Turning Heads Kennel

Alaska Dog Sledding Tours

Sled Dog Information

Training Sled Dogs in the Fall and Why It’s Important For Success

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Although it is called “dog sledding,” much of the important training that happens to a competitive dog sled team actually happens in the fall on ATVS or carts long before there is any snow. While perhaps strange to those unfamiliar with the sport, fall training provides a crucial first look at the team a musher has to work with for the coming season and puts on the early fitness foundation required for later success.

Most mushers generally start fall training some time during the month of September. Our kennel generally starts towards the end of the month as many of our dogs run all summer long doing dog sled tours and a few weeks off between the last tour and the official start of the season are needed for both dog and musher alike. After a few weeks, however, it is back to training. A team, especially one training for Iditarod, needs to build a solid conditioning foundation and this often takes several months to accomplish.

Iditarod is a 1,000 mile long dogsled race but at its core, is really nothing more than a canine marathon. The race is an endurance event that requires high levels of physical fitness and mental preparation from both the dogs and the mushers that run it. Just as humans need months to prepare for a marathon, our dogs require several months of training before they set out on Iditarod.

Training Sled Dogs: The First Few Runs

Fall training starts out in incremental steps where we slowly build mileage up for our dogs. First runs generally are between 5-7 miles in length and are highly dictated by the weather: huskies cannot run in warm weather so most runs are done in the early morning or at night, when temperatures are coolest. Often, these runs require numerous stops that allow the dogs time to pant so that the dogs can get rid of excess heat. Mushers also cater their training runs to hit water sources such as rivers, streams, or even large puddles where the dogs can drink and cool off.

Training Sled dogs during the fall requires finding water sources. Here the team stops at a creek next to the road we train on.
Training Sled dogs during the fall requires finding water sources. Here the team stops at a creek next to the road we train on.

Training Sled Dogs On ATVS

All-Terrain-Vehicles (ATVs) are equipped with numerous features that allow mushers to maintain maximum control of their team during fall training. The ATV is a good choice because we have both gas and brakes at our disposal as training tools. The ATV can also be put into various gears to determine how much the dogs will pull. When put into 1st gear, the dogs have to pull against the gears of the machine making for a tougher pull. Higher gears ease the pull and allow the dogs to travel faster by having to pull less. Generally, mushers vary gears throughout training.

We primarily run in 2nd and 3rd gear as well as neutral but will occasionally put the ATV in 1st gear and require the dogs to do some tough pulling. Other mushers, of course, do it differently.

Training early on in the season allows mushers to look at their dogs with fresh eyes from the previous season. With another year on their belt, dogs that previously ran in the team may now show qualities that warrant their training as a lead dog. In the fall, we run enough short runs that it is a great chance to try new dogs up front.

Positioning Sled Dogs in the Team

The fall is also a good time to bring younger dogs up onto the main team. During the fall, we spend run after run looking at how we match our dogs and where we place them in the team to maximize our efficiency.

For example, earlier this week I ran a dog named Cricket towards that back of the team. No matter what speed we traveled at, Cricket always trotted. As a young, energetic but smaller dog, if she is going to make our race team it will probably be as a lead dog. Knowing this later in the week I ran Cricket behind our swing dogs. I wanted to give her more experience up near the front of the team where, some day, she will hopefully end up. Up that far, Cricket trotted but whenever we started moving at a faster pace she loped. Our travelling speeds were no different than the run I had taken her out on earlier in the week. The team was also identical. The only thing that changed was Cricket’s position and that, it seemed, affected her gait. In general, we want our dogs to maintain a nice steady trot. Does this mean I will run Cricket in the back of the team? No, it means I need to work with her so that she can have her smooth trot further up in the team.

Chemistry: Finding The Right Match for Sled Dogs

In dog sledding, finding the right match for your dogs is also important. A good pairing of dogs can bring the best out in each dog while a bad pairing can bring out the worst. Often, we find that dogs can be paired with one or two other dogs. We aren’t talking about getting along: all of our dogs get along well. When we talk about pairing, we talk about having two dogs that work and move in sync and that also motivate each other to work hard.

