Meet the Team: Ajax

This is Ajax

Isn't he a cutie?!

Ajax is one of the five dogs I bought from Yukon Quest & Iditarod musher, Kelley Griffin.

Curious about his name? Well, when mushers have a litter of pups they often pick a theme when choosing names. Ajax and his siblings are the "cleaning" litter. His siblings have names like Pledge, Swiffer, and Dawn. Cute, huh?

Ajax has a bit of an odd personality. 

He's a gentle and sweet dog, however he strongly dislikes any kind of human physical contact. He doesn't enjoy being pet and loved on, which is difficult for me because I love giving my dogs that kind of attention.

He'll tolerate being touched because he knows he has to. 

For instance, if he wants to run then he has to let me put his harness on him, or if I need to look at his paws to make sure they are healthy.

Despite not wanting to be touched, Ajax is an AWESOME leader. He follows my every command. If I say "gee" (which is "right"), he goes gee. If I say "whoa", he stops. If I say "on by" (typically used when passing another team), he pulls the team forward and away from whatever distraction I want them to ignore.

Ajax has only one quirk as a leader. 

When I stop the team for a rest and water break, I typically get off my rig to check on each dog, untangle lines if need be, and tell my leaders how well they are doing. When I start to walk back to my rig to continue our training run, Ajax likes to follow me part way. 

Funny for a dog who usually avoids humans. 

Kelley said he used to follow her all the way back to the sled, taking the whole team with him! 

Luckily, he only walks back by the swing dogs now, but often times he gets himself tangled in the gangline or with the swing dogs. 

I am working with him on keeping lined out. He's not perfect, but it's a work in progress and he is getting better.

I am quite happy with Ajax! 

He's a dog I know I can depend on to get me and the team through just about any situation we find ourselves in.