on top of it all. We’ll be making posts about all the different areas in which we are helping people: books, presentations, trainings, clinics, and in general life with our marvelous sled dogs.

We are continuing to learn and grow with our dogs — young, middle-aged and old, they teach us, challenge us, support us. Our belief is that by sharing some of those important lessons, you too can learn what they are trying to teach. If you’re lucky enough to have a dog or two in your life, ask them about it…they’ll reinforce the lessons and show you some new ones if you’re open to it.

The dogs always teach us exactly what we need to learn at that moment. The lesson du jour is sometimes far afield from what we thought we (or they) needed or wanted. We have learned long ago they are wise, and it behooves us to pay attention.

We are increasingly being asked to apply these lessons from the dogs in areas of business and personal development, specifically around leadership, communications and team building.  So you’ll see a lot more on those topics coming out from us in future posts.

For now, time to go find some shade to lie in! The dogs are no dummies –always better working at night when it’s cooler!!