A Day in the Kennel: Summer

    What is it like to live with a kennel of sled dogs in the summer? Most people think of sleddogs and imagine lovely runs on the sled in the snow, but what about the rest of the year? These athletes are with me year round and off-season care is just as important as in-season.

     Back when I was running shorter distances, I remember being very eager to run dogs in the spring - wanting to prolong the season as best I could. Now that I run distance it's bittersweet to come to the end of spring and feel the heat. On one hand it's nice to relax without the pressure of needing to run...on the other hand it's a bit sad to see the dogs sitting. After a few weeks, all of us get quite eager to go for a run - but now it's too hot. So I sit and watch the weather, hoping for a cool morning or rainy day with 50 degree temperatures.

     Life settles into a routine...there's always something to be done in the kennel. I jog to keep myself busy and in shape for the season and spend time with my canine kennel managers - the always on-duty collies, Handsome (and his new assistant, Beren). I know of only a handful of mushers who have no other animals besides sled dogs and having some other breed of dog seems to be the norm.

    A typical day starts with waking up around 4:45am...usually to a helpful collie nose in the face when my alarm goes off.

Handsome and his assistant.

    Then it's getting dressed for chores and out the door...

Beren

     I tramp up to the dog yard, to the music of dogs barking. If the collies haven't gone on a morning jaunt in the woods, they're at my side.

    Even if I'm half-asleep, the noise and happy dog faces are sure to wake you up:

Owl and Summer (perhaps the happiest dog in the kennel)

Jingle - waiting on his house because he knows it's easiest for me to pet him when he's on it.

    As I get through the boys yard, Mouse (the momma of most of the dogs in the kennel and at 13 years old the oldest dog here) comes to say good morning. She gets to be loose and meanders wherever she wants - except when she's babysitting puppies.

Mouse and her grandson, Tuck, in the background.

    In the morning I feed kibble in water. Although I always feed kibble wet, I don't always soak it in an effort to keep a little variety for the dogs. I moved kibble to the morning meal because this way I can ensure the dogs start the day with at least a quart of water in them - especially if it's hot, because often the dogs will play with their bowls or dump them (even buckets).

Tuck, apparently, likes his bone more than me!

    Since 2012 I've feed FirstMate High Performance Puppy food with excellent results. One of the reasons I chose FirstMate (besides it being fish/rice based, rather than beef or chicken/corn) was because of the very high kilocalories per cup. This allows me to feed about 20 dogs + the puppies on about 1.3 bags per week. Of course this increases a lot in the winter, but for dogs which aren't in hard training they easily hold wait on about 3/4C of kibble per meal and dogs like Beren/Handsome/Mouse only need about a handful...and they're still fat (of course, that might be because they also clean up after the sled dogs).

Right now, it takes about 4 days to use up a 5 gallon bucket of food. The blue scoop I use is about 1 1/2C - each adult get's 1/2 scoop but hard-keeper's get a 3/4 to 1 full scoop.

    After feeding, chores are done! Because I have a 45 minute commute, I grab breakfast, pack my lunch and leave the house by 6am...morning chores take about 20-30 minutes, depending on if there's anything else I need to take care of (like a broken chain or food issue). 

    At this time of year, with Sweetwater's pups not being completely weaned, I also move Sweetwater into her spot in the kennel in the morning...she's typically very happy to get away from the pups after the night - although she still loves seeing them at night.

       

    The dogs start barking as soon as they hear me pull up in the truck and I try to get out to them pretty quick...evening is when I get to spend a lot more time with them because not only do I feed (meat), but I also go through and water (two 5-gallon buckets) and scoop the yard. Sometimes I'll let them out to play and we'll just hang out in the yard.

Daily I use about 20-30 gallons of water.

My meat thaws in an old freezer which works great to protect the kibble and mean from the heat. A 5 gallon bucket of meat lasts about 3 days.

Very technologically advanced dog scooping equipment! :)

Looking "down" the girl's yard.

   

    I love evening chores because no matter what the day was like, the dogs take my mind of everything and are always so happy it's hard to be sad around them. There's also a deep sense of satisfaction to look over the yard and see happy, healthy athletes...of all colors, personalities and sizes.

Belle

Sweetwater's pup (Belle's neice) Arrow - so calm and so very much like her momma in looks!

Mouse being sassy! She likes to talk to everyone and boss "her pups."

Eagle

Just kidding about Arrow being calm! She's a wild little thing when it comes to food!

Owl

    And then there's the bonus: puppy socializing time!

                     

    Although the dog chores definitely take up a good chunk of time each day, even when it's not training time, I had the time to put up a hammock at the bottom edge of the dog yard - in the hopes of a nice place to relax with a book and lemonade...

    Unfortunately, when I have a moment of down time, I'm reminded of something else I need to do:

How It All Started: Photos from 2008-2009

    As I continue to dig through old photos, I've come across more pictures so before we continue with the story - enjoy!

Athena (L) and Aravis (R)

Quest

Chase

    Something I learned from the Seppala folks was the value of having a yard to let the dogs out to play...as you can see from the photos below, they had a lot of fun!

