Two new dogs and one ugly rig

So, what does a dog truck and trailer look like? Well, if you are us, it looks like this:

the truck


the trailer




The box on the truck came up here with us when we moved. So did the trailer. However, everything else has been added for our trip back. Most of the wood was salvaged from the dump, so some pieces don't really fit like they should; some were too short but I had no choice, I had to use them. The paint was the cheapest we could find (any wonder? Who would use that colour?) And, there you have it: one dog-rig.

Yesterday we picked up our last two dogs. Moxie and Mouse. They are sisters and they, too, are shy. The pictures of them are the best I could get since the batteries on the camera were running low. Here they are:

Moxie



Mouse

This will be the last post for a while because we are heading back to Ontario. We expect the drive to take a week. I will post as soon as I can, and I should have a lot of pictures from our trip. Also, I hope to better be able to describe our new dogs, so I'll have a seperate page for them. Watch for the link on our sidebar.

The addiction grows.

When I started 'dog sledding' it was with two Malamute brothers. They were from a friend who raised Malamutes for the show ring and to sell. I think it would be fair to say that this kennel was not a working kennel in the sense that none of his dogs were routinely put in harness and taken out on a trail. He did have a sled and there were harnesses laying around, but only once had I ever seen the dogs go out and even then, it was only for about ten minutes in a farm field. Needless to say, Hudson and his brother didn't have a very strong work ethic. But, disregarding this, I would take them out as a pair: pulling my bike, pulling me on skis and when I finally got a sled, they pulled me on that. Sort of. We did a lot of leaf-looking, a lot of scent-sniffing and a lot of peeing on trees, rocks and blades of grass.

Then, I went down to one Malamute; Hudson. We took the summer off while I thought of how I was going to put together a team of dogs. Originally, I swore that the Malamute was the only dog for me. I wanted a team of Mals but I soon realized that this was going to be pretty difficult to achieve. Firstly, there were not a lot of Malamutes available for sledding. Some that were had some pretty severe behavioural problems, not the least of which was aggression, and others were from show kennels, which I had learned don't necessarily produce the hardest workers. Secondly, Malamutes as a breed are dog aggressive, small mammal predatory and generally strong willed and stubborn. All of these traits have served the Malamute well during it's development and they can be bred out of a gene pool, but for the recreational musher who was just starting out and who had very little access to dogs in the first place these were traits I wanted to avoid.

So, there I was, standing at the proverbial crossroads and trying to decide which direction to go when I met someone who was not only willing to support my new-found obsession, she wanted to be a part of it as much as me. Jenn and I went to every pound, animal shelter and stray-dog accumulator that was in reasonable driving distance and began to amass a rag-tag bunch of misfits. We picked up pretty much anything that looked or sounded like a sled dog. Our major coup, though, were the three dogs we picked up from a musher and tour operator in Temagami, Ontario. Marten River, specifically. One of the dogs was supposed to be a "Seppala Siberian" -- a great dog from great lines for those that are not familiar with the history of of the sled dog. The second dog was supposed to be from Andre Nadeau's kennel. Nadeau nearly won the 2000 (maybe 2001) Yukon Quest with some pretty remarkable dogs. A lot of people laughed at him when he showed up because he had almost pure Siberian Huskies as his team and Siberians are known around the Yukon (by their detractors, I should point out) as "Slow-berians." Nadeau managed to shut a lot of mouths during the race and it was only a "mind-game" that lost him the race. Even still, a second place finish in a 1000+ mile race as a rookie is not at all a poor showing. So, one of our dogs was supposed to be from his kennel. We were understandably excited. Lastly, we picked up a houndy-looking dog who was supposed to be furred lightning. He turned out to be a great dog for us, but I don't think he was as fast as he was made out to be. We also bought two puppies from a local recreational musher. They were $50 a piece and of all the dogs we had that first winter, we still have these puppies. Ruby, the mother of Valley, is one of those puppies.

We spent one winter with this collection of dogs and had a blast. We knew very little. We made mistakes that, now looking back, were so silly and amateurish. We went on 1 kilometer runs and acted as though we were going to be out all day. It was really funny. We had a blast, though. The second winter was a little more serious. We went farther, we learned more and we said "if we had more dogs we could..." a lot. We began to notice other mushers in the area and we were not above following a dog truck to talk to the driver. We went to races, we visited mushers yards and we began buying dog food in bulk to get the discount. We also started collecting meat scraps from any source we could find and we began to make our own food concoctions. From here it was not a far leap for us to plan our first camping trip; one that in hindsight was a bit ambitious. We were going to do a 100 kilometer trip. From our house to a Provincial park where we would meet our neighbour and our truck to transport the dogs back. We only had eight dogs at that time six of which, it could be argued, should never have worn a harness. Both Jenn and I were going to go, so it would be four dogs a piece, and packing between us a wall tent (8'x10'x5' when set up and all canvas), kibble for the dogs, our food, extra clothing, and God-knows what else. We expected to take five days to complete this trip. Unfortunately, one of our dogs died before we could go, which really was probably a good thing as it kept us from getting into trouble, I think. As far as the dog, Coal, goes; I wish I knew him now, knowing what we know. I think he would have been an exceptional dog. He taught us a lot. Just for comparison: if we were to do the same trip with our dogs that we have now, it would/should take us 24 hours, including rest times.

This leads me to the present. Our dogs. I titled this post "The Addiction Grows" for good reason. Although we have returned three dogs -- Ben, Scroggy and Grizzly -- to the musher they came from, and although we have found a home for Bluegrass, we have just brought five more dogs into our yard. Four of them are from Brian McDougall and the other one is from Kiara Adams, an 18 year old musher who has already run the Junior Percy De Wolfe and the Junior Quest as well as many other races. I have taken their pictures and have listed them below. I plan on getting together a page for our dogs, but until I know more about them, they will be displayed here.

Risk



Risk comes from Kiara Adams. She is a 7 year old leader who we are hoping will help us train our future leaders. She is so far a quiet and happy dog.

Olive



Olive is one of the dogs from Brian McDougall. She is the most outgoing of the four we picked up. She was not one of the dogs I had a chance to run when I went out with Brian. However, she was on his racing team this year and she went to Oregon for a race there which I think means something.

Lacey



Lacey is very shy. She is also from Brian and although she responds to him very well, it will take some time for her to learn to like us. She is not really accustomed to strangers, but she lets me harness her and will come for a visit if I move slowly and don't startle her. I ran her with Brians dogs and she was one of the hardest workers.

Horton



Horton is another shy dog. He is, again, very responsive to Brian but I am confident that he will warm up to us in a matter of time. I am happy to have Horton because he is a fast, eager dog.

Bug



Bug is a nine year old leader. Again, we picked her up for helping to train our dogs. She comes from Brian and she is outgoing and friendly. She led my team of Brians dogs and did a great job. One may think that because I was following Brian, just about any dog could have led but we switched lead near the end and Bug performed for me very well.

We will be picking up two more dogs from Brian before we leave to go to Ontario and Blitzi should be pregnant by then, so in a few months, we should have a pretty good team of dogs: experienced dogs that have raced and some up-and-comers who should be ready to start training in February.

Truly nomadic

In a few short weeks, we will be on the road.

We will have 11, maybe 12 dogs with us, six that we have just aquired. Maybe seven (see below).

One of our dogs will (hopefully) be pregnant. (Also see below) (Further below)

We will be trying to do a 6000+ kilometer drive with a 14-month old in a week. And stay sane.

We hope to not look like a bunch of Gypsies or the Clampetts.

