Meet the Dogs: Nibbs

    Nibbs is a six year old male, also from Scott Smith. He's run the Iditarod and multiple distance races in Alaska. Named after one of Peter Pan's lost boys, he lives up to his name! Nibbs is always happy, loves his food and will run anywhere but lead comfortably. One fault is that he doesn't get along well with Mambo or Razz, but with everyone else he is great.

On the Sled at last!

    On the sled, back to the 4-wheeler and now, at long last, back to the sled! We're sitting at about 850 miles and the dogs are slogging through a slump. But at least we're on the sled...

    We're to the point that the dogs, in addition to being tired from six runs in the last seven days, have garnered nicks from the long, hard miles on dirt. Several of the dogs have cuts on their feet, mostly on their pads - which is better than web cracks but still isn't comfortable. So, pulling out the pink ointment and booties, I hope to get them into better shape before we do our long runs.
    When we went from sled to dirt in November, Jersey got a bit sore - I think it was because she typically runs in point (1st pair of dogs behind the leaders) and one of our first four-wheeler runs back from the sled we went 32 miles, and she ran wheel. In the end, she had about a week off - in case it was a shoulder injury.
    According the Scott, shoulder injuries need 10 days rest to fully heal and wrist injuries should have 7 days rest. Fortunately, when you keep your speed down, these type of injuries are much less common.

Double Sledding

    One thing that makes those first sled runs much less stressful is having a second person on hand. When I first started running dogs, my mom and I both ran the team with one sled - as you can imagine, it was not always very comfortable! However, while ten dogs are not enough for two teams (at least, not for the distance I'm going), they don't have much trouble pulling two people; especially since they've just come from dragging the 4-wheeler!
    Here's some pictures my dad got on his yearly run:

Meet the Dogs: Jersey

 

    Jersey is a six year old female who usually runs in point. She's amazing with commands, but will not lead, so it's the perfect spot for her - she will MAKE the leaders take the right turn! She eats, has good feet, always has a tight tug line and is one of the first to start jumping and barking to go when we stop. In the yard she's a pleasure to have around, she doesn't jump but is most affectionate and will wait patiently for attention on her house.