Beginning in July 2020, I became a regular contributor to Wisconsin Outdoor News (WON) in "From The Little Cabin In The Woods" column.
This article was published in the WON Aug 25, 2023 issue.
In addition, The American Airedale, the publication of the Airedale Terrier Club or America promotes the versatility of the Airedale terrier. This article also appeared in their No. 3- 2023 issue.
Timberwyk Vesper with Shannon Honl (left). GCH Coldstream Major Mischief JFT CGC TKI with Christine Thomas (right)
You know how you can get something in your head? You have a vision for how you want things to go. You fantasize about a perfect situation. In your mind’s eye you play a movie where every detail unfolds exactly as it must for you to be absolutely delighted with the outcome. This is a recipe for relationship disaster. Particularly if the perfect vision involves Airedales.
One of the reasons that I was so excited about the purchase of my pedal kayak was that I wanted to take Major, my Airedale terrier along. The movie I played in my head involved an idyllic day on the water. The weather would be perfect. Major would be sitting calmly in the cargo area behind my seat. We would be as one, gliding along calm waters. Occasionally Major would lean forward to plant a dog kiss on my cheek. I would give him a treat.
Those of you who know Airedales know that they are independent, high energy, powerful, prey-driven, and somewhat unpredictable beasts, that are intelligent enough to possess a keen sense of humor. Those of you who have been following the Little Cabin columns also know that Major is a trained bird dog, a conformation grand champion, and holds enough titles in enough categories to be recognized by the Airedale Terrier Club of America as Gold Versatile. You also know that he has a mind of his own. All that training and titling is a thin veneer on the basic Airedale personality.
“You better do some training,” advised my husband Stan. “You want to be sure that he is comfortable with the situation before you put him on the water.
Wondering about the life jacket.
I posted up some photos on Facebook of our first day of training. I put his new life jacket on him and had him sit on a folded towel that I put on the picnic table at the little cabin. The idea was to get him used to the concept of sitting still (hard for Major) in one place, when the jacket went on. He is always crated in the Jeep. In the Ranger, he is buckled in to prevent unscheduled exits from a moving vehicle. Tethering him to the kayak would be dangerous. I expressed my fears about how this all might go. Friends weighed in.
His bird hunting trainer, Justin VanDeHey, breeder, and trainer of legions of hunt champion labs, said, “Major will do what Major wants to do. Just convince him it was his idea. The question is how long before he has another idea?”
Yes, how long?
My favorite was the post by Ellen Hardin, Major’s and my obedience coach. Ellen raises and trains golden retrievers that are conformation, obedience, and hunt test champions.
“I have had the experience of a Golden Retriever jumping out of a canoe after dragonflies. We all survived it; you will too. Have fun.”
I was just getting Major accustomed to the life jacket when Shannon sent photos of her Airedale, Timberwyck Vesper, gliding idyllically with her along on the surface of a pond in the greater Chicago area. All went well until a great blue heron busted out of the cattails and spooked Vesper out of the kayak. Everyone survived and had fun. Time for me to step up the training.
I took Major out to the little cabin that week and loaded him into my trailered kayak. I put a dog cushion into the cargo area and told him to “kennel up.” He jumped up. It was a pretty good jump for him as the tongue of the trailer was on the ground, putting the kayak stern higher in the air. We did this three times. Each time, I treated him and told him what a good boy he was, after he sat on his cushion.
The next day, we repeated the exercise. This time, I hooked the trailer to my Jeep to make the jump up more comfortable, and to level the kayak. Also, I sat in the seat, to better simulate the configuration that would happen on the water. Lo and behold, Major leaned forward and kissed my cheek. I gave him a treat. We were ready to try our maiden voyage.
That Friday, Stan took us to the Fountain Lake boat landing, an obscure location, with only a bit of traffic, and a decent place to launch a kayak on a sandy beach. I was nervous, but then you already knew that about me. Major gets fairly fired up about big black dogs and strollers. Clearly, strollers would not be an issue, but a black lab on kayak or paddle board is not uncommon. Also, ducks, loons, and dragonflies abound. My Outback is stable. However, Major weighs 57 pounds.
“You better wear your bathing suit,” Shannon advised. “Keep a leash on him and hold onto it, in case you have to haul him back in.”
This did not inspire confidence.
Stan drove us to the landing, helped launch my Hobie, and managed Major, while I set up the Bimini (for shade), and other gear. With Major on lead, I guided him to the stern of the kayak. He jumped onto the cargo area and sat on his cushion. We were off. Stan told me to keep him sitting, as he would be less likely to jump into the water from a sitting position. We took a 20-minute ride. All went perfectly. I avoided other kayakers and tried to steer away from the dreaded dragon flies. It was a smashing success.
Shannon and husband, Dan Honl, were scheduled to come with Airedale Vesper the following weekend. We planned to launch at the Taylor Lake boat landing, a wonderful, but ridiculously busy landing on the main chain of lakes in Waupaca. This was Shannon’s idea. She wanted to experience the beautiful clear water. Additionally, she had this romantic idea of taking the dogs out on some of the sandbars. I was worried about giving the dogs the idea that getting out of the boat was fun.
Shannon Honl with Timberwyk Vesper
Even at 9:00 am in the morning, the landing was busy. Dan managed both trailers. Dan’s mom, Roberta Laine, went with us. Everyone at the landing oohed and aahed at the cute pups. It was the best morning on the water ever. The dogs were perfect. We spent a few hours gliding on one of the prettiest waters in the state. We did take the dogs out on a sandbar. It cooled them down, but they were not enthused. Just as well, in my opinion. Just past mid-morning, we decided to see if we could get an early lunch at Clearwater Harbor, a waterfront bar and restaurant on the lake. Dan did a reconnaissance mission to determine if kayaks and Airedales would be welcome. They were. They had a great spot in the shallows where we tied up our kayaks, off-loaded the Airedales into the water, and strolled up the steps to a dog-friendly picnic area. After, sharing a burger with Major, I loaded him back into the Outback. Major could not wait to get in. I was ecstatic over the whole adventure.
It was exactly like the movie I had in my head. The question is: “How long before Major has another idea?”
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