Meet Copper Mountain Resort’s newest aspiring avalanche pup
Copper Mountain Resort recently welcomed a new member to its on-mountain ski patrol team.
Standing about 1-foot tall and weighing around 7 pounds, Aley — an aspiring avalanche puppy — won’t be digging out avalanche victims or helping injured skiers anytime soon, but she is currently atop Copper’s slopes taking in her new open-air office.
Aley’s owner, Bek Karjian, is entering her third season on Copper’s ski patrol team and decided to add a puppy into the mix this year.
“I have had her for about two weeks now,” Karjian said on Dec. 6 at Copper.
Like selecting any new furry friend, Karjian met Aley — pronounced “ahlay” — several times before deciding to bring her back home with her. While most potential pet owners look for characteristics like energy levels, obedience, friendliness and inquisitiveness, Karjian kept a keen eye out for traits that are unique to aspiring avalanche dogs.
“I first met her at 6 weeks old,” Karjian said. “I used a variety of puppy trainings to select her. I tested her at six weeks, seven weeks, eight weeks and brought her home at eight weeks. She is almost 10 weeks old now and was born on Sept. 28.”
The series of puppy training sessions consisted of things like throwing a ski in front of Aley, in order to gauge her reaction. Karjian was hoping that Aley would strike a balance between being cautious of the thrown ski, but also not cowering behind her.
With a birthline steeped in successful avalanche dogs, Karijan says that Aley did the perfect thing when presented with the thrown ski and displayed why she is a perfect candidate to follow in the footsteps of her bloodline.
“She kind of did the perfect thing where she crept up to it. She kind of sniffed it, and then she was cool with it,” Karjian said. “That is exactly what I want because we are going to be dealing with dangerous things like snowmobiles, skis and all those other things. She was also confident, and she liked people.”
What sealed the deal for Karjian to bring home Aley was a bonding moment that took place between the two when Karjian visited the puppy at the seven-week mark.
“We had this really incredible moment during testing,” Karjian said. “She was still super playful, and she loved to tug, which is super important because that is her reward. But when I held her, she was comfortable being on her back, belly up. She just looked into my eyes, and that combination and bond immediately was super special. That is why I picked her.”
Since taking Aley home, Karjian has been hard at work introducing the puppy to Summit County while also trying to build skills that could help her in her pursuit of becoming a certified avalanche dog in a couple of seasons.
“It is a really intensive training period,” Karjian said. “Every dog is a good dog, but not every dog is a good working dog. We really need to build some of those skills early. That is why she is up here right now. This period right now is her socialization period.”
Aley is currently riding chairlifts and playing in snow drifts that are taller than her. The young pup is navigating new situations much like a human toddler explores new experiences for the first time.
Beyond socializing and exposing Aley to foreign situations, Karjian will play “tug” with the pup, which simulates the avalanche rescue missions that Aley could be a part of once she is older.
“With a normal dog you may want to teach them to drop or don’t pull that thing,” Karjian said. “We don’t. Any amount of tug game should be the best thing for her in the entire world.”
Using a long, fuzzy, duck toy, Karjian has associated the tug game with handler runaways and hide and seek, during which Aley only gets the toy when she is playing the rescue simulation game. Eventually, the game will progress to fullon burials, where Aley will have to use her nose to find the location of the toy under the snow.
“It is really incredible,” Karjian said. “You don’t have to teach the dog how to search. They already know how to do that. They already know how to use their nose. What you have to teach is their desire to do it and their comfortability doing it.”
With age, growth and further lessons, Aley will hopefully progress to the point where she has the attention span to go on long, multi-person burial missions and become a validated avalanche dog by her second or third season.
“Some dogs do it earlier. Some dogs do it later,” Karjian said. “It just depends on the dog, and we try to listen to them, too.”
Karjian and Aley will be at Copper throughout the 2023-24 winter season, where the two partners will continue to strike a balance between avalanche dog training and everyday ski patrol duties.
“It’s been a change because not only do I have myself as a patroller, but I also have her as a patroller who I teach every day,” Karjian said. “I am a patroller first, and I help people first. This is an awesome community. I have a lot of support within Copper and a lot of people here who are knowledgeable about dog training. It takes a village for these avalanche dogs. We don’t do this alone.”