Happy Musher

I am one happy girl.

See? Happy :)

Went for a run in -15 to -20 temps today.

"Now how can you be happy about that??", you may be asking yourself.

Well, I'll tell you:

1. I received my new pair of Apocalypse Design bibs yesterday. Just in time for the temps to drop. I LOVE them! I did not get cold at all on my run today. In fact, I even got a little too warm at times! Imagine that, a girl from So Cal getting hot at -20 degrees??

And 2. This last weekend we got enough snow that we at Bacon's Acres' were finally able to switch to sleds!

Oh happy day!!

It's been a challenging fall/winter. Took a while until we actually got some snow. We enjoyed it for a little while, but then we were hit with freezing rain. A little snow here and there after that. Then back to freezing rain. 

Started to pour freezing rain on me while out on a run a few weeks back. Notice the crunchy ice layer on my coat? I know I look happy, but trust me I wasn't.

Frustrating to say the least.

We were training with 4-wheelers until December 13th! 

Until this last glorious weekend when the snow fell, and fell some more, and just kept on falling.

This coming weekend is our first race, the Aurora 50/50. 

Two days, 50 miles each day.

I'm excited to see how my dogs do!

Meet the Team: Flounder & Bluto

Introducing my two big boys, Flounder and Bluto

Okay I realize this is a picture of only one dog, but in all honesty you only need one picture to show what each of them look like.

Yep, we have twins my friends.

Pictured above is Flounder modeling our new dog coats that a friend of mine made who I worked with as handlers at DeeDee Jonrowe's kennel a few years back. Her and her husband now have a small business where they provide dog sled tours and sell handmade sled dog gear.

Anyway, here's a pic of them together and you'll see what I mean about looking alike

See what I mean??

Only a few minor physical differences:

1. Flounder has a scar on his muzzle

2. Bluto has about 5 white hairs on his chest

3. Bluto's fur is slightly lighter on the ends because he loves sunning himself (we got a lot of sun this past summer), this will disappear as the winter continues on

4. Flounder has a missing tooth (more on that later)

Now that I know them, these two couldn't look more different, but at first I couldn't tell them apart. Luckily, their names are on their collars so if I got confused I just referenced those.

Both these guys also came from Kelley Griffin (along with Ajax who you met earlier). 

They are 6 1/2 years old, have both finished multiple Iditarod and Yukon Quest 1,000 mile races, and are as lovable as dogs can be.

Despite looking the same, they couldn't be more different in personality.

Sure, they both soak in attention and absolutely adore getting loved on, but that's about it.

Shortly after I got all my dogs and started training, both of these guys had different incidences that secured a night or two inside with me in my little cabin.

Bluto broke a nail and injured his nail bed. He was brought inside to keep him dry and free of mud and contaminants so his nail bed would not get infected.

Flounder (here's where the missing tooth comes in) got in a fight with one of Kristin's dogs while out on run (I help train some of Kristin's dogs). Everything was hunky dory, Flounder and Yashinomi running side by side when suddenly all hell broke loose! I had a full fledged intense dog fight on my hands! After a lot of yelling, shoving my foot in between them, and doing whatever else I could to separate the two very large sled dogs, the fight finally subsided. I quickly moved Flounder, checked them both over for any major injuries (which there were none), and we moved on our way.

When we got home from our short run, I cleaned their wounds and checked them over again. It was then I discovered that Yashinomi had gotten a hold of Flounder's mouth where he broke one of his teeth and lacerated his gum.

Thus, my first emergency trip to the vet clinic. Puncture wounds I can handle. Loose broken teeth and open wounds in a dog's very dirty mouth? That's a bit beyond me.

So Flounder spent a night inside as he recovered from the drugs.

In my cabin, I have this mirror propped against the wall.

When Flounder came in for the night, he saw his reflection and started to growl/bark at it. He then attempted to get to that other dog to tell him who's boss.

When Bluto saw his reflection, he looked on with genuine excitement and began licking and snuggling the mirror.