Ideally, we want a team that moves as a single unit, rather than as 16 disjointed pieces. A well-trained dog team should move in sync, the legs of the dogs moving synchronously so that as one dog swings his front legs forward, they all do. Having good pairs is important because it is the pairings that comprise the team. Mushers often talk, admire, and want beautifully gaited dogs because the dog is the first building block of smooth team.

Moving Sled Dogs Around

In training sled dogs, especially in the summer during tours and in the fall when we are more focused on short runs, we can try many new pairings. Many mushers like to move dogs around during runs but we generally do not do that in our kennel. We want our dogs to know that if they are hooked up in a certain position or next to a certain dog they will finish the run in that position next to their partner.

There are some exceptions to this, of course, but most of those involve working with young dogs. With young dogs, our goal is to focus on making their time out on the trail positive and to inspire confidence. This is no different than we do with young kids: we don’t start off pitching curve balls to first graders, they hit a ball off of stand. We make things as easy as possible for our young dogs and build their confidence thus setting them up for success later on in their careers.

How Do We Pick Sled Dog Pairings?

So if pairings are so important, how do we pick them? Really talented mushers usually just know after a few runs. These are the dog-savy people who just innately have a gift of understanding and communicating with dogs. For the rest of us, it’s trial and error. Often, there are many clues that dogs will run well together. Typically littermates or dogs from similar genetic backgrounds will run well together as, genetically speaking, they should have similar builds. Similarly sized dogs also generally do well together. Other than that, it requires assessing a dog’s gait. Believe it or no, most top mushers do not have perfectly gaited dogs — what they have is well-paired dogs.

Training Sled Dogs: Finding A Lead Dog

The fall also lends itself as a great time to train new lead dogs as the control of the ATV makes it easy if problems arise or commands are perfectly followed. We say “finding” new leads dogs as, with any leader, the dog must have certain traits that cannot be trained into it. Lead dogs are generally some of the most eager to run dogs on a team as well as the most athletic. While most people believe that intelligence is important, it is actually the least important trait that our leaders have.

In our kennel, we look for three traits: athleticism, attitude, and aptitude. In some dogs, these traits stand out in a dog even as a young pup – at that time it’s clear this dog is a leader and should begin some form of leader training. Other dogs, however, mature into having the all-star can-do-it attitude that mushers look for and rely on in their lead dogs.

In any event, when we find lead dogs training them in their initial runs in lead on an ATV can be very beneficial as the ATV maximizes our ability to reward our dogs. Our dogs naturally want to run and pull – they wouldn’t be sled dogs if they didn’t – so training a lead dog is all about channeling that pull in the right direction. The commands we use in mushing are “gee” for right and “haw” for left.

Using the ATV, we can reward the dogs when they get a command correct by giving the ATV a little gas. If the dogs do not get the command right, we simply stop the team. Because these dogs want to run and because they hear us talking to them, they will try to do something different – like try a different direction – to see if that produces their desired result which is, of course, to resume running. That is it. That is the great secret to training commands to our lead dogs. While it takes lots of patience, we aren’t doing anything extraordinary. We are simply using our dogs love of running as positive reinforcement.

Why Is Training Sled Dogs In Th Fall So Important?

Fall training is important because it is a time of trying new things and getting back in the groove of training. Properly conditioning the dogs for long distance events such as Iditarod is important and requires that mushers start months in advance so that when it is time to race, the dogs are at their peak physical condition and have a solid foundation. It is also the start of that season’s adventures and we are always excited with possibility about what our team will be able to accomplish in the months to come.

You can learn more about fall training from an earlier post we did: Fall Training For Sled Dogs.

Seppala Kennel‘s also has an excellent post about the progression of training from fall to winter.

What Is A Sled Dog

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Sled Dogs: An Overview

An Alaska Mushing Tour featuruing Pinky and Mary

Sled dogs are dogs that have been trained to pull sleds across snow. In months where there is no snow the dogs train on dirt and sleds are substituted for carts, ATVs, or even vehicles. Travis and I primarily use ATVs for training purposes and use carts for our summer tours. While we have never run dogs on our truck, we know many mushers who have; it is a very efficient way to train lots of dogs at once.

While any dog is technically capable of becoming a sled dog, those specifically bred for the purpose of running and pulling show the most athletic talent on the trail. There are three main breeds of dog used today: The Siberian husky, the Alaskan malamute, and the Alaskan husky.

