Asked to write an article about the Whitespirit crew, we were rather stumped so we though we could answer some of the main questions we get asked.
1. Why sams?
This is quite easy to answer it was quite by accident we got into sams. We had decided to get a dog and wanted a rescue so we went down the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, we set out what we were looking for in terms of temperament etc (no thoughts on breed) and had a look round. At the end a member of staff said they thought they had a dog which would be right for us. They showed us a Samoyed who had been abandoned and that was it. Mo arrived.
Mo was such a great girl that when we lost her, we just had to have another sam (we couldn’t whilst she was alive as she hated other sams). We did our research, narrowed it down to two breeders and we got Beau. Purely as a pet.
2. How did we get into working our sams since there are not many working sams?
For this one, responsibility lies squarely with Norma McCabe and Norma Shaw. We took Beau to their training class and also Troy when he came along. It was them that suggested that we could work our sams. A sibe person gave us a shot on their rig. We were hooked. Troy took to it like a duck to water. Beau took some convincing that all this working lark was a good thing – however, he got there in the end.
Indeed the whole racing thing is very much down to Troy – because of his enthusiasm and ability we just had to go with it and get another sam – Wispa in case of injury of course! Then another……… you all know the slippery slope! Troy has shaped our racing careers no end since he is also the sire of our first home bred pups who have been racing this season in a three dog team with their mum, Laska.
3. Why don’t we get a real working dog like a sibe??
Several reasons really. Firstly sams adore their work. Secondly we do love being able to let our guys off the lead knowing that they will come back when called (mostly!). We also love their nature – sunny and mega happy – there is little fighting between any of our boys or girls except around seasons. Whilst we work, show and play at agility with our sams they are pets and part of the family first. As such having a dog which you have to keep on the lead just does not appeal to us even though we really like both the mals and the sibes.
4. How come our sams have been as fast this season?
We’re not certain we can answer that one. Partly down to genes possibly – they’ve inherited a tremendous working attitude from their Dad, Troy, and the speed from their Mum, Laska, whom we have never managed to tire out completely yet!! Possibly the fact they’ve run and trained since pups. Dylan and Ava started light training at around 6 months – the youngest we have ever done it. Possibly because the team of Dylan, Ava and Laska gel so well together – they run for pleasure and for each other. There’s no one answer and the proof we believe will be on what they will pass on to their pups and how they perform next season!
Whatever happens, as long as we’re happy with the way they’re running – all of our crew not just the youngsters – they enjoy it, we enjoy it then to large extent the times and the speed don’t matter. It’s still wonderful seeing Troy really gong for it with the same zest he had at 2 years old but just at a rather more sedate pace. Of course, you know our other veteran Beau works fantastically provided there is an audience! However, with Troy slowing down we have been looking at other work he can enjoy and he is gearing up for the weight pulling. Whilst it is not necessarily fashionable it does nonetheless keep him interested in training and still let him think he is the number 1.
5. So where does the future lie for us and our pack?
To some extent it depends on the dogs enthusiasm but we hope to continue rallies for the foreseeable future, partly because of the racing but more importantly for the social side of things. Although sometimes we do wonder why we do it. Imagine the thoughts when standing on a rig in the cold and wet (couldn’t possibly be Aberfoyle could it??) knowing that the nearest team is over 15 minutes in front from the previous day and dogs are not wanting to play. Once could calculate that some teams could go round the course three times in the time it took that team to complete one circuit and still be 5 minutes ahead of us! Oh what a joy to have a Samoyed racing team!! However, we live in hope that one day there will be lots of Samoyed teams out there – maybe even convert some of those mal folk!
One thing’s for sure, we could not have achieved half of what we have without everyone’s generous help and advice (or ribbing from the mals!) which kept us on the straight and narrow and lifted our spirits when things were going badly. We’re still learning and the day we stop will be the day we need to leave the sport.
Alan and Liz Ballantine