We are going to Ontario for the summer.

Our recently aquired dogs have not yet made it to our yard. Just yesterday, I returned Ben, Scroggy and Grizzly to Kyla Boivan. Bluegrass has found a permanent home with a friend of a friend who is interested in getting into sprint racing. That leaves four empty spots in the dogyard. I can fill all four tomorrow, if I want. As I mentioned in my last post, I have been able to work out a deal with a local musher. I think that he would be happy to have the dogs out of his yard because that is six less mouths to feed. It's not that he doesn't like having his dogs around, but when you have thirty or so, they go through a lot of food. Six dogs gone would be saving at least two bags of food a month. Although it would be financially wise to let the dogs stay in the other musher's yard until the last moment, I don't think this is right. Also, I want the dogs to be bonded to us before we leave so that they are more comfortable and have less stress on the trip. So that is six dogs. The seventh is one from another musher around here who has a leader up for grabs. The dog is six years old and that is all I know. I have to call and find out more... we do have an extra box for another dog.

Blitzi is the real reason why my departure date has been pushed so far forward, so fast. She came into heat and because we want to have puppies from her and "Jack" we didn't want to pass up this opportunity. Originally, I was supposed to stay here and do more work on the cabin. Make it more livable for when we return. I was supposed to leave for Ontario in mid to late May, although in hindsight, this might have been too late, even without a pregnant dog because the temperatures would have been getting fairly warm for travelling.

Anyway, I'll try and post a picture of our rig before we leave. If you see us on the highway, wave.

The horse trading (or, dog trading, in this case) has begun

There is a musher around here and everyone covets his dogs. Well, I do at least. Some will claim that they have seen better dogs, but really, they'd be pretty happy to have one or two of his dogs in their yard. He is a very successful musher and dog trainer; two traits that are often linked together but really couldn't be more seperate. At any rate I approached him last year, through a mutual friend, with the hope that he would maybe have a lead dog for me. He had two and was willing to let me try them out, keep them in our yard and run them, for the winter. As it happened, I spent last winter handling for a Yukon Quest musher and was up to my ears in dogs, barely having enough time for ours, never mind a third kennels' dogs.

And so it was that I found myself sitting in this mushers kitchen not even a month ago talking about dogs and which ones he'd consider selling me. We talked. We discussed philosophies of dog mushing, we covered topics minute and mundane to the exciting and implausible; namely, me doing the Quest. I say "implausible" because the more I learn about dog mushing, the more I realize I have to learn. At this rate, I may be able to run the Quest the year after I die. Someone once said that when they came to the Yukon, they were sure they could have written a book about it. Yet, after spending a year here, the were sure they'd at least be able to speak confidently on the subject. After spending two years here, they thought that they had maybe taken some good notes... so it is with dog sledding.

We settled on two dogs. Horton and Tarat. Horton was going to be free and he worked out well, we could discuss a price for Tarat. I thought that this was a fair deal. Here I was getting the so called "bottom end of my racing team," which is pretty much the top end of my racing team, for free and the possibility of getting another dog with great bloodlines for a decent price, too. I told him that I had to find a home for one dog and I had two, maybe three others that needed to go back to the lady who loaned them to us. Once I had a free spot in our yard, I'd come and get Horton.

Well, it has been a while and Bluegrass comes and goes. The girl that we had offered her to hasn't yet made a decision, but has come and taken her out on two over-night trips. As for the dogs on loan, I have not yet been able to get in touch with their owner. I was starting to worry that the deal I had made would fall through from a percieved lack of interest on our part...

...until last weekend. Our neighbour had just come from this mushers place and came by to tell us that if I was interested, this musher had a deal he wanted to try and work out. Was I interested? Of course! I think that I was on the phone that very second. I arranged a time that I could meet with him again, and we discussed the "deal."

It works like this: He will give me a core team of dogs, 6 in total, in exchange for some help around his house; namely, siding it. He has set a price for each dog and has set a hourly rate at which I can work. We both felt that this was fair and we moved from negotiations to selecting which dogs would comprise the core team. Well, can you do that without running them? He didn't think so, either, so today I went out with him for a ten mile run with six dogs each.

We screamed down the trail. The dogs screamed, I screamed, the sled screamed. I mean, we went fast. We came to a hill that I was sure I'd have to get off and run up but I kept waiting for them to slow down a bit and before I knew it, we had crested the hill and were looking for more. To say that I have never gone this fast on a dogsled is not an understatement. I felt like I had to re-learn how to drive a sled. We careened around corners and zoomed under tree branches. It was exhilerating. We returned to the yard at the same speed at which we left.

I was pretty happy with the choices that he made. I can't wait to call Bug, Minnie, Olive, Donald, Horton and Lacey 'my dogs.' I feel good about next winter already.

The Contest is Over

Our "Name the Puppy" contest had ended and the puppy got her name late last night.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I wasn't sure how many people would enter our little contest, or who they would be, but I was surprised at the amount of people who wrote in. I'd like to thank everyone who participated. The names that we received were varied and creative, but at the end of it all, we could only use one suggestion.

The winner of the contest is Cathy Parent who suggested that we name the puppy "Valley" because of her Valentines Day birth.

So, Cathy, please e-mail me your mailing address so that we can send out your prize.

Another collection of miscellaney

Things around here have started to slow down considerably in the last few weeks. Cold temperatures have made for some pretty icey trails, and although there are still mushers going out, they are doing so during the warmer part of the day so that the trails are a bit softer. The problem is, this is when I work. Or, they have switched from sleds to dry-land training rigs and 4-wheelers. Neither of which I have.

After some shameless hinting on my part, our friend Stacey has agreed to let me tag along on the camping trip. So far, there are going to be seven people going. I don't know all the details yet, but I think that we are headed to Haines Junction to go to one of the summits there. It is supposed to be a short twenty mile run and then an overnight and back again. I guess I'll have to get working on my dog-food cooker.

I would like to use the opportunity of the camping trip to teach our dogs how to behave while camping. I don't think that they will be tired enough to let them stay on the gangline, though, so I will have to picket them instead. Picketing is when a length of chain or aircraft cable is stretched between two solid points -- like trees or sled and snowhook -- and the dogs are attached to it with "drop lines" which are usually about 16 inches long or so and spaced far enough apart that the dogs can't really bother one another. They will be fed here and sleep here and then hooked back up to the sled when it is time to go. The reason that I don't want to try to keep them on the gangline is a two parter: Firstly, we still have Scroggy who is a chewer. He has already chewed through several necklines, a tugline and had started on the gangline. If he isn't tired enough, he will use this extra energy to chew, I'm sure. Secondly, the dogs will not want to stay where they are supposed to. They will get up and wander around and create all sorts of tangles in the lines. While it is a huge pain to untangle a team of dogs if it goes unnoticed for a period of time it could be fatal to a dog. Using the picket system, the dogs will get an understanding of what is going on and they will be of no danger to themselves or others.

Bluegrass has been taken to her (hopefully) new home for a trial run. She went yesterday with Kim, our friends daughter. Jenn talked to the previous owners of Bluegrass and they were very understanding of our reasons for choosing to not keep her. I haven't yet heard how Bluegrass fared with her new owner or whether she even has a new owner yet, but I am sure that I will hear within the next day or so.

With a spot open and available now, I am now looking forward to bringing home a new dog from a very good and successful racer. This dog, Horton, is just not as fast as this racer needs, but he will be far and away faster than our current team, so he will add greatly to our kennel, I'm hoping. While I'm on the subject of new dogs, I suppose I should also say that there may be a possibility of aquiring another dog out of Hortons kennel; and the partner of the person to whom we loaned our dogbox has offered us a great dog at an unbeatable price. It is looking like we will have a moderately competative kennel next winter!