The Siberian husky is the most well-known sled dog breed as it is typically used in movies, advertisements, and on postcards. The malamute is primarily associated with freight hauling and weight-pull competitions, but played a crucial role in Alaska’s early development as a freight-hauling dog. Here at our kennel, we focus on racing and training Alaskan huskies who are a highly versatile breed of sled dog and are the dog of choice in dog sled races due to their speed, stamina, and drive.

Common Sled Dog Breeds

Siberian Huskies – The Traditional Sled Dog

When you think of sled dog, it’s hard not to picture a beautiful Siberian Husky. While less popular in today’s racing circuit than the Alaskan Husky, the Siberian husky has many years of history in Alaska. Teams of Siberian huskies were used to haul freight and mail over supply trails in Alaska during the winter.

The most famous of these dogs was a Siberian husky named Balto from Nome, Alaska. Balto was a black Siberian husky owned by Gunnar Kaasen, Balto is known for his roll in helping to save the village of Nome from a deadly diphtheria outbreak. In 1925, Nome was only accessible by dog team in the winter. When children in Nome suddenly started contracting diphtheria, life-saving serum was transported hundreds of miles by dog sled relay. Balto, was the lead dog on the final team that delivered the medicine in to Nome. His story is commemorated through film, book, and statue: there is a statue of Balto in Central Park in New York City. For more information on Balto and the 1925 Serum Run check out Balto’s True Story.

As a breed, Siberian huskies are known for their inquisitive minds as well as their independent nature. As pet dogs, they can prove to be a nuisance as they love to roam and explore.

We own one Siberian husky named Faraday. She knows exactly what she likes and what she doesn’t like and can often be found slinking around outside acting as if she is about to get into trouble of some sort. She rarely chooses to come inside our home, instead preferring the comfort of a doghouse. She is happiest, it seems, when left to her own devices. We treasure the moments when she chooses to grace us with her presence and her affection as they are somewhat few and far between.

Faraday rests on her house during a sled dog tour.

Although not as popular in dog sled races, there are still many mushers who choose race Siberian huskies. Lisbet Norris of Anandyr Siberians is a good friend. Lisbet and her family now have the longest running Siberian Husky Kennel in the world. She will be competing in Iditarod 2015. In the 2014 Iditarod, Travis spent many hours on the trail with Mike Ellis and his team of Siberian Huskies. Karen Ramstead, of Canada, is another musher who races Siberian Huskies. Lev Shvarts runs both Siberian huskies and Alaskan Huskies and will be competing in the 2015 Iditarod — Lev is one of the first people to teach me how to run sled dogs. I started my journey training sled dogs back with Lev in Winchenden, MA back in 2010 and am excited to be sharing the race trail with him this year.

Alaskan Malamutes – Freighting Sled Dogs

These are the big, fluffy dogs used primarily during the Gold Rush for freight hauling as well as for trap lining. In general, the malamutes tend to be slow when compared to teams of Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Huskies. Teams of malamutes were renowned for their incredible strength. Today, malamutes primarily compete in weight pull competitions but were historically important in Alaska as freight-hauling dogs.

The Alaskan Husky – The Racing Sled Dog

Contrary to popular belief, the Alaskan husky is not a purebred dog. Many Alaskan huskies have genetic traits linking them to Siberian huskies, Alaskan malamutes, German-shorthaired pointers, Irish setters, and other hunting dogs. These breeds were bred in for various reasons but, in the end, the goal was to create a better sled dog.

When giving a sled dog tour, we often explain to our guests that the Alaskan husky is an expensive northern breed mutt – but it’s important to note that we have extensive family trees on our dogs. Knowing these family trees helps us to make good breeding decisions and gives us a better idea of the litter we will produce.

Sarah Stokey in the 2011 Tustumena 200 Dog Sled Race
Sarah Stokey in the 2012 Tustumena 200 with a team of Alaskan Huskies. Photo courtesy of Clark Fair.

