A first attempt at Skijoring

Since I am having a rest day from running, and Niko needs a ton of exercise, I decided to prematurely take him out for a skijor on the Chester Creek Trail. The reason I say prematurely is because he has not even remotely learned any of the commands, most importantly, "Whoa" which means stop. But it's been snowing so much that it seemed like the thing to do.

I wish I had a funny story about how it was a total disaster like usual but this time it actually worked out. Considering Niko's latest behavior problems, which include barking viscously at every dog he sees (only when he's on the leash), and running out into the street to say, "hi" to a homeless guy and then chasing him down, I was totally expecting the worst.

The first time I said, "Hike", he turned his head and gave me a, "Why do you think I can understand these words?" look. But he quickly caught on, and by the end would immediately start moving forward on command. Aside from getting tangled up in the long leash a few times he did really well. It's amazing that what they say about giving a dog a job to do is actually true. Niko was mostly focused on the fact that he had to pull me and could not be bothered even by a poodle that was barking within ten feet of him. I've got to think of more jobs for him to do.


And I actually got to take some pictures while he was pulling me. Nice job, Niiks.