So from that I can safely tell you that Flounder is a bit more aggressive and reactionary than Bluto. I make sure he gets along with a dog before I run them together, and he's not one I trust running around loose.

Bluto is just so darn happy-go-lucky, he gets along with everyone and everything ... and apparently he is also in love with himself.

Another big difference in personality?

Flounder is a leader (an awesome leader at that), and Bluto is not.

Flounder is like Ajax, follows my every command. His downfall though? It's not what you would think ... when passing other teams he doesn't try to get at the other dogs; no, he barks and nips at the musher! Not good. We're working on it, and he is getting better. We'll see what happens though when we are able to move to sleds and we lose the safety of a big 4-wheeler between him and the musher.

Bluto on the other hand does not lead, but once his cracked nail has fully grown out (his nail bed is all healed up now), he will be my go to wheel dog (the dogs right in front of the sled). Not all dogs can run in wheel. It's a demanding position. Wheel dogs bear the brunt of the load and they feel the effects of the sled more than any other position in the team. A wheel dog needs to be strong, sound, and steady.

The brothers both play an important role in my team. 

They are fantastic, hard working, sweet dogs and I couldn't be happier! 

Snow!!

After a loooong and extremely wet and muddy Fall here in Alaska, winter has finally decided to grace us with it's presence!

So how do we celebrate?

We go for a training run of course!

Starting in August we seemed to get non stop rain until two days ago when it finally turned to snow!

In just one day, Big Lake got almost 8 inches of the glorious white fluffy stuff.

Happy girl and happy dogs!

Ajax loves rolling his face around in the snow:

 

Bravo enjoys laying down in it to cool off:

Me: "Does Nuka like the snow?"

"Does she??"

"A lot?!"

Nuka: "For goodness sake! Yes mom, I like the snow!"

Meet the Team: Ajax

This is Ajax

Isn't he a cutie?!

Ajax is one of the five dogs I bought from Yukon Quest & Iditarod musher, Kelley Griffin.

Curious about his name? Well, when mushers have a litter of pups they often pick a theme when choosing names. Ajax and his siblings are the "cleaning" litter. His siblings have names like Pledge, Swiffer, and Dawn. Cute, huh?

Ajax has a bit of an odd personality. 

He's a gentle and sweet dog, however he strongly dislikes any kind of human physical contact. He doesn't enjoy being pet and loved on, which is difficult for me because I love giving my dogs that kind of attention.

He'll tolerate being touched because he knows he has to. 

For instance, if he wants to run then he has to let me put his harness on him, or if I need to look at his paws to make sure they are healthy.

Despite not wanting to be touched, Ajax is an AWESOME leader. He follows my every command. If I say "gee" (which is "right"), he goes gee. If I say "whoa", he stops. If I say "on by" (typically used when passing another team), he pulls the team forward and away from whatever distraction I want them to ignore.

Ajax has only one quirk as a leader. 

When I stop the team for a rest and water break, I typically get off my rig to check on each dog, untangle lines if need be, and tell my leaders how well they are doing. When I start to walk back to my rig to continue our training run, Ajax likes to follow me part way. 

Funny for a dog who usually avoids humans. 

Kelley said he used to follow her all the way back to the sled, taking the whole team with him! 

Luckily, he only walks back by the swing dogs now, but often times he gets himself tangled in the gangline or with the swing dogs. 

I am working with him on keeping lined out. He's not perfect, but it's a work in progress and he is getting better.

I am quite happy with Ajax! 

He's a dog I know I can depend on to get me and the team through just about any situation we find ourselves in.

One Pooped Pup

I increased the mileage my dogs have been running today.

We were running around 6 miles with some small, gradual hills.

Today we did our first 8 mile run. It was on a new trail with quite a few more hills.

For all my dogs who are well seasoned and have a number of years under their belts already, it was no big deal. They were maybe a smidge tired, but they could probably do it again and with the same enthusiasm.

Bravo on the other hand? Well, I'll let the picture speak for itself:

What a tuckered out little guy.

