An Intervention

A few weeks back Rocket decided she didn't want to go for a run with us. That is very unusual for one of my dogs and I don't take that lightly. Further examination showed that she was producing milk and showing early signs of labor. What???????!!!!!
I counted dates back and figured that she would have been in season while I was in New Zealand. When I got home, Mark had moved Rocket's neighbor, TopDog, as they were apparently doing a fair amount of flirting. When I chatted with Mark, he was very confident that no breeding occurred.
Still to be safe Rocket was moved into the house and into a whelping pool. After watching her and giving her a closer exam that evening, I was fairly convinced that my crazy little Dancing Dog was going through a 'false pregnancy' .

Two days later Rocket's prowess at escaping any form of  confinement other then a stake out chain was driving us crazy and I was certain she wasn't pregnant  so back out on a chain she went.

She has been brooding, nesting and sticking to her dog house, but still eating and drinking well.

Every day I'd ask her if she wanted to come running with us and she'd politely decline with excuses about needing to stay home to look after her puppy.

"But Rocket......."

She was having none of it. There was a puppy in that dog house. If the rest of us couldn't see the puppy, that was our problem, not hers.

Finally yesterday, I'd had enough - Rocket went on the running list. Thankfully, when Brittany called her, she came out of her house and agreed to run.

She did have to sport a fancy little bit of clothing to cover her still slightly swollen and partially naked nipples. She was not impressed....

She did however, put in a really good run.

When we got back to the yard I unharnessed her first so she could get back to her house to check on her 'children'. She wasn't interested.

"Are you kidding me??? There is nothing in that dog house other then straw".

Welcome Back Rocket!

Camping

Yesterday was our first camping trip of the season. I'm going to let Bet tell the story of the actual 'camping' part of the trip - as it was her first camping experience and I'm sure her version of the events are more entertaining then mine (parked dogs, fed dogs, fed humans, snack dogs, left).

The run was our 'traditional' 24 miles over to the Forfar campground, a 2 1/2 hour break there, then home.
The team was:

See and Wonder
Bang and Jinx
Kelly and Boo
Crackle and Bingo
Q and Wolvie
Rocky and TopDog
Astro and Irving
Snert and Roscoe

The dogs put in an EXTREMELY solid 24 mile run on the trip over. In fact, we beat our 'support crew' (Mark, Brittany and Bet). Luckily I had some extra fish to keep the dogs amused till their meal arrived!!!

The veterans camped like....well...veterans. The rookies were nice enough not to eat any lines or harnesses, which often does happen on early season trips, but didn't get a ton of rest either.

We usually take a break of anywhere from 2 - 4 hours on these trips. Because the dogs had ran over so strong and were not resting particularly well we started packing up after just over 2 hours.

Unfortunately, about 200 yards into the run home my ATV decided it wasn't getting enough attention and promptly quit.
We were able to get it running again (Mark was still around to help out) but I couldn't shut it off or change gears at all. As it was dark, running the headlights was my biggest concern (even though we had headlamps and a light on Wonder) and we were able to do that, so I limped it the 24 miles home.

Brittany was with me on the ride home, but the dogs still ran home really solid.

We arrived back in the yard shortly before 9pm. All the main string dogs were fed, the team tucked into their houses for the night and then off to bed for us.

The plan is to do it all again today, but a winter storm warning (no, I've not gotten soft - but training on road with an ATV in a storm is different then being on a trail with a sled) and that balky ATV might stall plans for a day or so. We will see!

Karen

A Good Find

My experience with winter clothing has mostly been that 'you get what you pay for'. I've wasted alot of money on cheap clothing with big claims over the years. Every now and again though you make a good find!!! I thought I'd share this one.

A few years back while I was race judging on the Yukon Quest I was intreged by a pair of boots worn by checkpoint manager, Scarlett Hall. Scarlett lives an amazing life with her family in the bush outside of Eagle, Alaska running a touring company - Bush Alaska Expeditions
The boots were US military issue Extreme Weather Mukluks. After getting home, I found and purchased a pair on Ebay for about $30.
Unfortunately, when they arrived they were too snug to zip up over my calves, so I ended up not wearing them - but Simone got some wear out of them last fall.
I was shuffling some stuff around in the garage a few weeks back and stumbled across them again. Since I've lost so much weight since I last tried them on and gave them another go - and absolutely no problem zipping them up now! =)

I've been wearing them ever since and quite loving them. Very lightweight and quite warm - although the lowest temp I've worn them in so far is about -20C. I've got lots of room in there to add some more liners if need be too!

I don't think I'll be running Iditarod in them, but they are a great training and 'around the yard' boot - and considering they were only $30 - what a great find!!

I did a quick Ebay search this morning and found 3 pairs listed - all priced very reasonably!!

Happy shopping!
Karen

And Then There Was One....