One thing that is often very misleading to people unfamiliar with the Alaskan Husky is that the Alaskan husky can come in a wide variety of colors, sizes, and hair lengths. Because of this, it may be easier to think of the Alaskan Husky as a “type” of dog, with many different “sub-types.” For example, a musher who is breeding dogs for a 30 mile sprint event is going to be looking for different traits than a musher who is breeding dogs for a 1,000 mile event. Yet, if you ask these mushers what kind of dogs they have, they would both answer “Alaskan Husky” despite the fact that because the dogs are being bred for different purposes they are, ultimately, going to differ physically. In general, dogs participating in long distance racing such as the 1,000 mile long Iditarod or Yukon Quest, tend to larger framed bodies than those who participate in sprint events which generally are no longer than 30 miles.

Because the Alaskan husky is more of a loose categorization than an actual breed, we also routinely see widely varying personality traits. We have exuberant dogs who are quick to show affection as well as shier dogs who prefer keeping to themselves and focus strictly on their jobs. This is because the Alaskan Husky is a melting pot of talented working athletes. Their high energy, their love of running, and their physical build help define these incredible dogs. For more information on Alaskan Huskies, check out Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore’s “Dog Mushing Basics” as well as the Iditarod Trail Committee’s “What Is A Sled Dog.”

A Very Brief History of Sled Dogs In Alaska

Historically, sled dogs were the primary method of transportation during the winter months in Alaska. Natives used sled dogs as a way to help with their nomadic lifestyle as they followed herds of caribou. The dogs helped natives move their camps efficiently in the cold winter climates.

During the gold rush in Alaska, sled dogs provided a vital lifeline for the miners in the interior with the outside world. Ships would unload cargo in Seward, Alaska (where our kennel is located) and sled dogs would then deliver that cargo as far as 1200 miles away in the town of Nome, Alaska.

Positions a Sled Dog Can Have In A Team

In dogs sledding, where the dogs are located in the team affects what they have to do. The most involved position belongs to the lead dog, who has to listen and take commands. Other positions on the team include the swing dogs, the team dogs, and the wheel dogs. Most dogs can run on either the left or right side of the gangline and in multiple positions.

Lead Dogs

The most important position in the team belongs to the lead dog. The lead dog or dogs are at the front of the team. While it is more common, especially in media portrayals of dogsledding to see two lead dogs, many lead dogs actually do a better job working alone. The lead dog is responsible for listening to the musher, responding properly to commands, and making sure the team stays on the trail.

When determining new candidates for lead, we look at the 3 A’s: Attitude, Aptitude, and Athleticism. Dogs who run up front need to have at least two of these traits but ideally all three to be a candidate for a lead dog in our kennel.

Swing Dogs

Swing dogs are the pair of sled dogs who run directly behind the lead dogs. The swing dogs are generally leaders as well. Later on in the training season, we may put a pair of young dogs in this position if we see that they have the potential to lead.

This position is a great place to start potential leaders as they are up front in the team but do not have all the pressure of being a lead dog. Dogs in swing still have ability to learn the association between a musher’s commands and the movement of the team. Because of this, it’s thought that running dogs in swings help prepare them for lead dog training later on.

Wheel Dogs

Wheel dogs run directly in front of the sled. Generally, mushers run larger dogs here. Wheel dogs received their name because they are responsible for helping turn the sled. Some mushers prefer running a single wheel dog as when dog sledding the back of the team and the sled can get pulled into corners. By running only one wheel dog, the dog has more mobility when going through twisting trail.

Team Dogs

Team dogs are the dogs in the every other position in the team. There is no special delineation for each set of team dogs. Although they are generally thought of as interchangeable, a good musher knows exactly where to place team dogs to maximize efficiency and work in their team.

Do you have any other questions about sled dogs? Let us know in the comments below!

Travis Gets 7th in the Alaska Excursions 40/40 … Beats Jeff King!

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This past weekend instead of doing the Sheep Mountain 150 Sled Dog Race which, unfortunately, was cancelled due to lack of snow, Travis took part in the two day Alaska Excursions Race. The Alaska Excursions race is typically a two day event where teams run 60 miles one day and then sixty miles the next. It is set up more as a sprint race than a distance race — in other words, you get to sleep in a warm bed at night. This year, however, due to lack of snow the mushers ran 40 miles each day instead of the 60 they usually do.