We will be opening up spots in our yard for the new dogs because two, possibly three of our dogs will be going back to their owner, as was the deal this past fall. We'd like to make an offer on Ben, but Scroggy and Grizzly are just not going to fit into our kennel, either.

"Puppy," as she has become known for now, is growing rapidly. She is getting rather agile and confident when she is out and about. Her ears are almost completely up and she is beginning to look more like a dog. I can't believe that we have had her for 6 weeks already. This weekend is the name choosing and I hope to have the name and the winner published before Monday rolls around.

Here are some shots of the puppy, because I haven't any other shots of any other dogs right now...

I'm only holding her for size comparison. Really.



Furry close-up



The "Calander Shot"

A variety of subjects

After several weeks of near-spring to spring like weather, the temperature has finally dropped to a more seasonal -18 at night. As of yet, however, I have not managed to get out with the dogs. I think that the trails are a bit too icey to be safe right now. It isn't that we'd be going too fast, after all, I have a brake but more the case of risking injury to the dogs. Conditions like this can lead to shoulder and wrist injuries as well as cuts on the front of their feet or on the bottom of their feet. I have decided that since we are not training for a race I should maybe make the more judicious decision to stay home for now. So close and yet...

I had thought that since the dogsledding is at more or less of a standstill at the moment, I would post some pictures of the northern lights that we have been seeing these last few nights. However, my night-time photography is not what it should be so the photos wouldn't be much to look at. Take my word for it, though, the lights have been stunning lately. It makes a midnight trip to the outhouse a bit more enjoyable.

There is only one week left in our Name the Puppy contest and I can tell you that I am glad we have decided to pull the names from a hat -- there are some very good ones that have been suggested. I wasn't sure who would enter; I expected some family, some family friends perhaps, but I was really surprised by the entry from Texas and the classroom of kids from Sudbury, Ontario. Below is a more recent photo of the yet-to-be-named puppy.



As I learn more about this Blogging business, I am trying to make the site more user-friendly and treat it more like a website than a diary. Soon, I hope to have a link to our dogs, so that the team is easily viewed with one click. I also want to try and keep you, the reader, more involved. I hope to have things like this contest for you to participate in so that you are more than just a reader of the site. I would welcome any ideas that you may have, so please use the contact links on the right-hand sidebar.

I think that we are going to try and find a home for Bluegrass, our last aquisition. She is not a bad sleddog at all, in fact, we have seen a great improvement in her ability since she has come to us, but she just doesn't mesh with our other dogs. I have a person in mind who I would like to offer her to. He, his wife and his kids are all mushers of varying degrees and I think that Bluegrass would find a place there quite easily.

Our neighbour is planning a camping trip for this coming weekend. He is going to be going on the Yukon River from Dawson to Eagle, Alaska with his eight puppies. I think he said that he has a friend coming from his hometown who has not really been on a dogsled before. What a way to start! This section of trail is part of the Yukon Quest trail. We also have another friend who is planning a camping trip in April with her dogs. She is going with some of her friends for an easy-paced, try out the new gear trip. I wonder if there is room for another person? If she is reading this...

There is not much else going on with the dogs. We are back to kibble in the morning and evening feedings. I had been given about thirty pounds of fish from work that was a big help and the dogs got this in the mornings. And, speaking of kibble, the puppy has started to eat soaked kibble, too. I guess it won't be long before Ruby has her completely weaned.

Any training is good training, they say.

As you may or may not have noticed, I have made a few changes to the sidebar of this page. I am hoping to provide easier access to our kennel for the viewers of this site. I would welcome any ideas or suggestion and I will do my best to incorporate them here.

It has been pretty warm here these last few days. I have been reluctant to take the dogs out because of the temperatures but most other mushers around here seem to still be going out so tonight we decided it was cool enough to go for a run. Earlier this week, I made plans to take the dogs out with a friend and her team today, but it was 4 degrees above zero at nine o'clock this morning so we postponed the run to a later date... maybe next winter at this rate. It is a good thing that we didn't go out, because she lives about an hour away and by the time we would have been ready to go, it would have been downright hot -- it was 16 degrees in the sun today. It is also good that we didn't go earlier today because the dogs had a terrible run tonight and I think that the warm weather was a major contributing factor. I can't imagine what it would have been like with warmer temperatures and another team to distract mine further. My dogs were tired much sooner than normal, and they were looking for excuses to goof off; and this is before we met two other teams which we had great difficulty passing.

Our run started out okay, but by the time we were two or three kilometers into it, the dogs were starting to bite at snow -- a normal thing when they are warm -- and my leaders were disobeying commands and looking around as though they were on a pleasure walk. This is part of the frustation that comes with having a recreational team and wanting a serious, working/racing team: the dogs do not have a strong work ethic. Partly due to this and partly owing to my lack of good leaders, the two passes that we had to try today were disasters. We met a team coming on a fairly passable section of trail and we ended up with our leaders standing nose to nose at a dead stop. I think that Amber may have tried to pass, but Crystal, ever the social dog, wanted to visit. We got past the one team by taking the leaders by the neckline and walking them past the first team. Then I waved to the second team further down the trail to come and pass while I was still off the sled and holding my leaders. The other team, although it wasn't the cleanest of passes, managed to run past our dogs and continue on. Jenn was standing on the brake of the sled while I held my leaders. It is lucky that she was there. Many leaders find passing another team to be stressful, especially those that haven't any training, or experience in passing. Definitely time to work with smaller teams and get them used to passing obstacles and teams. Today's passing was not acceptable.

The rest of the run disintegrated from there.

Earlier on today, we went into town to pick up a few things and we decided that the puppy was should come. We packed her mother, Ruby, in the back of the truck and brought the puppy up front with us. This worked out quite well. Until we picked up the drywall. I didn't want Ruby in the back of the truck walking all over the drywall, so we brought her into the front of the truck, too. We had the baby in the back seat, Jenn in the passenger seat with the puppy and Ruby in the back seat, too. It would have been fine if Ruby had stayed put, but she kept going from side to side in the truck until Jenn had had enough. I pulled over, moved Ruby to the passenger seat and Jenn got in the back and things were fine from then on. Maybe we should have left Ruby at home, but I was concerned that she'd try to get out of the run and find the puppy, which she has done before. She chewed through the gate closure and ran at full tilt into our front door, which burst open and in came Ruby.

As for the puppy, she is doing great. She is now walking around the run, barking, growling and starting to play with objects. A little unsteady on her feet still, she will try to run a few steps and then lose her balance. I'm not sure how much she weighs. Because she is so fat, I'm not that concerned with her weight just yet. Ruby is gaining weight again, which is good, and she is in good enough shape to take out on a run although we won't be doing that this season. At four weeks old it is now time to start offering the puppy some food other than her mothers'. We soak puppy kibble in water and make a slurry which we set that on the ground in a wide, shallow pan for the puppy to get at. She has so far not needed much encouragement to eat, but she is not a big eater yet because Ruby hasn't started to wean her. It is unlikely that Ruby will wean her soon because, being an only puppy, Ruby isn't feeling the stress of nursing like she would if she had seven others to feed, too. We have seen many changes in the little pup since she was born and her development is rapid. Here is a picture of her, although it is a week old. It was kind of nice to get the kennel logo in the shot, too.

