Former Sled Dog Whippet Mix

by Mark Nelson
(Bend, Oregon)

Bonnie is a Whippet mix who started life as a sled dog. Bred with Alaskan Huskies, she mixes speed, endurance, light weight and an intense love for snow. Alas, her timidness around other dogs, especially with food, led to her being "retired" at an early age. The musher is a friend of mine and keeps track of her eager change into a great companion dog.

When we first took her home she was about as timid as any dog can be. She would hardly eat and would run away from any other dogs. After a few months though, she has become much more comfortable with her new life.

Instead of running from other dogs, she now seeks them out. At the park or around familiar dogs, she'll usually jump up and bark at them (very playfully) and prance around, but when they run over to her she gets very submissive for a bit, then jumps and plays. Still, more than one dog at a time is a bit much for her and the timidness comes back. One at a time is more her speed, then she'll try to instigate a chase--with her being the chased.

Snow is her real love though. Nothing makes Bonnie happier than when we put the skis in the car and head uphill. As we get closer she'll get more and more excited until finally released for a few quick laps in the parking lot before heading off in the woods with us on our ski trips. We've been thinking about getting into skijoring as she has the energy and is harness trained.