Travis took 7th place — something we are tremendously happy with in a sprint type race. So why was Travis running a sprint race? After all, we are a distance kennel! The answer is simple: experience. In fact 6 of the 27 participants will be running in Iditarod 2013 — with half of them finishing in the top 10.

Travis during the 2012 Alaska Excursions 40/40 with Boston and Zema in Lead ©2012HuskyProductions/DonnaQuante
Travis during the 2012 Alaska Excursions 40/40 – Day 1
© 2012 Husky Productions/Donna Quante

So lets break down the race results. First, conditions were hard and fast, allowing teams to really step up in the speed department. There hasn’t been a whole lot of snow so this wasn’t a real surprise. The first day of the event, Travis started in 29th placed and worked his way up to a 9th place finish. Passing teams takes time and can hinder teams in shorter events like this. Fortunately, our dogs passed like champs. Unfortunately, no matter how well our dogs pass, it is important that both teams involved in the pass do well. Travis didn’t have too many problems with other teams, but did mention their were a few “alligators” in the other teams. Alligators are exactly what they sound like —  dogs that try to bite  other dogs while they pass.

Travis’ total time on the first day of the race was 3 hours 23 minutes and 18.00 seconds. The leader, Ryan Redington, finished in 2:49:29.00 — almost exactly a half hour ahead of Travis. With 2nd place through 6th place finishing in 2:55:49.00 through 3:04:43.00. The 7th place finishing team on day 1 (Jeff King) came in almost 15 minutes behind the 6th place finishing team (Robert Redington). Why the huge gap? Well, this reflects a difference in how these dog teams were run in comparison to the rest of the dog teams.

The first six teams are known for and train for speed. The top 3 racer — Ryan Redington, James Wheeler, and Ariane Jasmin — are not running Iditarod. This is important because it ultimately means that they are training differently. You don’t train for the 100 meter dash the same way you train for a 5K and you don’t train for a 5k the same way you train for a marathon. These guys are focused on speedy teams that will excel in short events like the Alaska Excursions race. As an Iditarod kennel, this was not Travis’ focus. In fact, Travis was (and I even more so) hesitant about doing this event due to how different it is from something like Iditarod. Ultimately, we do things like this for experience and for fun — not everything is about winning — at least, not all the time — but you do have to keep the bigger picture in mind.

Boston and Zema in Lead during the 2012 Alaska Excursions 40/40
© 2012 Husky Productions / Donna Quante
Travis Gets 7th in the Alaska Excursions 40/40 ... Beats Jeff King! 5

The fourth place team on day 1 was driven by Cim Smyth (6:04:35) and the fifth place team driven by Wade Marrs (6:07:02), are. Smyth and Marrs are both distance mushers, who are known for speed. They excel in the mid-distance circuit because their dogs are good at shorter races where their speed is an asset. Smyth won the Tustumena 200 last year. Smyth’s fast times in the mid-distance circuit, however, have yet to translate into true Iditarod success. Speed in Iditarod is actually less important then one might think. The important thing for an Iditarod team is the ability to keep moving and to stay in peak condition. Speed deteriorates a dog. It’s tougher on their joints and generally teams traveling faster (especially at the beginning of the race) require more time to heal up. Smyth’s best finish in Iditarod was in 2009 when he finished in 5th. In his last three Iditarods Smyth has finished 24th (2012), 21st (2011), and 23rd (2010). Marrs has been less active in the racing circuit but maintains a very competitive, fast team.  He and Travis are good friends and Travis has been training out of his yard recently. Wade has a team to watch out for in Iditarod 2013.

The next group of distance mushers were about 15 minutes behind the top six racers — the next distance mushers to finish were Jeff King (3:20:32.00), Ken Anderson(3:23:01.00), and Travis (3:23:18.00). King is an iconic name in dog racing. Having won four Iditarods, King certainly knows what he is doing. He scratched from the 2012 Iditarod due to sick dogs. King did not race in 2011. He has finished in the top ten of Iditarod 17 out of his 19 races, including 4 first place finishes, 2 second place finishes, and 6 thirds place finishes. To say King is an impressive dog musher is an understatement.

Ken Andersen, although he has never won Iditarod, still has an impressive record. Andersen finished 12th in the 2012 Iditarod and has finished in the top 10 four times out of the last six years. He has finished in the top 20 for the last ten years. Andersen is consistent and consistency is the mark of a good athlete in any sport.