The makings of a lead dog

The contest is half over now. The puppy is three weeks old and getting big. Any name suggestions can be sent to nameoursleddog@canada.com

NOTE: Sorry for the lack of pictures. I have two videos that I would like to post here. Once I figure out how, I will. Hopefully, it won't take long.

There are two main schools of thought when it comes to training lead dogs. The first are the people who feel it is best for dogs to learn from other dogs; they use an experienced, usually proven dog that knows its' commands and they run it beside a dog they feel has the potential to become a lead dog. The other side feels that there is no better way to train than personally and they will walk with the dogs, working on commands, or they will take an inexperienced dog out on the trail and reinforce commands using 'teachable moments.'

Most often, the latter method is used by people with: limited funds -- good lead dogs are expensive; limited resources -- trying to dogsled in an area with little to no sledding community; limited dogs -- small kennels with few dogs, or a pet or two and a borrowed sled. Not always is this the case, though. Some mushers with the ability to buy good leaders, who live in the middle of a mushing community and have many dogs still prefer to train the dogs personally. However, most use the following method.

Using a proven leader allows the musher to take his team out, knowing that they will be able to navigate the trail network without a lot of difficulty. This lets the musher concentrate on other things, like attaining a milage goal, or breaking in new dogs or practicing camping, overnights and so on. The inexperienced leader will pick up on commands through repetition and good leaders will nudge or tug the dog in the correct direction. This requires no corrections from the musher and the leader-in-training gets to see what is expected by the driver. If any of you have ever thought "it would be so much easier to train my dog if we both spoke the same language" the experienced leader is your translator.

I bring this up because although I would like to try the latter method, circumstances have me using the former method. I can't say which works better but our run last night is certainly an argument for personal training.

Amber has taken over the lead position with Crystal since Ruby has become a mother. At first, Amber didn't know the simplest commands; she wouldn't hold her line tight at hook-up and she would become very unfocused on the trail, wandering from side to side and goofing off. Gradually, though, she has become more serious and much more reliable -- to the point that she may be Ruby's equal, if not her better right now.

Last night we went on a run that took us off familiar trails and through a community center parking lot that had cars, people and confusion. I was expecting a big hassle at the community center, but Amber was flawless. She led the team around a few parked cars and between a snowbank and a van that had just pulled in and was still idling. Quite a progression for a dog that has only been leading for four weeks. She took commands very well, only missing two turns, one which was difficult since it was a snowmachine track that led off of a wide driveway and road intersection.

Today I thought that we should test her a bit more, although I was fairly sure that she would have difficulty. Jenn came with me in the sled so that I would have help if I needed it. We ran our normal trail, but instead of turning 'haw' to come home, we went 'gee' instead, and ended up on a river trail. There were patches of overflow and the trail was braided with snowmachine tracks, but Amber was able to focus on the main trail. Our run would take us right by -- thirty feet from, in fact, -- someones dog yard. I knew this was going to be difficult and Amber had a hard time passing it but once she got pointed in the right direction, she was off and running again. It is difficult for our dogs to pass by a distraction like a dog yard or a house because we don't normally run on trails where these are encountered. It is, however, important that the dogs know what sort of distractions are out there and become able to pass them cleanly.

I think that I would prefer the confidence of an experienced leader for training, but Amber has been very good so far. Tomorrow is supposed to be warm again and the dogs have done well running in this weather, but I think that they can have the day off. Amber could use the break, too, since leading and taking a lot of commands on a short run is stressfull.

A busy weekend

Two weeks into our "Name the Puppy" contest and we have received some great suggestions. We even have an entry from Texas! Thank you to all who have written in and to those who haven't yet, c'mon, what are you waiting for? We have decided that the prize will be a Nomad Kennel patch and the "Lone Trail" DVD which is produced by the CBC and follows the 2003 Yukon Quest. I've seen it and it is great. Even if you don't like dogsledding, the scenery is incredible. So, send your entries to: nameoursleddog@canada.com




Certainly a weekend that will require some rest afterwards. It is Rendezvous weekend here in Whitehorse and the town fills with people out enjoying the activities and events.

With the exception of today, I have been out with the dogs every day since my last post. Each time, I have taken a passenger which is great strength training for the dogs. On Thursday, Jenn's mother went out with me at night. It was an absolutely clear night with a bright full moon. Most of the run was done without the headlamp. We went about 12 miles and arrived back home twenty minutes faster than I had expected, even though Bluegrass, the new dog, didn't pull at all. To be honest, she was a complete bonehead. She was by herself in the position just ahead of the wheel dogs, which is the easiest position in the team. She looked around, she tried to turn around a few times, all the bad behaviour of a dog that didn't want to run. However, the temperature was only -13 or so; a really nice temperature to travel at because the dogs don't get as hot and yet it is comfortable for the passenger, too. Jenn's mother, Nancy, got to drive the sled across the lake which I think she enjoyed and I got to see the scenery from the bed of the sled for once.

On Friday, it was again too warm during the day to go out and because I had a big run planned for Saturday morning, Jenn and I just went out on a quick 6 mile run around 2200. We just went across the lake, through the bush and back down a laneway near our house... I don't even think the dogs knew we had gone out we went so fast. It is good for them to learn how to work hard, but they also have to enjoy what they are doing so a short, fast run is often benefitial to their mental well being. I took all seven dogs, even though I had reservations about Bluegrass. I thought that because it was such a short run, I'd give her another chance, so I put her in wheel with Ben. She was very good. She pulled the whole way; in fact, she loped the entire six miles.

First, in case the positions of dogs are not familiar to the reader, the order goes: Lead dogs, Swing (or Point) dogs, Team dogs and then Wheel dogs, which are the dogs just in front of the sled. Each dog has it's special task: Lead dogs are expected to keep the gangline strung out and tight, whether they are running or not. They are also supposed to take commands from the driver. They are not necessarily the strongest dog in the kennel, the most dominant or the one with the best relationship to the musher. Often, they are just like the other dogs. They are also not expected to pull the hardest, as long as they manage to keep the lines tight.

The Swing dogs are just behind the lead dogs and their job is to pull but also to help turn longer strings of dogs. A team of eight dogs is roughly 35 feet long and going around a corner takes practice, both on the part of the driver and the team. Basically, the swing dogs take the corner wider than normal so that the team stays on the trail.

The team dogs are the power. They are the ones who pull, pull, pull. That is all they are expected to do. Good team dogs can change gaits easily from a lope to a trot. Most distance mushers favour a trot because the dogs can cover a lot of ground without getting tired. It is the most energy efficient gait. As well, a good team dog knows how and when to rest when they are pulling. Most often the dog will stop pulling and just trot along with the team for a short distance and then they will lean into their harness again and resume pulling. There is a fine line between being a good, hardworking dog that knows how to rest and being lazy. Although the job of the team dog is to pull, there is one position on the gangline that is easier than the rest. Just in front of the wheel dogs is the 'resting position' and this is sometimes used for dogs that either need more than a few minutes break or dogs that are not as strong as the others but need the training to catch up.

Lastly, there are the wheel dogs. Their job is to pull and to help steer the sled. Because their lines come straight off the sled line, when they turn they pull the nose of the sled one way or the other. A wheel dog that is not pulling its' share is quickly noticed because it is more difficult to turn to that side. Also, the wheel dogs have to be tough both physically and mentally. Again, because their lines are attached almost directly to the sled, they get a lot of jerking on bumpy trails and downhill trails can see the sled creep up behind them. Some dogs cannot deal with this sort of pressure and they will not perform well in this position.

