The Marathon Diaries: Adventures in Moose Country
Ride your bike on any major road in my hometown, Jackson, Wyoming, and there's a chance you'll ride past a row of stopped cars and dozens of wide-eyed, camera-toting tourists, gawking at moose, elk and bison. Animals are literally everywhere in this little northwestern corner of the state.
I don't like road running, especially in a place where tourists' eyes seem to never be on the road. Lucky for me, Jackson has a prolific number of off-leash trail systems where my dog, Santos, can sprint up a hillside and then dive bomb into a river. He's a very happy dog.
Santos is my trail running partner, my ill-advised pace setter, and my inspiration to run. He's almost the perfect little training buddy, until we run into a moose that is, which brings up today's lesson: How to Run in Moose Country.
Santos was nine months old when he met his first moose. We were running in town when he took off into someone's yard. It wasn't a squirrel he was after. The tables turned quickly and soon that baby moose was chasing my brand new mutt, kicking its double-jointed legs at him. He survived, unscathed, but he squealed like a frightened pig all the way home. Perfect!, I thought. He's scared of moose. And he was, for exactly one year and three months.
Then last week, my now two-year-old pup recovered from his post-traumatic stress and decided to enact revenge on the giant, four-legged, antlered creatures. Santos and I were training on Jackson's most popular dog-friendly trail, Cache Creek, which also happens to be one of the favorite hangouts of moose and elk. It's generally not an issue. They tend to ignore dogs and munch on foliage by the river. Dogs, on the whole, bored by the moose and elk's seemingly constant presence, ignore them, too. Santos, however, not only noticed the largest male moose I've ever seen but chased after it in ecstasy while simultaneously suffering from a rare case of instantaneous deafness. Funny how that happens.
I was appalled and embarrassed. It was barely spring. This moose was using up calorie-deficit reserves! Does Santos not understand the importance of the moose preserving energy in the winter? Does he have no empathy for wildlife? Is my dog heartless?
Santos and I had a long discussion and we decided that I will still allow him to train with me as long as he follows a more stringent set of rules: 1: Disobey me once and he's back on the leash. 2: Come back immediately when I call him and he gets a giant treat. 3: Don't run to me if a moose starts chasing him. I will be in or behind a tree.
And, you know what, he's actually getting better. Even Outside's dog guru and overseer of Outside's dog blog, Outsidek9.com, Grayson Schaffer, would be proud of his behavior.
--Christina Erb, christinaerb.com
Comments
Love the markings on the dog. What breed(s) is he?
Flag ThisHe's a Jackson Hole special, meaning I have no idea. Best guesses include: black and tan coonhound, german shepherd and kelpie. I'd love to hear your theories!
Flag ThisCerb -- I love your dog, and was as fired up by Justin's article and accomplishment as you are!
Flag ThisOur dog is a moose chasing mutt too. We live in Lander and were hiking with our Alaskan husky and let her off her leash to scramble down some rocks in Sinks Canyon. Our hike turned into an off trail run through the snow as she promptly followed some moose tracks to a cow and a calf. She chased them and they charged her for about an hour until the mama moose finally got on top of our pup and stomped on her. The yelping was just awful! We thought she was dead. but somehow our dog wormed her way out from under the moose, limped for about a minute, and is otherwise totally fine. She was very quiet for a few days, but now wants to chase more moose. Go figure.
Flag ThisIf you think he might disobey you, he shouldn't be off the leash at all. It just takes one transgression to have a hurt or dead dog or injured wildlife. Train the dog BEFORE it is allowed off leash.
Flag ThisUse one of the long corded retractable leashes. You and your dog can comfortably run while using it. And your dog will live a longer life, you won't be fined for harassing wildlife, and the moose and elk will be in better shape, too. Save letting your dog loose for huge open meadows where no animals are around. Here's what I did to get my lab to stick close to me off leash. I would wait until she stopped paying attention, and then I would run as fast as possible in the opposite direction. She would tear after me when she noticed I was running away. When she would catch up, I would stop and run past her in the other direction. When she would catch up again, I would face her and run backwards. She would leap on top of me with extreme joy, as she thought this was a game. From then on, she would never take her eyes off me for more than a second or two, as she looked forward to our game of chasing after me. But we only did this when no other animals or people were around, because she was easily distracted and too curious and dominant to avoid challenging everything she saw. I tried to keep her on leash whenever I thought she might get in trouble. Ultimately, you are responsible for controlling your dog -- never forget that.
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