Travis gives Donna Quante a hello During The Alaska Excursions 120.
© 2012 Husky Productions/ Donna Quante
Travis Gets 7th in the Alaska Excursions 40/40 ... Beats Jeff King! 6

On day one, of the Alaska Excursions Travis finished 2 minutes behind King and 15 seconds behind Andersen. Travis, however, was also coming off a multi-day camping trip. He signed up for the Alaska Excursions race as an after thought and wasn’t originally planning to race this weekend. He decided to race because it would be fun and it would get the dogs some nice training at passing. In fact, on the first day he passed 21 teams going out and then had to pass them all back as the course was an out-and-back. Most of the dogs in Travis’ team had done anywhere from 70 to 150 miles directly before the race with no days off — not exactly how you prepare if you really want to win. But Travis’ goal wasn’t to win, it was simply to do well and to teach the dogs to pass, to pass with confidence, and what it meant to be a winner. You don’t always need to win to be a winner, and the dogs certainly don’t need to win to feel like they’ve won. Like any athlete, they know when they’ve worked hard and done well and they take pride in it.

Day one of the event Travis had a few problems. One of his dogs also wasn’t at a 100% due to the training she had done prior to the race so Travis was forced to take it easy. Another dog simply wasn’t up for the faster paces this race required. The good thing about this event was it meant that on day 2 he wouldn’t have to take her.Overall, he was happy with how he finished on day one.

Travis During the Alaska Excursions 120
Photo Courtesy of the Anchorage Daily News
Travis Gets 7th in the Alaska Excursions 40/40 ... Beats Jeff King! 7

Travis approached day two realistically. “I want to catch Ken,” he told me. At the time, he didn’t think he could catch King. Two minutes, even over 40 miles, can be a considerable amount of time to make up. We discussed his line up and he made a few changes. He dropped two dogs who weren’t up to the faster pace of the race — most of our dogs are slow and steady. Some distance mushers drive fast, speedy times with short runs and long rests (like Smyth or Marrs). Not us. We run tortoises. We go slow and steady. We run further distances at  slower paces but our dogs need less recovery time then dogs that run fast and short. If you sprint five miles you are going to need a longer rest then if you jog or walk ten — that’s all it comes down to. So we weren’t surprised. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have speed. Travis brought in a new leader (Madori) and she was excited to be out on the trail.

In a two day event like this, where you go home at the end of the night, one of the true measures of how you have run your dogs is your performance on day two. Always finish stronger than you started. That’s one of the things Travis and I have both taken away from working with various mushers. Build the dogs, don’t tear them down. What was really cool about Travis’ performance on the second day was how much they improved. His finishing time on the second day was 3 hours 8 minutes and 4 seconds. He did the same course only this time he finished almost 15 minutes faster. Wow.

The differences can be attributed to several things — dropping the dogs (Monroe & Mary) and replacing them with others helped. Madori, who was added on day two is a speed demon but had to learn how to pass during the race so while she brought speed she also had to do some learning while she was out there. Madori (mother to Bonnie & Clyde, two of our puppies this summer) loves being up front and is a stellar gee/haw leader. She isn’t the friendliest dog in the kennel like her brother Bud or her sister Zema. She’s shier and keeps to herself when there are strangers in the dog yard — but she’s one heck of a leading lady and when you put her up front you know you’ll have some speed. The faster times can also be attributed to the dogs knowing how long they were going and to pacing themselves. It can also be attributed to the fact that these dogs knew they were racing. They love to pass other teams. “I couldn’t believe how much they’d pick up when we saw another team,” Travis said. “It was like they hit a new gear.”


Travis during the 2012 Alaska Excurions 40/40
Travis is kicking to help the team to a faster finish on Day 2 of the two-day event.
Photo Courtesy of the Anchorage Daily News
Travis Gets 7th in the Alaska Excursions 40/40 ... Beats Jeff King! 8

For Travis, his goal was passing Ken. He knew he could make up 15 seconds. He knew all he needed to do was pass Ken and maintain a bit of distance. He and the dogs were working hard to do so and as they turned a corner and started climbing a hill, they came upon a dog team. Only it wasn’t Ken Andersen. It was Jeff King. “I was so excited,” Travis said. He passed Jeff going up hill — something Travis is truly proud of. Jeff stuck with him for a while. Typically, after you get passed, your dogs perk up and try to keep up with the team but after a while Travis and the team left them behind. They then came upon Ken and passed him too.

