December 2, 2005 The "A" Team Update

In yesterday’s diary entry I alluded to the fact that the Main String had been cut down to 24 dogs. 
I actually sat down a week or so ago and put each of the 29 Main String dogs into one of three categories – “Must Go’, ‘Could Go’ and ‘Not Going’. With no further ado, the 18 dogs that were on my ‘Must Go’ list are:
(In the order they are fed)

| Draco | Skor | Surge | Hector | Moses | Odie | Loki | Herman | Barq | Crunchie |
| Kara | Hilda | Olena | Dasher | Snickers | Pepsi | Sprite | Nahanni | Jr |

"Must Go" to Alaska
Name	Sex	Age	Status	Races
Draco	Male	8	Veteran Main leader	Iditarod 2001 Finisher Klondike 300 Iditarod 2003 Iditarod 2004 Finisher Iditarod 2005 2005 Knik 200
Skor	Male	5	Veteran Leader	Iditarod 2005
Surge	Male	7	Veteran Main leader	Grand Portage Passage Iditarod 2001 Finisher Iditarod 2003 Iditarod 2004 Finisher John Beargrease Marathon Race to the Sky Iditarod 2005 2005 Knik 200
Hector	Male	4	Veteran Leader	Iditarod 2004 Finisher Iditarod 2005 2005 Copper Basin 300 2005 Knik 200 Finisher
Moses	Male	5	Veteran Leader	Yukon Quest 250 Iditarod 2004 Finisher Iditarod 2005 2005 Copper Basin 300 2005 Knik 200 Finisher
Odie	Male	6	Veteran Leader	John Beargrease Marathon Iditarod 2003 Iditarod 2004 Finisher Iditarod 2005 2005 Copper Basin 300 2005 Knik 200 Finisher
Loki	Male	6	Veteran Champion showdog	Iditarod 2003 Iditarod 2004 Finisher Iditarod 2005 2005 Copper Basin 300 2005 Knik 200 Finisher
Herman	Male	4	Veteran	Iditarod 2004 Finisher Iditarod 2005 2005 Copper Basin 300 2005 Knik 200 Finisher
Barq	Male	4	Rookie
Crunchie	Male	5	Veteran Leader	Iditarod 2004 Finisher Iditarod 2005 2005 Copper Basin 300 2005 Knik 200 Finisher
Kara	Female	6	Veteran Main Leader Champion Showdog	Iditarod 2003 2003 Knik 200 Finisher Iditarod 2004 Finisher 2005 Copper Basin 300 2005 Knik 200 Finisher Iditarod 2005
Hilda	Female	4	Veteran Leader	Iditarod 2004 Finisher 2005 Knik 200 Finisher
Olena	Female	5	Veteran Leader	Iditarod 2003 Iditarod 2004 2005 Copper Basin 300 2005 Knik 200 Finisher
Dasher	Female	4	Veteran Leader Champion showdog	Iditarod 2005
Snickers	Female	5	Veteran Leader Mark’s favorite!	Iditarod 2005
Pepsi	Female	4	Rookie	(Busy having a litter for our friends Jackie and Rick last year)
Sprite	Female	4	Veteran Leader	Iditarod 2005
Nahanni	Female	5	Veteran	Iditarod 2003 2005 Copper Basin 300 2005 Knik 200
Jr	Male	3	Rookie Leader

Now Jr was originally in the ‘Could Go’ category, but has in the past week managed to move himself up into the ‘Must Go’ list. Good boy Jr!

The 5 dogs on the ‘Could Go’ list are – 

| Q | Jinx | Holly | Batdog | Eeek |

"Could Go" to Alaska
Name	Sex	Age	Status	Races
Q	Male	2	Rookie
Jinx	Female	2	Rookie
Holly	Female	3.5	Rookie Leader
Batdog	Male	3.5	Rookie
Eeek	Male	2	Rookie

Now, 3 of these dogs should get on the truck (maybe more depending on injuries, etc). I originally put them in order of ability – meaning Q, Jinx and Holly would have been the selected ones, but it seems that Batdog and especially Eeek didn’t like that idea. Both have been putting up really solid runs of late and making a serious bid to get a trip to Alaska.

I know some of you have noticed not necessarily who was on those previous lists, but who wasn’t – Grover. Let me say that Grover has put in some lovely, lovely training runs this fall. When I put him up front with young dogs, he seems determined to run them as hard as possible. He has been pushing the pace hard! However, Grover has been having some issues with his coat over the past year. It started just prior to our Alaska trip last year. When he was diagnosed with thyroid problems, we thought we had figured it out, but turns out that wasn’t it. He attitude, health, etc all seem good, but his coat is dry and brittle and doesn’t stand up to the wear of a harness well at all. It would not be fair to subject him to a distance race like this.

We’ve have been running some tests and trying a few different things on him – which we will continue to do, but Grover will not be going to Alaska this year. 

Of course I’m sad, but I have seen it coming for a bit – and Grover owes us NOTHING. He is 9 ½ years old – he has more then earned his ‘gold watch’. 

Also on the ‘NOT’ list is Grover brother, Gus. Gus is actually still running with the teams and doing quite well. With him it is more a matter that there are younger, faster, stronger dogs that have knocked him off the main string. And you know what, that is as it should be.

Those two boys are actually the last two that were on my first Iditarod with me. Cutting them really feels like the end of a chapter in a book. (Alright – no dwelling on this).

The other three to be cut were – Newt, Dare and Spider. Newt and I need to sort out our relationship better before we do something like the Quest together. If he were doing GREAT in harness, I’d probably be working very hard to do that before we headed to Alaska. He isn’t great, just good – so we will work on that in the spring. 

Dare and Spidey both did very well in training this year, but their inexperience and size worked against them this year. I expect both to be awesome little main string leaders down the road though!

"Not Going" to Alaska
Name	Sex	Age	Status	Races
Grover	Male	9	Veteran Main leader	Klondike 300 (multiple finishes) Iditarod 2000 Iditarod 2001 Iditarod 2003 Iditarod 2004 Race to the Sky John Beargrease Marathon Iditarod 2005
Gus	Male	9	Veteran Main leader	Klondike 300 (multiple finishes) Iditarod 2000 Grand Portage Passage Iditarod 2001 Finisher Race to the Sky John Beargrease Marathon Iditarod 2003 Iditarod 2004 Finisher Iditarod 2005
Newt	Male	3	Distance Rookie	?
Dare	Female	2	Rookie
Spider	Female	2	Rookie

So that is the cut. I’m very pleased with this group of dogs and really enjoying working with them. They are fast, strong, spirited, feisty, and always looking for trouble. They are keeping me on my toes, but frequently make me smile too. It’s going to be a fun winter!
Karen