Friday 2 December 2005

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

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