Chili

This is our new, up-and-coming superstar leader. Or so Jenn tells me; I'm not allowed to run her. Born last, Chili was smaller than the rest of her littermates and took a lot of abuse from them. She is a bit timid around the other dogs still, and she is nervous at hook-up time but once she gets running she settles into a mindset of pure focus and all that matters is the trail. So I'm told. Chili is our fastest leader, faster even than Olive I'm led to believe. I'm not allowed to run Chili because she is still a bit nervous. She is great with people but Jenn wants to keep her running on small teams until her confidence around the other dogs builds a bit more. I mostly take out teams of 6 or 8 and Jenn thinks that teams that size may only increase Chili's unease.

Jenn has decided that Chili will be an excellent leader because for the first few runs this year, it didn't seem like Chili even wanted to go. Then Jenn took just Chili and another dog out and was amazed at the change in attitude; she never stopped working and it was nearly impossible to get her out of a fast lope. Chili feels most comfortable without any dogs in front of her and because she is another dog like Blitzi - eager to please - she is very responsive to Jenn's training.

Chili is the sister of Dora, Taiga and Jinx. Her mother is Blitzi and her father is Jack, a lead dog from Gerry Willomitzers kennel in Shallow Bay, Yukon.