Fortunately, it was still cool on Saturday morning. I had plans of getting up at 0545 and feeding the dogs a broth before we were to leave. I like to give them water before we go so that I know they are not getting dehydrated and so that they don't 'dip' as much. 'Dipping' is when they grab at snow on the ground as they run. Some mushers completely discourage this behaviour, while others don't mind, their philosophy being any moisture the dog can get is welcomed. I don't mind the dogs doing this, as I share the above philosophy, but I find it can slow down a team if the behaviour becomes excessive so if I can meet their liquid needs with a pre-run broth I will. Anyway, I also like to give them about an hour between the run and the broth so they are not going on full stomachs, so I had set my alarm for 0545 with the hopes that we'd be able to get away by seven at the latest. I wanted to go early because of the temperatures, for one thing, and for another, we were going to Teslin -- a two hour drive -- after my run.

As it was, my alarm didn't go off and I ended up sleeping an extra hour so Nancy and I didn't get away until 0800. I was really eager to be underway, too, because we were going part way up the mountain and this was going to be the dogs longest and most difficult run to date. I have a lot of faith in our dogs, but I have not really pushed them too hard, so they have not really learned how to work hard and this run would require just that. I was going to put Bluegrass in the position just ahead of the wheel dogs because she would be going quite far, but I thought back to Thursday nights run and decided that I would put her in wheel to start and if she got tired, I'd move her later.

Nancy and I were gone for three hours. I would expect that we covered just over 35 miles -- 30 for sure -- and the dogs were great. Amber and Crystal were nearly flawless in lead -- even managing a head-on pass with a skier and their dog -- and I never did end up switching Bluegrass, who pulled solidly the entire run. I guess wheel is her position. I suspect that, being new to sledding, she is uncomfortable with a dog behind her and prefers the security of being the last dog.

I was very impressed -- and pleasantly surprised -- with our dogs. I wasn't sure how they would do on the long run, up a mountain, with a heavy sled. They were super tired when we got back, but they never quit. Of course they were given breaks on the way back, but we never stopped for more than thirty seconds and they were lunging at their harnesses to go again. I have to say, I think that the team has graduated to a new level. I was very proud of them.

The dogs get a day off now. It is +6 and lightly raining but they were going to get a break anyway. Hopefully tomorrow is a cooler day and we can go out again.

Moonlight mushing

Enter our contest. Name the puppy, win a prize. E-mail entries to: nameoursleddog@canada.com

Last night at about ten o'clock, I could hear our neighbours dogs barking and noticed that they had turned on the lights in the kennel. I wonder if they thought there was a wolf or a moose around at first. I'm sure it didn't take them long to figure out what was going on though; it was us. We were hooking up our dogs.

Jenn gets home from work at around 2140, so I have to wait until then to take the dogs out. Any sooner and the baby has to come with me. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem but I don't want to go on the trail with her in the backpack in the dark. It's one thing for me to get whacked with a branch, but for her, quite another. Lately, the temperature has been too mild for going out with any daylight, so last night found us getting ready to go at ten.

The baby was not even close to sleeping. She was not even tired and Jenn hasn't been out with the dogs at night before so we decided to make it a family trip. Jenn harnessed the dogs while I got the sled ready -- laid out the sleeping bag for Jenn and the baby, straightend out lines, that sort of thing. Once we were all hooked up, Jenn climbed into the sled with Hunter and we were off. We took all our dogs, except Ruby, Hudson and Bluegrass. Ruby and Hudson had good reasons to stay home, but Bluegrass was left behind because I don't have enough sections of gangline to take seven dogs out and because we were going for a twelve mile run and I wasn't sure if she was up to it yet. I have since made another gangline section and I will put her in the team next time I go out. It is easier to rest when there are more dogs.

Heading into the bush



The moon was out and almost full, so it was quite bright. In fact, for nearly a third of the run I didn't even use a headlamp. This proved to be fortunate, too, because even though I put new batteries in my headlamp before we left they were nearly completely drained by the time we came home. I think it is my halogen bulb that does it -- it draws a lot of juice. I really only used the headlamp when we were going through the bush sections in case there was a low hanging branch or an animal on the trail. Jenn was able to take some photos, and this is what it looked like without a light on:

Taking a break



On our way again



There was a south wind blowing, which we hardly noticed going through the bush but once we got to the lake, we could feel the warmth on our faces and when we arrived back home the temperature had climbed four degrees to -8C.

I have mentioned to Jenn on several occasions now that I would like to have a hand-held GPS unit so that we can better gauge our distances and our speed. For recreational mushers, I don't think that speed is that important, but since we want to get into racing it would be nice to know how we are doing. Regardless, we made pretty good time on the trail. We were on the trail for just under two hours, arriving home at 2355. Normally, it takes me an hour and twenty minutes to an hour and a half to do that trail with a moderately loaded sled. However, with Jenn, all my gear still and Hunter, the six dogs didn't slow down all that much. It was a very good run.

Day two at the NMI Dash for Cash

Our Name the Puppy contest is still running. Email your suggestions to nameoursleddog@canada.com and enter to win a prize.

It was another beautiful day today, although it was again too hot to run the dogs.

Instead, we went to the NMI Dash for Cash. These are sprint races, and they don't last long, so it was an okay temperature for the dogs that were competing. I think that the average time for the six mile race was nine minutes. Not a long run at all.

We had several friends that were competing, not to mention the kids of one of our friends, too. This is the friend that we loaned our sled to. Here are his son and daughter taking off from the start. I don't know if it is obvious in these pictures or not, but the start line was at the top of a fairly steep hill. It was amazing that every racer that we saw managed to stay on their sled.

Kim



Alex



It wasn't long before the racers rounded the corner to the finish line. Both of these kids were working as hard as the dogs and they take their racing quite seriously. The finished middle of the pack, which is pretty good, especially since this is their first year with dogs.





I was hoping to get out with the dogs tonight since it is a much better temperature. -14C. Unfortunately, my headlamp isn't strong enough, so I can't see much on the trail. I could take my chances, I guess, but I'd sure hate to run into a low hanging branch or the two moose that have been spotted around here.

So, for today, we had to get our dogsledding fix from the sidelines.

A better run

This will be a rather text-heavy post since I didn't have the camera with me today.

Also, the "Name the Puppy" contest is still on. We are not going to name the puppy officially until she is six weeks old, so you have another five weeks to come up with a name and email it to nameoursleddog@canada.com This 'contest' is open to anyone who reads this site, so if know us, hardly know us or just stumbled across our blog, please feel free to enter. The prizes have been chosen and we will have pictures for them once we have them here in the cabin.

Today was the start of the NMI Dash for Cash. It is a fairly well attended sprint race and one that offers quite a large purse for the 'serious' race. We had plans on going in the less competitive race a few weeks ago, but since Ruby is not able to be part of the team, we were unable to enter. So, instead, we have set our sights on the SilverSled race in Haines Junction. Along with the 100 mile race, there is a sportsmans race and we are planning on entering it.

As for our little run today, things were better than last time. We went around the same loop, which is 6 miles or so. Originally, I had Crystal and Bluegrass in lead, but we didn't make it much more than fifty yards down the trail and Bluegrass started to turn around and drag Crystal with her so I had to stop and put Amber in front with Crystal. I don't think that Bluegrass was comfortable with the dogs behind her, because when I took her out of lead and put her in wheel, she was much better.

I also found out that Bluegrass is a right-hand dog. She does not do well on the left and will try to run on the right side all the time. I hooked her on the right today and we had no problems with her tripping over the gangline. After I came back, Jenn took Bluegrass out for some one-on-one leader training. This she does with a harness and a leash; they walk around together and Jenn works on the basic 'line-out' command.

