Blair Braverman and her Singing Dog Team
Blair Braverman (@blairbraverman7628), an amazing professional musher, discusses an unusual sled dog she had who would sing while running in the team. Huskies are usually so focused while working, doing the thing they love (running), that they don’t sing. They will sing a lot of other times, but not while running. As Blair says “It’s not a thing!”
Her dog, Refried, was different and would sing while running, especially when the other dogs needed some motivation. Refried demonstrated leadership and sang to motivate the team when they needed to push through the hard stuff. It was a special gift and she taught the rest of the team to lead that way too.
It’s a lesson in leadership we all can consider applying, at home and out in the world – with ourselves, with our own dogs, with youth… What is our special talent in leading others? Are we having an impact beyond what we see in the moment? Likely yes!
A side note about my sled dogs
Some people know I took up recreational mushing when I adopted Elsa, who is half Giant Schnauzer and half Siberian Husky. Elsa started me on quite the series of adventures. She talks to us with the classic husky “Woo Woo” to tell us what she wants.
When we adopted Koyuk, an Alaskan Husky (like the dogs in Blair Braverman’s crew) who’d been a professional sled dog at Fred Power’s mushing tour kennel in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, our mushing crew doubled and she proved herself to be a powerhouse who still loved mushing and will scream if I hold her back while another team heads down the trail before us. Koyuk mostly sings when she is lonely, which is usually when I go away without her, so I rarely get to hear her sing.
Like most sled dogs, neither of mine sing while running. Koyuk and Elsa do show leadership in many other ways, with each other and with us.
Tricia Sutton is one of the co-founders of Paws for Kids for Paws. Despite complaints from her spouse, she spends a lot of time with her dogs Elsa, who also is one of the board members, and Koyuk, who helps in our youth programs.