Kowtoo, Vixen, Nanook (L-R)

Vixen, Wonder

Chase, Wonder, Chevak, Nanook (L-R)

Nanook, Chevax, Wonder, Chase....Vixen, Ruby

Wonder, Nanook, Chevak, Chase

Kowtoo, Wonder & Chase...Ruby

If you couldn't tell...Wonder was pretty much the center of attention!

Chase, Kowtoo & Ruby

Chase, Ruby & Vixen

Moonbeam

Nala X Quest's litter

Athena

Athena

Athena

Athena

Athena...followed by Aravis

Aravis loved the ball!

Aravis

Quest X Nala girls

Quest X Nala boys

     As you might be able to tell from the photos, the dog yard has evolved over time - gradually it's spread out and the play yard is basically part of the dog yard now...

Food For Dog and Musher: Part 2

    Now for all those dog feeding secrets!


    I try to keep it very basic - meat (beef fat scraps, although sometimes we get lamb or pork) and First Mate High Performance Puppy kibble. Heart, liver, tripe and tongue are great when I can get them and I mix them in as I can - either with meat or kibble or cut up for snacks.


    In the summer the dogs get meat at one meal and dog food (always in water) at the other. They also get bones periodically which they love. In fact, they know when I go to the butcher and get extra excited when they see me unloading meat because they know a treat is coming! It really helps the pups learn to chew on something other than collars, houses or each other...


    In the fall I begin to add meals. It all depends on training intensity. On days off, they have two meals, but on training days they might have up to 4 and a snack or two. Basically I feed the dogs a kibble meal in the morning, then a snack every three hours (or so) of the run (beef chunks or kibble on the snow) and a wet cooler is dog food and meat soaked together at 6-8 hours.
    When we return from a run I give more kibble and then a meat meal when the dogs are bedded down at home. Pretty simple, eh?


    Not quite!


    Races are a bit more involved. I try to make sure I get the meat ground and I am very careful to try to have a few different types of snacks - in addition to the base wet-cooler of dog food and kibble. A few years ago I sat down and broken down the calories for every snack and meal I anticipated feeding. What did I discover? It's VERY easy to feed too much!
    One of the reasons I chose First Mate is because of the extremely high kilocalories per cup, because it's fish based and has no corn (rice instead). This means the dogs love it (the fish) and it's very dense, so I've had to train myself to not give more than a scoop (1-1 1/2 cups) to a dog at any given time. A handful of kibble is quite a bit of calories!
  
    If I could change anything, I would get access to some fish to supplement the beef. I think the dogs would enjoy the change and fish is great for warm weather. Plus, the oils should really help their coat and feet. Something else I think the dogs might like in warm weather is kibble mixed with milk and frozen in ice cubes...just an idea at this point, but I might try it.


    Well, I think that's a pretty good overview of the dog's feeding regimen...perhaps next time we'll get back into "How It All Started..."

Food For Dog and Musher: Part 1

    Now that we've gotten the non-edible gear out of the way, let's tackle food! If there's one thing all sled dogs and mushers depend on to keep them going, it's food...


    We'll start with the musher food because I can be honest about what I eat...while there are some secrets about the dog's food I'll have to keep.


    One of the most important things for the musher (and dogs) is staying hydrated. I've come to rely on EmergenC in my water because it tastes good (it makes me want to drink it) and I can water it down or make it really strong. Plus, it helps me stay healthy with all the vitamin C. It's also not that appealing to drink cold (or even lukewarm) water plain when I'm tired...
    I also really like Odwalla juice (which is like a meal) or orange juice. Hot apple cider is great. Hot cocoa is not a favorite of mine - I'd rather have a very chocolaty mocha. When all else fails, though, plain water is very good - especially when you've been helping the dogs up a hill.
   
    Kirk Barnum really helped me with food this year. Cliff bars and Gogurt are awesome - eat one of each and it's like a meal! I also like chocolate and nuts, cheese and sausage. Jerky is ok - depending on my mood and if it's not too salty. If I had access to the "fish jerky" Aaron used in Alaska or smoked Salmon I'd eat that a lot. The biggest thing with the trail food is that you have to be able to eat it rather easily since you're standing on the sled and eating as you go along.
    I love oranges as the first snack of the run (before the freeze or get too cold). I usually leave the truck, let the dogs settle in and eat the orange while I cool off before adding my final layer. Fruit leather is great too but not my favorite because it's too sweet.
    One of my favorite snacks, which I limit, is black licorice. It's chewy and takes some time to chew - keeping me awake even when gum fails. Dried ginger or ginger chews is great for a jolt to wake you up but with a lot of dry foods you have to be careful they don't get wet - stale sesame sticks are NOT appetizing.
    One of the foods I also enjoy (but limit) is cheesecake. It's very filling and if I don't make it too sweet (I prefer plain), doesn't make you crash.
    I'm constantly trying to find new trail foods to try which are healthier (less sugar) on the trail. If you have an idea, let me know and I'll give it a try!
 
    In the checkpoint there's usually food provided, so I try to make myself eat soup. The best soup (in my opinion) is chili or a creamy, cheesy potato soup. Warm garlic bread is awesome. As I write this I had the thought that lasagna would be very good too - maybe I'll try that next year! I do my best to force myself to eat a bowl of something when I come inside and drink a bottle of water. Even if I'm so tired and hungry I don't feel like eating, I always feel better afterwards.


   Just kidding about the secret dog food, but we'll get to it next time!