And so, after all of that, I found myself entering a month of CK-9 training in Pack Forest in late October. By a month I mean 1.5 months, which of course means almost 2… or something like that. Not long after arriving for training, I learned that Washington contains a micro time zone – namely, Pack Forest Time. The CK-9 program doesn’t necessarily run on normal time; during training we were more like our own little island where meeting at 9:00 actually meant more like 9:20 or so. Most of the time we were in WA, the time didn’t really matter. Up here in Alberta, the day of the week doesn’t really matter. To go deeper, what is time? 🙂 I’ll leave that question alone.

For starters, the CK-9 coordinator was trying to scare off the entire crew from before day one. Heath described the bitter cold, darkness, deep snow, intimidating truck drivers, ice roads, and snowmobiling as absolutely awful concepts that nobody in their right mind would enjoy. After his efforts to deter applicants, he was left with our crew meeting up at Pack Forest – a crew that had agreed to 3-5 mile early morning Indian-style runs in our hiking boots with dogs. Clearly we were all mental.

Even though we left the dogs at the kennel, that first run proved to be quite the test. Unfortunately (in this instance), I was 1 of 2 females joining 10 guys on a mostly uphill run. I may have learned that some guys can cover more ground in a stride than I can, which was a bummer. We all learned that Heath likes to break – er, test – his new crews with ambitious runs. Since none of us knew the road/trail system at Pack, he was able to direct us wherever, which resulted in not a 3-5 mile run, but rather an 8-9 mile run. Luckily we mixed the Indian style with some walking and jogging; otherwise I’m not sure how many of us would have made it! Of course when we got back to base, we proceeded to play ultimate frisbee for awhile. It’s safe to say we were all pretty beat to some extent by the end of the morning.

Only 3 days into training, I got left behind to care for the dogs while the rest of the crew went to Opal Creek Wilderness in Oregon for Wilderness First Responder training. Somehow I was the only one who was already certified! I’ll be honest –  I was a little bummed to see everyone head off for a 10 day class/bonding adventure. It’s the first days after meeting when people get to know each other, and the WFR course definitely brings people together quickly. I felt left out, but I understood why I wasn’t going to the course. Being left behind actually gave me time to:

1. Train to run that stinkin’ 2 mile long uphill faster!
2. Let the dogs get more comfortable with having me around.

While everyone was gone, I dedicated myself to running – even with different dogs. I learned Sadie may be 10, but she still has more energy than me for getting up that hill! Tucker is more of a slow jogger than a runner, Sampson adjusts to my pace AND seems to know what surfaces I want to run on, and Winnie is just crazy fast.

Since I didn’t take many pictures at the kennel during training, to see who some of these sweet dogs are, take a peek at Suzie’s photo album on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4054665293322.2143600.1482750044&type=3

Bob (kennel manager) and I split dog care. He took the morning shifts, and I had the 3pm, dinner, and late night dog breaks. My mornings were free for me to hike, read, run, play ball with the dogs, walk the dogs, watch “Arrested Development”, etc. Since I knew how busy training would be when the crew returned, I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in!

When the crew returned with their WFR certifications, we started training. A number of people had managed to injure themselves, so the group runs were exchanged for personal choices of walking or running with dogs. Even though I never got to prove my running had improved, I sure could tell a difference in my speed and ability to make it up the hill, which felt great!

We were split into pairs that rotated shifts to cover dog care, and each shift had its own tasks:

• “Dawn Patrol” (@ 6:30am)  let the dogs out for a break and then geared them up with safety vests and leashes for the morning run/walk
• “Breakfast of Champions” fed breakfast and let the dogs out for a break
• “Pooper Scooper” swept the kennel, composted dog poop, started laundry, weeded, etc. while breakfast happened
• “Food of the Dogs” fed dinner and let the dogs out for a break
• “Twilight Warriors” let the dogs out for a final break @ 10:00pm

I worked with Gavin, who frequently played music by The Tallest Man on Earth, which happens to be the favorite of my NZ travel partner Rose. It sounded like my NZ drives – with dog barks added. 🙂

We’d break after our 7am run and then meet up later in the morning to start some training exercises. Exercises started on the box or in the field (see post “A Purpose at Last“) before moving to trails and off-trail.  Initially we all watched each other work dogs, which was rather nerve-wracking for me as someone who has always disliked being watched. Eventually we split off into groups with Heath, Liz, Jenn, and Keegan – the pros who would offer advice.

Regardless of the situation, the training technique was pretty much the same. Someone would plant wolverine scat samples around the area, and then a handler would bring a dog out to search for the samples. Honestly, what dogs get so excited about poop that they’ll search for it all day? None, which is why our dogs aren’t really looking for poop; they’re looking for the right to their ball. To tell the dogs they’re working, they’re put in harness and then often shown the ball before being told “Let’s go find it!”

Handlers direct their dogs to check certain areas with arm movements and vocal guidance. As soon as a dog picks up on the scat’s scent, their behavior changes in some way. Some dogs’ tails start wagging a million miles an hour, some just start sniffing a smaller area more intently, some lower their posture or practically crawl on the ground, and some perk up their ears. One of the main purposes of training was to get us to identify those changes in behavior so we’d know when the dogs had picked up the scent. If we couldn’t quickly identify that change, we’d create the potential to call the dog off a scent, thereby missing a scat sample.

When the dogs show their handlers where the scat is and sit, then they get the ball. Play time is meant to be a total blast because the dog has done an awesome job finding the scat. If the dog has fun playing, he’ll want to find more poop so he can get his ball back. (If play isn’t that fun, he may not be motivated enough to do his job thoroughly.) Note, these dogs aren’t the average dogs that want to play ball now and then. These guys will whine and stare at the ball for forever until you pick it up to throw for them. To them, the ball is the greatest object created. EVER. Every time.
Training exercises proved to be about creating a trusting bond between dogs and handlers. Some dogs will readily drop the ball back at their handler’s feet, but others (like Captain in the photo) aren’t convinced the handler will give the ball back, so it can be a challenge to get the ball back from the dog. Some dogs are happy with simple ball tosses, but others need hands-on lovin’, lots of vocal praise, or tug-of-war. Through training I learned that playing ball with a dog isn’t always that simple, but it’s part of the adventure.