Luc and Neb both get cold easily in the winter, so I don't generally take them winter backpacking. I realized that if they pulled their own gear (extra sleeping bags, other warm gear, etc, etc, that just can't fit in my backpack) they can come backpacking with me in the winter. With the help of a board member (Lynn Cheffins) I'm figuring out the set up, and I've already started working Luc and Neb coupled together (with Teagan's dysplasia/arthritis she will not pull anything but just hike with me, besides, she can handle the cold so she doesn't need to pull anything) and working on commands for sledding with them.

I'm obviously excited about having the dogs pull a sled backpacking next winter, b/c I had a dream last night.

It was a great dream about dog sledding. Except it was all CAT sledding. People were running teams of CATS and racing with them.

We were in the High Artic and people everywhere had cat sled teams (it was some sort of race series/cat sledders convention, plus there were a lot of locals into the sport b/c in my dream I went to visit a couple of kennels).

In my dream, I had a small team that I used for backpacking with but I was about to start into racing and into breeding with my foundation bitch ("bitch"?).

I was a real moral quandry b/c I was breeding my bitch to a male who's reputation was great, but who I'd not seen work myself, and I thought that to really breed responsibly I need to know the personalities/quibbles/work behaviour and ethic of both cats, but that it was such a great opportunity (rolls eyes) I couldn't pass it up so I bred my foundation bitch to this male.

Anyways, I laughed at myself when I woke up, thought you guys might get a laugh as well.

 Quote: jennifer mullen

In my dream, I had a small team that I used for backpacking with but I was about to start into racing and into breeding with my foundation bitch ("bitch"?).

That would be 'queen'...
Very weird but funny!
Did they have tiny sleds?

Queen! That would be it!

No, the sleds were normal size! Everything was EXACTLY like dog sledding is, teams pulled freight, pulled people in races - except that they were cats, not dogs. The logic of my dream didn't extend to cats needing smaller things to pull!

Are you planning to have them pull a sled in the snow or something on wheels?

While we're sharing odd dreams.

I have a weak knee due to lots of surgery etc after an accident. Several years ago I was walking with my bitch several miles from the car and I dislocated it. Normally I can relocate it but this time it wouldn't go back.

So long story short it took me about 14 hours to drag myself back to the car. I kept falling asleep and having these weird dreams about eating popcorn and whole sheep - I also had a vision of getting rescued by people in clown suits............?
Turned out I had mild hypothermia.

 Quote: Tanith Wheeler

So long story short it took me about 14 hours to drag myself back to the car. I kept falling asleep and having these weird dreams about eating popcorn and whole sheep - I also had a vision of getting rescued by people in clown suits............?
Turned out I had mild hypothermia.

Wow, I bet that's a story that not too many of us can top! Do you think you were semi-hallucinating?

A sled on the snow, but I'm getting a plastic sled so that if the snow base is low (but it's still cold for them) the sled will pull over rocks/uneven terrain with no serious damage.

Wow, though, that's a kind of scary experience! That's amazing you kept falling asleep, I guess the hypothermia was causing that. So glad you got back okay though. And LOL @ popcorn and whole sheep together!

I'm gonna get me some of those sled-cats!
It's funny some of the weird stuff that is obviously on our minds and pops up in our dreams - this one made me snort coffee though!

There's no reason you couldn't train cats to sled. I can just imagine the 'yowling'.
Mine retrieves quite nicely and walks on lead with a harness.

 Quote: Jennifer Mullen

That's amazing you kept falling asleep, I guess the hypothermia was causing that. So glad you got back okay though. And LOL @ popcorn and whole sheep together!

I think it was a combination of pain and hypothermia, more like passing out than falling asleep. Driving a manual transmission car with one leg to the hospital was rather difficult though.

What really amazed me though was that my partially trained rescue dog stayed with me, didn't wander off or anything. Lassie she isn't. Maybe I was worried about her eating the sheep and that kinda translated into me eating them... wool and everything.

 Quote: Lynn Cheffins

I'm gonna get me some of those sled-cats!
It's funny some of the weird stuff that is obviously on our minds and pops up in our dreams - this one made me snort coffee though!

Well, because I'm changing around medications, and lowering the dose of the one I'm dependent on to sleep, it took me longer to fall asleep so to occupy the time I was thinking over in my head our winter trips this year with the sled Normally I'd be impatient but I was so happy thinking of it! And planning out our training

Tanith, that makes sense on the wool!