Boris!

Boris is a foster dog from Fairbanks Animal Control, and is available for adoption through the shelter. He was given up by a musher who wanted to reduce his kennel size. Boris is a young fellow, probably just over a year old. He is lightly built and probably weighs about 43 pounds; he has room to gain a few more. He has no dewclaws and is short coated, and would likely need a fully-padded harness. He runs a lot on his chain, so it's best for him to wear a padded collar.

Boris is bold-as-brass in the dogyard, and barks and howls quite a bit. I put him in harness today. He is easy to harness and handle, but is not leash trained. I tried a size small ManMat distance harness first, and it was too short under the chest; so we went with a medium Nordkyn (pictured).

Boris was afraid to leave the yard and kept laying down in the snow. I led him farther away and he would start going, but then kept turning around, looking at the sled, and then coming back to me, and would sit down and lean on me. He needs lots of attention and is clingy most of the time. Boris is ok with some of my male dogs but has been growly with others; he is not neutered yet. I will try him with a confident female next time and see if that helps.

We turned around to go home, and Boris ran all the way back, pulling hard. He paced, trotted, loped, and trotted again. He did a sharp Gee when told, but I'm not sure if he knew the command or just retraced his steps. Boris is a small package but was strong when he wanted to be.

Boris hasn't been here long, so I'm hoping he will be more confident next time. He has a lot of potential, but he is still quite young; I think he'll improve with maturity and experience.