Welcome to the BWCAW blog of Ely Outfitting Company and Boundary Waters Guide Service!

See our websites at ElyOutfittingCompany.com and BoundaryWatersGuideService.com.

We are a Boundary Waters canoe trip outfitter, Quetico outfitter, and guide service in Ely, Minnesota. This Boundary Waters blog shares photos, stories, humor, skills, and naturalist insights from guiding in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

Most entries are from our founder and head guide, Jason Zabokrtsky. He is the Boundary Waters Blogger.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Pulling Puppies


Most Wintergreen alumni won't recognize the names on these dog harnesses. They are the new duds for our puppies born in March to Lucky and Thule.

Our dogs are purebred Canadian Inuit dogs and they are, quite literally, born to pull. For thousands of years, the Inuit (or Eskimo) people have relied on the breed for pulling large sleds (called "sledges" in Arctic lingo) over long distances. Pulling our sleds through the North Woods with adventuresome participants comes naturally to these dogs, and gives them purpose in life.

We recently harnessed up these pups for the very first time, hitched them next to a more mature dog on a dogsled team, and let them do what their instincts crave.
It is incredible to see a puppy almost instantly transform from neophyte to real puller. They typically go from being a perplexed pup tethered to a big and boisterous sled dog team to a confident puller working in unison with the rest of the pack in mere minutes.

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