“I was really happy to see them do what they did,” Travis said. When Travis got to the finish line, one side of his dog truck had been taken over by Wade. It was the side he was coming from and he had no way to steer the dogs to the other side based on how things were set up.  Travis and Wade travelled to the race together to save on gas money . Travis drove the team past the truck, generally considered a difficult thing to do, and then made them break trail and do a turn around so he could hook them off properly. I think he turned some heads.


Travis after finishing day two of the Alaska Excursions 40/40
Zema (Left) and Madori (right) stand with Travis at the finish of the race
Photo Courtesy of Greg Sellentin.
Travis Gets 7th in the Alaska Excursions 40/40 ... Beats Jeff King! 9

At the end of the day, the results from the Alaska Excursions don’t mean a whole lot but it gives us a bit of a feel for how our dogs are doing compared to mushers with similar running styles (King & Andersen). Travis walked away with a new pair of beaver mitts for his 7th place finish — majorly awesome  because we didn’t have any good hardy gloves and he had begun worrying that he wouldn’t have anything to keep his hands real warm during Iditarod. More importantly, however, it gave Travis and the dogs confidence. The dogs learned how to be speedy — this was probably the fastest running they’ve done all year — and they learned how to pass. One of the great things about where Travis started on day one, was that he got to do a lot of passing but he was only passed once and quickly passed that musher back. This does wonders for our dogs confidence. They never got passed so for all the dogs know (and for all the love Travis gave them) they think they won. Good. We wouldn’t have it any other way..

Photos in the post were courtesy of Donna Quante & Husky Productions, The Anchorage Daily News, and Greg Sellentin.

Fall Training Picks Up

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It’s been a busy week for us so far, here at Turning Heads Kennel. On Monday, the Seward Student Leadership program came out to the kennel. The Student Seward Leadership program has 18 students from grades 4-6 in it. They have decided to help us fundraise for this year’s Iditarod and we couldn’t be happier! We spent the afternoon teaching them not only about our dogs, but also talking with them about what a good fundraiser might entail. We showed them some of the important gear our dogs use like dog booties, wrist wraps, and dog jackets.

We decided that a spaghetti feed fundraiser here in town would be a great way not only to help raise money for essential items for our Iditarod: like booties, new dog jackets, etc, but it will also be a great way to get the local community involved. We really love sharing our sport! Of course, we also took the Leadership team out on a dog ride which they loved and let them play with our puppies (who are now getting very big!). All-in-all, I’d say it was a successful meeting!

From Left to Right: Sarah, Nichole (the bride), Mark (the groom), and Travis

On Tuesday, we woke up early to get ready for our friends wedding. It was a low-key affair down at the local court-house. It was perfect. The bride, Nichole, looked absolutely stunning and you could see the happiness in both their eyes. Mark, the groom, looked dashing. Nichole and I had fun in Anchorage a few days before picking out his and Travis’ ties and shoes. Both Mark and Nichole have been helping us around the kennel, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Nichole is a world-class chef and has been cooking some really wonderful meals for us to come home to after a busy day of promoting our tour, running dogs, and trying to keep everything functioning. Mark has been helping us take care of dogs, chopping wood, and just helping us get prepared for winter. We’ve been really lucky to have their help as things are only getting busier and busier around here!

Unfortunately, as the week winds down our work winds up. We have more teams to run and have been running them longer and longer each day. I recently started training some of our older puppies, while Travis has been focus on the main racing pool. We have 28 dogs in the main pool which is perfect for both of us to race this winter. Last year, it was almost impossible to run two teams in the same race due to the number of dogs we had. This year, we’ve both signed up for several races: Sheep Mountain 150, Knik 200, Northern Lights 300, and now, with the Tustumena 200, announcing they’ve changed their dates, we are hoping to sign up for that. I had a wonderful experience running the T-200 last year and would love to be a part of such a wonderful race again.