We were just on our way back from our neighbours place when a friend of ours and his two kids came up the laneway. His son was upset because he had placed last in the 4-dog sportsman race at the Dash for Cash and they were looking to borrow a sprint sled from our neighbours so that he may place better tomorrow. Our neighbours were not home so we loaned him ours. I hope that he does better tomorrow.

When we went to drop off the sled, we got talking about his dogs, and then we were invited in for a coffee and we talked more and by the time we noticed, it was well into the afternoon and we had not managed to get anything else done today. But, I suppose that is how it goes around here. They don't say you're on 'Yukon Time' for nothing.

They can't ALL be good runs, I guess.

Don't forget about our Name the Puppy Contest... email your suggestions to nameoursleddog@canada.com and win a prize if your name is chosen. Here's the puppy and her mom:



This was definitely not a run that I will want to look back on fondly. Even though it was the first run where I had Hunter with me, I would rather forget it, I think.

We got a new sled dog from one of Jenn's friends at work and her husband. The dog is very inexperienced and has never run with a team before. Since it was too warm for a long run and because I had Hunter, I thought it would be a great time to get the new dog out and see what she is like. Besides, not having run much this winter, she wouldn't be able to go far, anyway.

I packed Hunter up in her snowsuit and backpack and went out to the dogyard to start harnessing up the dogs. They were happy to see that we were going for a run and they all started to bark and howl. Harnessing wasn't a difficult job, but getting the dogs to the gangline and having them stay in one spot was. Ruby, my main leader, is busy with her puppy now so I don't have a dog that will hold the line tight while I bring other dogs to it. I had to put Amber up front because she has the most experience in lead, but she doesn't understand the command "line out" or "stay" so she kept turning back to see the dogs behind her.

That is when it happened. I had Ben in lead with Amber, in the hopes that his excitement would keep Amber looking down the trail, too. Behind him were Blitzi and Scroggy and behind them were Grizzly and I was on my way to get Bluegrass, the new dog. Amber decided to go visit the new dog and she turned back, which put Ben and Scroggy nose to nose. We had been warned that Ben and Scroggy don't like one another from the musher that loaned them to us. We had been careful and made sure not to run them side by side, but in this instance, facing each other was too much and they started to fight. So, with Hunter on my back, I had to seperate the fight, which didn't last long thankfully. I took each dog in turn and marched them back to their stakeouts where they will stay for the remainder of the year. Or at least until the musher comes back to town. We were considering buying Ben, but after today, he can go back. We will not tolerate fighters in our kennel.

Now I was down to four dogs. I decided to hook up Crystal, who is slow but willing to go. Now I had Amber in single lead, Crystal and Blitzi, Bluegrass and Grizzly. I pulled the hook and we were off down the trail. Things went okay for a while even though it was pretty evident that Bluegrass hasn't run in a team before. She kept going under the gangline, tripping on it, and running alongside Grizzly. This is nothing that can't be fixed with a little training though, and she did really well otherwise. Her line was tight the whole run and she was not as tired as I expected when we got back to the yard. I'll post a picture of her when I can better describe her personality.

It was a difficult run because Amber was getting distracted on the trail which is usually a sign that the job of lead -- and single lead at that -- is too stressful for her. I was glad that we were only on a short run. This is definitely a hint to work on leader training.

Here are some pictures of the run.

Sunset on McConnell Lake



Crossing the Field



I hope the next run is better.

A new arrival and the start of the 2005 Yukon Quest

This is what greeted me this morning when I went out to feed the dogs. Ruby was all curled up around her only puppy, came out quickly to eat and went back inside her house to take care of her newborn.

The puppy is not a day old in this photo. She -- it's a girl -- was born sometime last night and spent the first several hours of her life in temperatures that got down to -24 or so. Originally, we thought that Ruby would have more than one puppy, so it would not have been hard for them to huddle together against their mother for warmth, but since there was only one puppy in the litter, we decided that it would be best if we brought them inside.

This is Ruby's first litter and she is showing signs of being a very attentive mother. She had the puppy all licked clean when I went out in the morning and she nuzzles it to feed. Even though she is in the house, Ruby won't leave the little one and they both seem very comfortable.

We thought that it would be fun if you named the puppy, so we have come up with a contest of sorts. If you think that you have a good name for our newest addition then email us with your suggestion and we will collect all the entries, put them in a hat -- or dog dish -- whichever is closer to hand and we will draw out one name. If it is yours, then you will win a (possibly) fabulous prize, a photo of which will be posted here when we decide what the prize will be. If you are not sure that we have your mailing address, please include it with your email. Enter as often as you like. We just have one rule... No Native or Inuit names, please. Email us at nameoursleddog@canada.com.

One more photo...





The 2005 Yukon Quest

Yesterday we went to Whitehorse to watch the start of the Quest. I won't get into the specifics of the race here. If you are interested in the race, it's history, the trail, the standings and the mushers then go the Quest's website: www.yukonquest.org

It was a great day for a race start. The sun was shining, the temperature was around -28 and there were hundreds of people lining the start chute. We managed to arrive early, so we wandered around the staging area, talking to some mushers that we know and wishing them luck. Cathrine Pinard is using our dogbox and so far, this is as far as Nomad Kennels has come to being in the Quest.



William Kleedhan is wearing bib number six on the right and bent over, just about to undo the snap that holds the sled to the truck is our friend Didier Moggia -- a pretty respectable musher in his own right and one of Cathrines handlers for this race.

Here is another shot of our dog box and Cathrine being mobbed pre-race by her fans.



Just beside Cathrines truck was Williams truck. We wanted to see his well-known lead dog, "Dogmatic" because he is the brother to Blitzi, the female that we have just recently bought. Here he is, although the picture is a little fuzzy -- sorry.



The excitement level in the staging area was pretty high, as one could imagine, and the dogs were barking and howling their eagerness to get the race underway. Many of the mushers were going through their pre-race rituals, others were putting booties on their dogs and the more realaxed veterans were wandering from truck to truck talking to old friends and secretly sizing up this years competition. As we went from truck to truck we managed to capture the expression that sums up the mentality of someone who decides that a one thousand mile race in the middle of winter is just the thing. The wild-eyed and crazed look; the expression that says "you've got to be a little crazy to do this."



Although I can't remember the dogs name, it is one of Hugh Neff's dogs.

Martin Massicotte was a little further down the line and he was looking fairly calm. Our friends, Paul and Josee, were helping him get ready for the race and had put him up at their place for just under a month. Paul will follow Martin on the race and help out where he can. This is one of Martin's dogs and again, I don't know the name.



Amid all the noise, we heard the announcer declare the race officially underway, so we went to the starting chute to see the mushers take off. This is where it can be interesting; imagine 14 dogs attached to your sled and all riled up and ready to go. It usually two people to hold the sled, another on to stand on the brake and another six to hold the gangline. Each racer leaves in two minute intervals which may not seem like a long time, but believe me two minutes can seem like an eternity when all you want to do is get going. As well, imagine a path about five feet wide that is lined with several hundred people, some two or three deep in places. It takes a good lead dog, one that won't go and visit people, to navigate this barely contained mayhem. Now imagine being in your car with the brake pedal pressed all the way in and you're thinking "as long as I go straight, I will be fine. If I go left or right, I can't stop and who know what will happen." This is what it is like to start the race. Here are some shots of the mushers leaving the First and Main intersection:

Sam Perrino:



Martin Massicotte (and Ben, the handler):



Bruce Langmaid:



Once the majority of the mushers had started, we thought that we would go to the Takini River bridge, another great vantage for seeing the race go by. I guess it was such a good place to watch the race that most of Whitehorse turned out. There was close to three miles of cars parked along the side of the road and everyone was down on the river, close enought to reach out and touch the dogs as they went past. This is what the tail end of the race looked like, from down on the river:

Sebastian Schnulle:



The back of Gerry Willowmitzer and Sebastian as they head to Breaburn, 100 miles down the river.