He did an awesome job today! He never quit pulling. He just doesn't have quite the stamina my other dogs do, so as soon as I put him back at his house, he climbed inside, curled up, and hasn't moved much since.

By our next training run he'll be raring to go again! :D

If not, I'll leave him home. 

For Bravo, this year is all about having fun. I don't want to push him beyond his limits, so if he's not excited to go or I don't think he's at the top of his game, he'll stay home for that day.

He'll continue to strengthen and toughen up so by next year or the year after that 8 miles, 20 miles, or even 50 miles will be child's play to him :)

Dog Trailer

I picked up this beauty yesterday and I'm pretty darn happy with it!

Kelley Griffin (Iditarod & Yukon Quest musher) and her partner Ed built it for me. After buying a mid-distance sled and 5 dogs from them (Silverbelle Kennel), they offered me a good deal on a dog trailer, custom made. Ed did a fantastic job! He definitely kept me and my needs in mind while building it. 

It's perfect for me because everything is my height :) There's even a space in between the boxes where the dogs go to put my sled, so I don't have to hoist it on top of the trailer (in fact, the sled is in there right now). It can hold up to 16 dogs. The two boxes towards the front on both sides of the trailer are big enough to hold two smaller dogs each, and the back four boxes on both sides are big enough for one dog each.

I'll be taking it out to practice backing up and parking it (don't have much experience driving with a trailer). So hopefully I'll be a pro come race season and I need to park amongst multiple dog trucks/trailers!

Meet the Team: Tucker

Ready to meet another one of my pups?

Well, he's not really a pup, he's a bit of an old man actually.

It's Tucker!

He's a little camera shy.

Tucker comes from Siku Kennel in Unalakleet. 

Well actually Middy bought him, among a number of other dogs, from a musher named Matt Hayashida, but Tucker was at Siku Kennel for three years ... and now he's with me! :D

He is on the older side (I believe he's 9 now), but he's still has a year or two of mid-distance mushing left in him.

Tucker is one of the sweetest dogs you will ever meet. A little shy at first, but once he knows you he's quite the little lover.

He's also very calm. I love hooking him up for training runs. He gets quite excited to get going, but he knows the drill: calmly get the harness on, walk to the gang line (not pull me in every which direction while twisting my arm in ways it shouldn't twist ::ahem:: Foxy!), get hooked up to the gang line, sit down, and calmly wait until it's time to take off. Once we take off, then he's a pulling machine!

I ran Tucker some while I was training dogs for Siku Kennel in the 2011/12 mushing season.

He was the best swing dog (the dogs that run right behind the leaders).

If my leaders weren't paying attention or were confused or simply just "giving me the finger" and not listening to my command, Tucker would take over and pull the leaders where I wanted/needed them to go.

With his tendency to take charge, I naturally tried him out in front as a leader. Tucker wanted nothing to do with it. Being a leader was simply too much pressure I guess. I think he liked his role as a swing dog. He liked following the leader until it was absolutely necessary for him to take charge, then once the job was done he'd gladly give that role back.

This year things have changed a bit. He is still an awesome swing dog and I run him in that position often, but one day I was forced to try him in lead again. We were out on a training run and I quickly had to change some dog positions (my leader was being a naughty boy, growling at other teams, and running towards them ::ahem:: Flounder!). So Flounder and Tucker switched positions. Flounder in swing, Tucker in lead.

I found my new little gem!

He did such a great job in his role as leader, so now he trains as one of my leaders.

I try to not always run him up front however because I don't want to burn him out and cause him to lose confidence as a leader. I want to know that I can depend on him when I need him.

You can never have too many leaders in the mix.

So there's Tucker for ya! 

Even though he only has a year or two of consistent training and running mid distance left in him, he will be invaluable as a training dog for puppies. He'll be able to show them the ropes and how to run as a team while doing shorter, more easy going runs. 

He'll still get the joy of running while enjoying his golden years ... not to mention I'll probably spoil him to no end ;)