Travis is also going to sign up for this year’s Kusko 300, run out in Bethel.  We’ve talked it over a lot and we think it will be a great race for a number of reasons.  With all the racing we have planned for him, Travis will have put on 1100 miles on his dog team just through racing. This will prove really valuable as a lot of our younger dogs haven’t had a lot of racing experience. It will also be a great way for him to look at all 28 of the dogs in our racing pool. Believe it or not, dogs are sometimes like human athletes…they perform better when racing, not when training. With that many miles, he’ll be able to look at his dogs really critically. The best part, however, is that the last race we are signed up for (if we do sign up) would be the Tustumena 200 which is run the first week in February. What this means is, after a strong month of racing in January, the dogs will have almost a month between our last race and Iditarod.  This will really allow us to focus in on training and choose our top 16 dogs — which isn’t always as easy as you’d think.

Apache

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“That is not a sled dog,” folks will say when they come in to our yard, pointing at Apache. “What is he?” is inevitably the next question that comes from their mouths. The perplexed look on their faces when they see him secretly makes me giggle.

“Not a sled dog you say? Well, hate to break it to you but Apache IS a sled dog. In fact, he’s one of the best dogs in our yard.”
Apache photograph courtesy of Albert Lewis

People always look stunned. “But he has floppy ears.”

“Well dogs don’t run with their ears do they?”

“But he has spots!”

We then talk about what we DO look for in a sled dog because what type of ears they have or the color of their coat doesn’t concern us. Yes we like to make sure our dogs have a nice thick coat to keep them warm through the rough Alaskan winters but what that coat looks like doesn’t matter. Look at any ski shop and you’ll quickly learn: it’s not what the coat looks like on the outside ,but what makes it up that matters. Sled dogs have two coats: a dense heavy undercoat to keep them warm in the winter which they then (hopefully) shed as summer approaches and an outer coat, called guard hairs which help keep the snow wind and ice out.

Well what about the whole floppy-eared thing? Here at Turning Heads Kennel, we run Alaskan Huskies. Basically an Alaskan Husky is just a fancy condensed way of saying “a northern breed mutt that likes to pull.” Sled dogs come in all different colors and sizes.  The one in important thing is their build. We look for a nice lean, athletic build. These guys are the marathon runners of the dog world (not the weight-lifters as some mistakenly think.) We want our dogs tall, long-legged, and to some extent big-chested. To that extent Apache fits the bill perfectly.

So meet our newest dog of the week: A P A C H E

Apache is one of those easy to distinguish dogs because of his great work ethic. He is a dog that is truly fun to hook up. As soon as Apache sees that you have a harness in your hand, a big smile rolls across his face and he is lunging to go. After all the grief everyone gave him this summer about not looking the part, it was always fun to hook him up and see people’s attitudes change.

“Wow! I guess he is a sled dog!” They’d say after the run.

Although a very sweet, loving boy with Travis and myself, Apache is timid around folks he doesn’t know and so serves as a good doorbell. We know if someone has pulled in the driveway to come say hello because Apache (and his brothers) who live at the front of the kennel will let us know.

Like all our dogs, Apache has enjoyed time inside our house during the winter. He may be one of the funniest dogs when he comes inside as he enjoys collecting items. After making a bed for himself, Apache roams the house looking for tiny treasures to take back to his nest: A tin can, dad’s sock, a book, two envelopes, a penny, a pen. He never chews on the items, in fact he treats them very gingerly as if he’s afraid of breaking them or hurting them and simply lays them around his bed, looking quite pleased with himself. He’s a truly funny dog with a great disposition!

Age: 3
Position: Lead/Swing Dog
Interesting Fact: Apache enjoys collecting items. His niece Bonnie is his twin and when she gets to play, she always chooses to play with Apache.
Relations in the Kennel: 
Mother: Hope
Siblings: Bud (m), Weiser (m), Zema (f), Guinness (f), Amber (f), Madori (f)
Nephews through BUD: Micah (m), Chumley (m), Big Hass (m)
Newphew through WEISER: Captain (m)
Nieces/Nephew through MADORI: Bonnie (f), Clyde (m)
Grand Nephews through MICAH: Levi (m), Wrangler (m), Carhartt (m)
Total Relations in Kennel: 16

Top photograph courtesy of Albert Lewis.