And, with that, the race had passed us by. Now, we will have to rely on CBC Radio and the Quest site for updates.

Just as a little note of interest, we met a couple who were travelling through Whitehorse with a team of Malamutes. We stopped to see them and to talk for a few minutes and was I ever surprised. They had a dog that looked identical to Hudson. For those that know him, see for yourself:

Catching up.

I was able to take the dogs out for a short run yesterday. We go in the morning before Jenn has to leave for work. I had them all harnessed up and we were gone by about 0830 and although Jenn suggested I do an abbreviated run since they hadn't been out for a few days the trails were fast and hard so I took them on a 16 mile run. Things were great for about 14 miles and then, just after we had come off the lake, my dogs jumped off the trail and tried to follow some tracks in the snow. This isn't normal for them; usually, they will turn their heads at the new scent or animal trail and continue on past. Not so yesterday. I had a huge tangle, which is saying something because I only had six dogs. While I was trying to sort out the dogs, Scroggie chewed through his neckline, some of the gangline (I use coated aircraft cable in hollow braid rope for the gangline, so he wouldn't have been able to actually cut the gangline in two) and almost all of his partners neckline. Scroggie has some chewing issues that we are going to have to work on. I have to hook him up last so that he doesn't destroy the lines in his excitement to go. That is what he is all about -- "go! go! go!" He is so excited to go that he gets all worked up and unless we are running, he has nowhere to channel this energy.

Anyway, I got the team sorted out and I am still not sure what it was that made them go off the trail like that. I have seen caribou there, in much the same spot on previous runs this winter, but the dog were only twenty yards or so away from them and we passed by without so much as a head turn. Later, I found out that a musher from just down the road was out the evening before, in pretty much the same spot as I was, and was followed and then cut off by two skinny wolves. She had to yell at them to get them off the trail and they continued to follow her until she got to the road another two miles away.

Other than that and the breaking of my driving bow (the thing I hang on to when I am on the sled) when I was at the half-way point in my run, it was uneventful.

There is not much else to write about today. It was too warm to take the dogs out (+3C), so I used my time to catch up on some kennel chores. I fixed the driving bow, which was a fairly simple proceedure since I already had some UHMW plastic laying around. I then spent about an hour making new neck lines for the sled. I have made extras because I know that I will need them with Scroggie around.

I also took all the dog-yard scoopings over to the trench that our neighbour dug for his dog-yard waste. This would normally not really need to be commented on, but as I was walking over I noticed that there were four dog trucks parked near the neighbours kennel, a dozen or so people milling around and two reporters not knowing which way to point the camera. As it turns out, Lance Mackey had just arrived at Hugh Neff's place, which is a few miles down the road from us. They were at my neighbours because they were dropping off a dog for him. The reporters were on their way down to Carcross to William Kleedhan's place to interview him and just happened to spot Mackey and Neff so they followed them to maybe get a second story.

Since I have the pictures downloaded now, I thought that I would post a few that I had taken during our last cold snap.

I think that for most, the word "Yukon" is synonymous with "cold." During the winters here in the early parts of the last century, it was not uncommon for the temperatures to fall below -30 Celcius in December and never rise above that until mid-February. Now, however, it seems that there is only about a two week period that sees these sorts of temperature drops. Ours this year was during Christmas where it was -50 or better for several days. I don't know exactly how much below -50 it got because, as we found out, our thermometer bottoms out at -50.0.



This next picture is what a morning at -50 looks like. Normally the sun isn't this bright at this time of the year, especially when it is early and behind trees. What made it so much more noticable was the ice fog in the air. When the temperature gets cold enough, the moisture in the air freezes and these frozen particles of ice just hover, much like regular fog. In Whitehorse, the city proper, it was nearly impossible to see much more than ten to fifteen feet in front of you because of the ice fog. It was much worse there, I expect, because of the river; which, incidentally, hasn't completely frozen over yet.

Our dogs

I have finally downloaded the pictures of the dogs. They do not, with the exception of two, look like the typical image of a sled dog and ironically the two that may fit the stereotype of a sled dog do not go out with us anymore.

Jack London wrote much about the treatment of sled dogs in his day. Whether or not his depictions were true, even then, is a matter of debate. However, today's sled dog is recognized for what it is: a highly trainable athlete. No musher has to go out to their team of dogs and kick them to get them motivated. No musher uses a whip to discipline their dogs and there is no such thing a "leader of the pack." The dogs are treated well and fed a highly nutritious diet of meat, fat, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. To what degree the musher chooses to supplement their dogs kibble is up to them as an individual. For us, we use kibble as a base, to ensure that all the requirements are met in the off season. During the winter, however, we will adjust their diet according to training, weather and general condition of the dog. We feed mostly meat with kibble. It could be moose meat or chicken or pork. Even horse in some cases. Horse is a great meat to feed to dogs that are in heavy training because it allows for the dogs muscles to rebuild themselves much quicker than any other meat. We have also fed fish. A lot of the time, what we feed depends on availability.

All of our dogs that make up the actual team are Alaskan Huskies, which shouldn't be confused with Alaskan Malamutes. Essentially, an alaskan husky is a mutt. They are mixes of siberian huskies, malamutes, 'village' dogs and basically anything that would pull a sled in the early part of dog-powered transportation. They were bred on the basis of a certain mushers wants and needs. Some alaskans have very thick coats, long legs and are large in stature while others are lighter, shorter coated and smaller. Often, alaskan huskies will have very detailed pedigrees, going back many generations but despite this, they are not a recognized breed.

Anyway, I said that I would post some pictures of the dogs, so here they are:

Hudson



Hudson has been with me for ten years now. I got him from a friend who bred Alaskan Malamutes when he was just 6 weeks old. Originally, I just wanted a dog. But, once I started to read more about dogsledding and Alaskan Malamutes, I just couldn't resist. I bought a harness and tried him out. We didn't know what we were doing, but it was fun nonetheless. So I blame him for what has followed. He is now retired -- did he ever really work? -- and has managed to become a house dog and the team mascot. Although he is a great dog around people, he is aggressive and prone to fight around other dogs -- an unfortunate trait of many Malamutes. He is kept seperate from the other dogs for this reason.

Crystal



Crystal has been a funny dog since we got her. She came from a kennel just south of Temagami, Ontario. We were new to the aquisition of dogs and we believed everything the kennel owner told us. We were told that she was from a well-known musher from Quebec which has since been proven in many ways to be not entirely true. She is a 35 pound Siberian Husky and although she loves to run, her legs are too short and she is too small to keep up with the rest of the team. She is now the comic relief for the team. When the summer comes, we will have her spayed and she will become a pet for Hunter (and us) and she will be able to keep Hudson company. Crystal is a very strong minded dog and I wish that she could keep up with the team because she is very good at breaking trail through deep snow and when she does work, she throws all she has at the task.

These two dogs are the two that do not run with us anymore. The following is the real team.