I started this year's training with 5 dogs over 9 years of age in the training pool. That is pretty exceptional for me, but then again those 5 dogs are pretty exceptional. They were -

Dasher - she is just about to turn 9 and has been my main leader for the past 3 or 4 years.
Hector and Herman - 10 year old brothers that have finished 3 Iditarods with me
Barq - 10 years and not looking or acting a bit like it.
and Crunchie - well, pretty much everyone that follows this blog knows Crunch. He is a superstar here!

The first to get cut from the main string was Hec. He struggled a bit during racing last season, so it really wasn't much of a surprise to me.
Next to get cut was his brother Herman.

The third cut was a tough one - Dasher. I struggled with that one. She's still a bouncy, opinionated gal that was happy to keep young leaders in line but she was struggling with the speed of the big strings I was running. I'd tell myself I was cutting her, then put her right back into the next team. I knew the 'right' decision, but that doesn't make it any easier.
Last week I 'sucked it up' and moved Dasher to a stakeout with the 'B' string. I couldn't meet her eyes for a few days but she has adjusted very well!

Day before yesterday, I made the decision to cut Barq. He is still a tremendous dog, but he was having trouble keeping weight on and I could see him making some compensation in his gait to try and keep up with the team when they were moving fast.

That leaves one - Crunchie.

Everyone that knows me knows that cutting Crunchie would/will be a very difficult and emotional decision for me. He is an extremely special dog to me but also respect him far too much to ever set him up for failure. When the time comes - I will do what is right for him.
Thankfully, he is not putting me even close to a point of struggling with that decision yet. He is moving well, happy, driving hard and keen to go.

Crunchie, the black, black dog second up on the left, drives hard up a hill on yesterday's training run. That is his son Turtle beside him and his other son, Pop directly in front of him.

 He's an amazing dog.

Karen

The Rest Of The Story....

I love posting beautiful photos of my dogs at work. They inspire me everyday and when I can surround them with fabulous scenery ...well...what could be better!!

 The last couple days have been magnificent for picture taking. The trees have been heavy with fresh, crisp snow with hints of blue skies. So gorgeous!

 The dogs have been sharp and excited for the new snow too. It just doesn't get much better .... well ...maybe if I were on a sled instead of an ATV, but really, this is pretty darn good too!

 I do frequently get teased by those around me that I 'sugar coat' events for Facebook and the blog. Okay, I admit that I do do that sometimes. I do have great love and enthusiasm for my life - but everything is not always as 'sunshine and roses' as it might look in the blog.
Take yesterday - here is the photo I shared with everyone....

....but this was what things looked like moments after that picture!

I admit I was not smiling and dancing as I hacked away at snow covered branches.

I don't think my ATV was too happy with me either!

But really, in the end this...

...is the memory I'm going to carry with me!!! So it is the one I'm going to share with y'all too!!

Happy Trails!
Karen

Didja Notice? - Bet

Didja notice something new we added to the blog?

We (and when I say "we", I meant ME because I have to do everything around here) added a new feature to our blogs!

If you look at the bottom of the blog postings, you'll find something that looks like this:

This is a handy little toolbar thing we've added to let all of our readers tell us what you think of our blog posts, easily share the blog posts on the various and sundry social interwebs sites, rate the post, and if you thought it was funny, interesting, or cool!

Not only does it get our posts out there on the interwebs by sharing it with others (which we totally like), but we can tell by your ratings how much you like certain stuff, and then we'll post more about that stuff.

Neato, right?

Didja notice that some of our 2012 main string pups haven't been sponsored yet?

NO?  Well, some very good pups are still unsponsored, and frankly that makes them a bit cranky.

Astro threw a tempter tantrum on the trail the other day because Bang was teasing him about not having a sponsor.  He refused to get up and pull until he got his sponsor... for all we know he's still out in the middle of a field.

I DON'T WANNA I DON'T WANNA NOOOOOO

Casey sits on top of her house and stares at the Musher house waiting for word that someone has sponsored her.  She mumbles something about "red headed step child" and moving to Florida to start a moped rental business if she doesn't get sponsored soon.

If I diversify in bonds and mutual funds, I can sell short and buy a Tiki hut with my moped fleet

Skookum was hoping for Corporate Sponsorship, but then found out his name was based on a cartoon character, and his mood went downhill from there.

A cartoon character?  Its like being a Rockefeller... a Dwayne Rockefeller from Georgia... seriously?

Then there's Snert.  He's always being left behind, and was already told he's not a "key player" this year, but so far that hasn't stopped him from changing the Musher's mind.  Working really hard, going the extra mile to get noticed...

Hey, where is everyone going?  Nobody told me we were running today!

And of course... sigh... Tramp.  She really thinks that she's overshadowed by the Tramplings, and is feeling like one of those washed up, has-been movie stars.  She has watched "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" 3,000 times.  We don't let her near the cutlery.

Oh, Blanche? You know we've got rats in the cellar? 

So, if you feel compelled to sponsor any of these worthy pups, just head over to the sponsor a main string dog page and have at it... we all thank you!

- Bet

TopDog and Wifi

 TopDog is a serious young man working hard at honing his leader skills. Wifi......well.....Wifi is Wifi.

TopDog says "I'm surrounded by idiots".