Y’all know Leap.

Leap is our only puppy this season.

That means that, as an only child, she’s done a lot of firsts by herself.

Like her first visit to the retirement garden.

Her first big, ahem, leap.

Her first successful dog house climb. https://twitter.com/BlairBraverman/status/1196101059195871232

And her first snow!

She’s made a lot of dog and human friends along the way, like @NewtonMarshall...

... @B_Carp01...

...and of course her beloved Flame, who is spiritual auntie to every puppy who is ever part of our team.

She’s grown into a strong, confident, adventure-loving tweenage husky who is somehow completely different and completely the same as her puppy self.

But there’s one thing she’d never tried yet. Something that’s part of what makes her who she is.

She’d never pulled a sled.

Today was a gray day with fresh snow and a whole afternoon to spend playing in it, and the older dogs are happy and chill after some long runs. It seemed like the perfect moment for Leap’s rookie run.

But who should she run with?

Lead dog legend Pepé would guide the way, of course. Who better to take Leap under her wing?

And Pepé’s daughter Willow could lead with her. You up for a baby run, Willow?

Willow said absolutely.

Pepé has a tradition of zooming to check out the trail before each run, and Willow went with her. Just to make sure everything’s a-ok. Clem watched them go.

A minute later, they zoomed back and positioned themselves in front of the sled. Trail’s good, let’s go!

I picked Clem to run with Leap, behind the leaders. He’s three years old, calm and mature, and I thought he’d be a great mentor as she learned the ropes.

Teaching a new sled dog to pull is very complicated. Here are the steps:

1. Put the dog in harness.
2. They pull!

Leap has seen the big dogs run a thousand times, but she’s never done it herself. Clem and Pepé and Willow were howling and jumping with excitement. Leap looked back at me, hopeful but confused. This was a whole new thing and she wasn’t sure what her role was yet.

Just do what feels right, I told her.

There’s no pressure in these situations, because there’s no way for a dog to be wrong. If they love running, they get to run. And if it’s not for them (which is v rare) then that’s cool too, and they can be a rec dog or a porch husky or a pet, whatever makes them happiest.

Here are Leap’s first 20 feet of pulling a sled. She’s in the back right.

Friends... SHE LOVED IT.

(I have a longer video but it’s going to take ages to upload because of our northwoods wifi, bear with me)

Look at her go!

As you can see, pulling is instinctive but dealing with the gangline isn’t. When Leap put her leg over the gangline, I slowed down to let her fix it herself. She learned in a few seconds and was ready to go again.

At the edge of the field, I stopped to give Leap (and the other dogs) some praise and pets, but she was having none of it. She was having way too much fun for breaks. Time to run more! And MORE!

When we got back to the dog yard, her tail was wagging a mile a minute.

Leap won’t run long distances until next year, when she’s older and closer to fully grown, but for the rest of the winter she’ll be taking short runs with the older dogs and the retirees. I can’t wait, and I think it’s fair to say that she can’t, either.

This is just the beginning of a million adventures to come. I’m so proud of our girl!