Turning Heads Kennel

Alaska Dog Sledding Tours

2016

Just Mush

· ·

This morning, things finally got real. As we sat throug meetings and trail reports, the Knots I hadn’t felt all season slowly started twisting in my stomach.

I have been so sure and confident with too much to get done to have time to worry. But here we are, in the final stretch and suddenly  I’ve realized what it is I’ve signed up for. It’s not just a thousand mile race. This is the race. Growing up, whenever I faced what I thought was a gargantuan task or something that seemed near impossible I told myself this is your Iditarod training. Soccer pratices where we did wind sprints until some of the girls puked. Waking up at 3 in the morning to summit mountains. Overcoming my fear of heights to be a rock climber.

All my life.

This is the goal that has pushed me forward.

And now here I am, standing at the edge of the cliff waiting to jump in.

Anticipation is the worst kind of worry.

But for now, I’m telling myself to just breath deep. Travis has a mantra – Don’t sweat the small. It’s all small stuff. And I’ve been repeating it over and over. 

Don’t worry.

Just mush.

It’s all just dog mushing.

Iditarod Bloodwork & ECGS

· ·

We recently took our dogs for their pre-race health checks  which includes Bloodwork and an ECG for each canine athlete. 

IMG 6807
Kip gets his blood drawn. Two vials are taken from each dog.

The ECGS are used to help eliminate any dogs who may be predisposed to having cardiac trouble from participating in the Iditarod.

 

IMG 6839
Teddy is put on his side and held in place for his ecg
Iditarod gives ECGs as a part of its dog care program
Iditarod Bloodwork & ECGS 6

Blood is also taken and a variety of things are measured to help determine which dogs, at a cellular level, are more statistically likely to finish the race. These values can be used to help mushers determine which dogs to take.

Each musher is allowed to have up to 24 dogs vet checked. This allows mushers to continue to work with a larger pool of dogs. 

For our kennel, we are able to vet check a combined 48 dogs between Travis and myself. We are actually allowed to swap dogs until we declare our final 20 dogs at the ceremonial race start.

As you can imagine, getting blood work done for 86 dog teams is no easy feat. Talking to the vet techs, who help make this happen we certainly learned how much goes into making sure every canine athlete is physically fit for the race. It takes over 20 days to do all the screenings for all the teams entered into the race.

We are fortunate that there are such dedicated volunteers who helped make this happen to helensure the safety of all dogs to participate in the Iditarod. We are also grateful that this is cupboard and part of our entry fee. What’s yours are actually able to sign paperwork that allows these blood samples and the results to be given to those in the scientific community to help continue on researchingsled dogs so that we can continue improving upon our dog care.

We’ve already learned a lot about the dogs because of the implementation of doing bloodwork. One of the most important things we’ve learned for example because the importance of vitamin E in muscle recovery in our dogs.  Because of this, almost every Mosher supplements with a high-quality vitamin E.research a shown that dogs supplemented with vitamin E are far more likely to finish the race then dogs who are not supplemented with it.

Bloodwork can also be used to screen for such things as muscle myopathy, a condition in which the dogs muscles start to deteriorate and can lead to serious problems. Understanding this ahead of the race can allow mushers to take different dogs or take extra precautions.

After the blood work results come in, Stu Nelson the head veterinarian for the Iditarod calls each musher to discuss any significant findings so that mushers can make the best decisions for their team selection and help ensure the safety of all the dogs. 

Here is a preview of our Iditarod line-ups:

IMG 6802
Iditarod Bloodwork & ECGS 7
IMG 6800
Iditarod Bloodwork & ECGS 8

   
 

This is just one of the many many ways Iditarod mushers and veterinarians workto ensure quality dog care and dog health from the get-go. Ironically, even though the dogs go through all these pre-race screenings, Their human counterparts are subject to no such testing. As a musher we do not have to have a doctors note, A doctors consent, or even proof that we are healthy enough to race. Everything about this event is focused on the dogs.

Happy Valentine’s Day From Turning Heads Kennel

· ·

Happy Valentine’s Day! While most Americans are gorging themselves on chocolate, we are continuing to pack our drop bags. They are due in 4 days! While we expect to have a great day full of fun adventures and (hopefully) a run with the dogs. Please feel free to share our Turning Heads Kennel valentines with your friends!Alaska Sled Dog Valentine's Day

Dog of the Week: Lena

· ·

Lena is a superb young athlete and has been the youngest dog in our kennel to finish both the Copper Basin 300 and the Northern Lights 300. Lena has been a dog that seamlessly fits into the team and always just does her job. 

Although shy at first, after warming up Lena is a real sweetheart. In the checkpoints, she curls up into a tight little ball to sleep but is always excited to get a belly rub, eat a meal, or have her booties put on.

Lena works hard in the team and has done a truly impressive job, most likely earning herself a spot on Sarah’s Iditarod team! 

IMG 6367 

Steaming Ahead

· ·

It’s been warm out lately. These late January runs feel like the beginning of April and I often leave the yard without my parka. We stop often, to eat snow and roll around it. I enjoy the silly eccentricities of my dogs during our pauses, each with their own quirk, and they relish the attention I give them. Crazy in particular loves to roll around in the snow and though she is not alone in doing this, the joy she gets can be surpassed by none.

When we leave on runs its all I can do to keep the team slowed and moving at a steady pace. I’ve learned that the only way to trust my speed is by looking at my GPS so I’ve grown accustom to looking at it. I’m sure it will be glued to my palm the first few days of Iditarod. I’ve been running shorter since the northern lights 300 but need to go longer now. The dogs leave on our runs too energized and comeback unphased. More camping is in store in the days and weeks to come.

 IMG 6644 
Today, the weather was glorious and it was amazing to be out on the trail. Although we moved well, when I stopped the team we would get tangled. I’m working with a young dog up front who doesn’t know his responsibilities as a leader yet. More than once I could be heard cursing as I ran up to get him lined back out. The lightbulb hasn’t click yet – He doesn’t get what I am asking – so it’s been a painstaking exercise in patience and praise.

For me, sometimes I think I learn the most when things don’t go smoothly. Today we made so many wrong turns because I had no idea where we were and so the dogs and I had to work through those consequences. Although my leaders struggled with lining out, they were pretty spot on when it came to their directional commands. We turned around in parking lots. We made arching loops on the river. We cursed at my stupidity — how many times could I get is lost?

 IMG 6650 
We mostly had fun. The dogs wagged their tails and barked with excitement when we stopped. I enjoyed the weather, the performance of my team, and the serenity of the trail. And even when I was untangling my leaders for the umpteenth time I knew that I was learning as a musher and was trying (my best) to impart a little wisdom on my young leaders. Plus, it was better to find all this out now than on Iditarod!