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From: OldMusher
Date: 9/25/00
Time: 8:23:58 PM
Remote Name: 128.101.252.15
Gait is everything in sled dogs. At the same time, it displays what gold there is to mine in an area with sound unlimited teams. A good unlimited team would move these sidewinders out fast, but a limited team may get a true gem...for an abbreveiated mileage. In mid distance, my hound wheelers used to lean their butts on the centerline to take a breather (@ 12 mph) This was laziness, not a true gait fault. Watch for the ones that get hot joints: Elbows, shoulders and hip-sockets. The are hurting and they will age fast. Stand your goofy-gaited dog facing away from you as if to put on a harness. This is immediately after a run and 5-minute cooldown. Start up under the ears, and slowly, very firmly massage his muscles down the sides of the neck, fully circumvent the shoulder, and back along the shoulder blade. Then down to the feet, manipulating every bone and joint. Toes, too. Then the backbone and muscles from the shoulder highpoint to the tail. Then really spend a few minutes on those hip sockets. Get to know a dog with a constantly straight gait, see how tight those hip sockets are, and compare to the funny one. Get to know these dogs. If you have a small team, you can benefit from this when a 60 or 80 dog kennel can't handle it. Get to know them.