Hermes was born out of Salmon and Griffin on September 8th 2007 along with his brothers Thanatos, Boreas, Chronos and his sister Calypso.

From the moment of his birth I have been working with him through a very strong shyness that appears in his line from time to time. Most of my dogs tend to be shy but there always seems to be one at the kennel who has such an extreme case that I even have a hard time reaching them.

Hermes bonded well with his mother and his siblings but our relationship was slow to start. Even though I held him from the moment of his birth and interacted with him every day it was very hard to break through this barrier. I often wondered how I would get through to him and if we could ever make a connection.

I vaguely remembered Iris having the same problem when she was young but later in life she and I bonded so tight that I knew there had to be hope for Hermes. It wasn't until he was months old that I started to see his little wall start to come down.

It was clear he would be sensitive all his life and I was extremely careful when disciplining him. A stern word was all it took and he would instantly get the message but if another dog needed more talking to Hermes would latch onto that vibration and drift further away.

It took a lot of time, and much more coaxing, to explain to him that when I was disciplining another dog he was not automatically the one at fault. Over time he soon learned the difference and we were able to communicate with each other on a different vibrational level. This greatly helped bridge the gap in our relationship.

When his brothers and sister started their work in harness Hermes remained unsure and didn't excel nearly as fast. The last thing I wanted was to push him in any way so we took it all in stride while I focused more harness time with his siblings. I tried Hermes in harness a time or two only when the conditions were easier and the team was moving slowly. If I saw any stress start to build I would take him out right away and let him run loose beside the team. It was my hope that he would see the others work easily and start to getting a clear idea of his job without having to push his mental state beyond what he was ready for.

I worked with Hermes for quite a while taking many stops and starts on each trip plugging him into the team, then taking him out when he started to have trouble, always testing him to see when he would be ready to work or if I should give up and let him be only a companion and loose runner on the trail. But one day, after a few too many times of him darting off into the woods exploring, I had to throw him back into the team for another try and to encourage him to stay safely on the trail. On that try something in him clicked and after only a few unsure steps he quickly gained his rhythm and was working easily down the trail.

I don't remember now what prompted me to throw Hermes up in lead with another experienced leader but it might have been that he was in line for 'testing' as I do with all the pups and even some adults Ive run with for many years. Some dogs catch on to the leader position very early in life like Juno while others, even though they may be much older, need a bit more time to warm up to the idea.

Hermes was one of those who could lead from birth and it was only his uneasiness to working in harness that delayed this talent as long as it did. He ran up front beautifully and took commands easily but being as sensitive as he was Juno was not the best teacher for him. She would boss him through his sensitive issues which is something one can never do with a dog of his nature and expect results. When faced with that type of influence Hermes will slowly shut down and may never have the desire to get back to the previous lesson.

Since Juno was not the best match I knew Ichabod would be and allowed those two to play together up front and learn from each other. Even though I was never able to teach Ichabod the gee/haw leader commands he had always been our go to dog on straight trails. Since he was so calm and easy going Hermes settled back into his lessons with ease and I paired those two up front when ever I could.

It wasn't long before Hermes turned invisible in lead (a talent possessed only by the best trained sled dogs). There were many times I didn't realize his leader lesson had gone on longer than it should for a pup of his age but he was enjoying himself way too much to worry about that. Not only was he delighting in leading our team but he was picking up the gee/haw commands I had been trying to teach Ichabod for years!

Since Hermes was working so well and developing so fast I was able to focus on his other siblings and fine tuning their training. It was very hard not to leave him up front all the time but, even when he didn't need it, I pulled him back further in the team for a break. I needed to find excuses to run other dogs who required some refinement training up front and Hermes took it all in stride. As soon as the trail became too deep or too challenging in any way Hermes was called back to his duties which he performed without fail, often in single lead!

The only thing we continue to work on with him today is passing human obstacles. He does very well going by wildlife now and loose dogs but if there is a person sharing the trail with us on snow machine or walking their dog Hermes prefers to have a wide area to pass around them.

This last season he was put to the test when he had to pass not one but three snow machines and four people all within an eighth of a mile! He did very well passing the first two but shut down a bit on the last one. With the help of the dogs behind him we were able to get on by and only had to stop to fix a small tangle in Hermes lines after we were passed the last snow machine. It was great training for him and with practice I know he will build his confidence to pass not only three snow machines but many more with ease!

There are many things our little Hermes will learn over his lifetime and it is our pleasure to help him gently along the way. At any time if he decides leadership is too stressful we will gladly pull him back into the team and delight in the ease he has helped us down the trail thus far. I believe if we continue to take his training slow and easy he will develop into one of our best and most reliable leaders. Most importantly he will continue to be our loving and trusted friend...