Ruby



Ruby is a sister to Amber (see below) and came from a musher in St. Charles, Ontario. She is three years old and about 40 lbs. Her personality is fantastic. She gets along with every dog she meets and is always wagging her tail and happy to see people. She has been my lead dog all winter and I have seen a lot of progress with her. She is starting to know her commands, like 'line-out', 'gee' and 'haw' and she is obviously proud to be given the responsibility of guiding our team. She has always been a good eater and drinker and although she takes her job very seriously, she can be a goof when she isn't working. This year, so far, I guess she would have run about 200 miles for training.

Amber



Amber is the sister to Ruby. Their mother was 100% siberian husky and the father was an alaskan husky. Amber is the bigger of the two, weighing in at between 55 and 60 lbs. She is definitely the more serious of the two and welcomes a challenge. She is a non-stop puller and very responsive to both Jenn and I. For discipline, often just saying "Amber!" in a scolding tone is enough to correct her behaviour. When she was not quite a year, we think that something spooked her and now Amber is not a very trusting dog of new people. She is suspicious and wary of people when they come too close to her. She was also a very dominant dog up until recently. Amber would usually take any opportunity to re-enforce her status with our other dogs when they would be loose together, but since she has made friends with Ben, she has mellowed quite a bit and has become a much friendlier dog.

Blitzi



I apologize for the poor quality of the picture, but it is difficult to focus a lens on a dog with this much energy. Normally quiet in the yard, Blitzi loves attention. She is a very hard worker and it is evident that she has had much training prior to coming to us because her muscles bulge like an over-stuffed shirt. She is 5 years old and has had two litters of puppies. Two of her puppies have already completed the Yukon Quest and another three will be competing in it this year. She comes from Gerry Willowmitzer's kennel. She is soft tempered and loving -- we can tell already -- and she gets along well with our other dogs. We hope that Blitzi will be the founding bloodline for our racing kennel.

Ben



Ben is most likely three years old and weighs about 40 lbs. He came to us from the Northwest Territories via another musher, Kyla Boivan. She is a Quest veteran and was looking for homes for some of her dogs this winter. She said that she didn't have much of a chance to run Ben before she had to leave for the winter, but she was certain he'd be a good dog. Well, he hasn't disappointed. He is an extremely hard working dog and he is super friendly. What more could one ask for? He has this habit of biting snow and throwing chunks of it up in the air when we are about to go for a run. He is quiet, loving and obedient. An all-round honest dog.

Scroggie



Scroggie is an odd dog. He is about 3 or 4 years old and roughly 40 lbs. He came to us from Kyla Boivan, too, but our friend Paul had him first. Paul didn't want Scroggie anymore because he didn't think that he could keep up with his team and because he wouldn't shut up. Scroggie doesn't bark or howl. He screams. Well, he used to. Now that he is with us, he isn't as loud as he used to be but we wondered if he'd ever be quiet in the beginning, too. As for keeping up with our dogs, ever since he passed the garbage bag pieces that were in his stomach, he has done really well for us. I don't know where the garbage bag came from, but it was in him for a long time, I'm sure. Scroggie always looks like he just got in trouble for something perhaps because he is a somewhat shy dog. Scroggie doesn't really get along well with Ben, which is a shame, because if it were not for this sometime-aggressive behaviour, he'd be a great dog. As it is, he's a good dog, but he will never run beside Ben.

Grizzly



Grizzly is another dog from Kyla. He's also around 3 or 4 years old and he's in the 37 to 40 lb. range. He is a dog with a lot of personality and he is a funny dog to watch because he is still very puppy-like. He loves to play and he likes to work but play is definitely the priority. Regardless, he still comes out with me because he works more than he slacks off and his contribution is definitely positive.

So there you have it. That is our team. I will try and take some pictures of the trails for my next installment.

The Kennel

Our kennel is set amongst the trees, about 50 feet from our front door. We have cleared most of the trees from the inside of the kennel, so that the dogs will have sun exposure in the winter and there is more of a breeze in the summer months, which will hopefully cut down on blackflies and mosquitoes. The kennel itself is a fenced enclosure with a gate at the front and a gate at the back. This allows us to harness the dogs and hook them up to the sled in the kennel itself, and when we come back from a run, we can close both gates and let the dogs loose as we unharness and them and put them back at their house.

Each of our dogs has a house, which is full of straw in the winter and wood shavings in the summer. They have a chain that is 6' long which is attached to a post with a swivel. This gives them roughly 113 square feet of 'territory.' Each post is 11.5 feet apart and the posts are in rows, so the dogs can socialize with their neighbours, but they can't breed. Having rows makes kennel chores easier; up one side to feed, down the other. Up one side to scoop poop, down the other. Up one side to harness ... and so on. I'd like to take this time to discuss the issues involved with chains and free-running dogs.

When we first got involved with dogs, we thought that we'd like to have them all loose in a large pen. While it was nice to see them playing, we had some dogs that didn't like each other, which necessitated the building of a second and then a third pen, just to accomodate the grumpier dogs. At the outset, it would seem the ideal way to keep dogs, but the longer we used this system, the less impressed we were with it. We encountered several problems with it that we thought needed to be addressed. We noticed that our dogs were developing a pecking order, and when it came time to feed them, the lower dogs were chased off their food by the more assertive dogs. We also found it difficult to clean. Since the run was through the trees and undergrowth, it was difficult to find and remove all their waste. Even if all of it could be found, it was impossible to identify whose was whose. While this may seem trivial to some, it is important to us because their feces is a good indicator of their health. Not knowing whose is whose does not let us diagnose the dogs properly and we may miss a health issue. A good example of this is one of our new aquisitions had a fairly large infestation of worms. Since he has his own spot, we were able to notice and treat the problem rather quickly and we have seen a great improvement in his personality and his performance. This would not have been possible in a free-run system where we would have had to deworm all the dogs and this is hard on their systems, not to mention costly to us.

When we first moved to the Yukon and set our dogs up, we did not have a fence around our dogs. That didn't last long as the neighbour dogs were loose and they would come over and harass and try to fight with ours. The fence was not long in going up. Since moving we have put up a fence again not so much to keep the dogs in but, rather, to keep things out. We have porqupines here and other small mammals, but more importantly, we have wolves. Last year, a friend of ours had a dog killed and partially eaten by a wolf and this was not an isolated incident. Many local dog owners lost dogs or had dogs maimed as a result of wolf attacks.

The dogs get fed twice a day. I feed them a broth in the morning, which is just warm water mixed with some sort of meat. Last week, it was ground moose that a co-worker gave to me, since it was freezer burned. This week, it is pork that I managed to salvage from work as well. When it was -50 a few weeks ago, we fed them pure pork fat, which is like putting coal on a fire: their internal furnace converts the fat to almost pure heat, so it was not unusual to see the dogs laying out in the sun, even though the temperature was -50 or lower. In the evening, they get a scoop of kibble and a scoop of water in their dish. It is important to keep them well-hydrated, so we try and give them lots of water. Some old-school dog owners are of the opinion that the dogs can eat snow for their daily water intake but this is a difficult way to get water since snow is converted to water at roughly the rate of 20:1. Plus, to melt the snow into water, the dog needs to use its body heat and when the temperatures are cold, it is dangerous to take away body heat.

Once the dogs are fed, I make the rounds again, picking up after each dog. This means that to just feed and clean up after the dogs, I am in the kennel about 730 times a year.

To store our food, both kibble and meat products, we use an old decomissioned freezer that was given to us by a local appliance store. We store most of our dog-related things in the kennel, and we are hoping to build a better shed and covered structure when the weather permits so that we can keep our straw dry and better organize everything.

Hopefully, this has explained a little bit about our kennel set up.