Do you love what you are doing with you Samoyed and plan to continue your pack hikes and perhaps other activities like therapy dog work, or sheep herding? With another 1,000 points you can earn a WSX (Working Dog Excellent). For eager beavers with multi-talented Samoyeds, you can go for a Master level title if you can complete points in all required activities.

If you just want some fun, buy a pack for your dog (see www.wolfpacks.com) and take a walk. Let them carry some water, your camera, and pad the sides with small towels to cushion the water in the pack. If you want to walk two Sams at the same time, and both will wear packs, use separate leashes for each or put them on one leash and use a coupler to allow space between the dogs. Otherwise your dogs will hit each other's pack and they will ask to go home a lot sooner.

• Let your dog see and sniff the pack on the first day
• Next, have a cookie ready, and just put the pack over their head without tightening straps
• Play with them to distract them so they will forget about the pack, then remove it after a very short period
• After that, put the pack on while empty, cookies ready, and connect the straps and adjust for comfort
• Let them lay around with it for a half hour or so
• If all goes well you are ready for a walk around the block (with an empty pack)
• Advance to some light items in the pack
• Successful?
• Hooray!