How it all started – Part 1 – How my adventure began…

So I’ve been thinking a lot about how I first got into sled dog racing…it’s hard to believe that I’ve been running sled dogs for over a decade! I figured it’s time to put everything on paper before I forget. Believe it or not, it all started in Arizona as a little girl praying for a horse.

     I was a typical seven year old girl with dreams of having a horse. I basically played horses or pretended to be a horse constantly. I even prayed for one, although we lived in town. My dad once told me to stop praying for a horse because I was never going to get one…no, I’ve never had one but little did we know I would end up with a much more expensive hobby!

    We moved to Idaho before I was ten and in light of the move (the second within a year), I wanted a friend and a dog I could handle myself. My childhood companion, a German Shepherd/Border Collie mix named Sable, was dog aggressive and not suited for a little girl – I couldn’t control her and was actually afraid to walk her if there was another dog nearby. Still, I loved Sable and you’ll find her in many childhood pictures with our family.

    The most important job she had, as far as I was concerned as a little girl, was to guard me from the range cattle (many with long, sharp horns) which we biked through in the Arizona back country. With her and my dad around, I would swallow my fear and follow the family through the herd. Being the dog of my childhood also meant she spent time as my confidant for those childhood meltdowns. It makes me laugh now; but at the time she was a properly compassionate listener…and I now know that while dogs can’t understand all your words, they read your body language very well: they know when something is wrong and try to fix it in the only way they know how.

    So we were living in the city in Idaho and I wanted a dog…my own dog.

    Back as far as I can remember, I wanted a husky-type dog. Remember all the toddler picture books with pictures of animals? Well, my favorite was always the wolf or husky. When we moved to Idaho I began to want a real one for my own.

    My mom, being a wise woman, told me to do my research and present my proposal to my dad in the hopes of gaining his approval. I did my research, with her help, and decided I wanted a Siberian Husky rather than a Malamute or any other breed. I then began to talk with AKC breeders. Sadly, some of them were less than friendly to a little girl who wanted to get her first dog. First lesson learned: don’t give up just because some folks aren’t encouraging.

    At last I found a breeder with two 9 month old huskies. I wasn’t too concerned about the age; I really wanted to get a dog and couldn’t find any puppies that fall. We saw the parents, looked at pedigrees (nothing special there) and went home from the first visit without a dog. We went back with my dad and he agreed to buy me my first dog. I remember him asking me if I was sure I wanted the one I got – I nodded and said, “Yes, I’m sure.”

Endless Fall Training 2014

   As many of you know, the 2014-2015 season was a very bad snow year for us. But it started out pretty well...great, in fact. Due to the cool summer temperatures, we only took 6 weeks off beginning in June, and the dogs had a great base by September. Harness broken and running with the big dogs were Achilles, Nestor and Odysseus - with Achilles being the super star. They turned a year old in November.
    Because of trail closures, we are no longer able to run very far on the home trails - basically 6 miles is about all we can dog without doubling up trails and adding loops. I managed to squeeze in 10 miles by doing some roads twice, but it got a little dangerous going around the lollipop loops I made in the trees - once or twice we got quite stuck. Because we live on a mountain, it's also very steep and the Greek litter didn't do so hot on those - being young and not as strong as the older dogs.
    Next, we moved to the closest train nearby which is 14 miles. This is a really nice trail because the first 2 miles are relatively flat, and then it goes more steeply up, and then down to the turn around. Then you come back over it all - with the nice flat ending to smooth out the end of the run. The only problem are the moose which are relatively friendly...and hard to spot in all the brush along the river.
    About this time I purchased my first dog truck...at long last, no more trailer for the dogs! Unfortunately, the dog box had to be built, so for a time I had the trailer with the 4-wheeler and the dogs all in crates in the back of the truck. But it worked and, looking back on how I've hauled dogs over the years, it's a good experience for the dogs. They didn't care, so long as we ran!
    One memorable incident, early in training, was that I had just gotten off the highway to go up river to our trail head when I felt something change on the trailer. I pulled over and realized I'd lost the 4-wheeler...my tie down strap had broken and it had rolled off the back. Thankfully, there was little traffic at 5 am and nothing was broken - it stayed on its wheels. But I've been paranoid about losing it since.
    Later, the dog bowls I'd stored in the storage bag on the 4-wheeler blew out (I didn't realize it) and on the way back to run the next time I found them smashed on the road. Fortunately, the lightweight Kipmik bowls are semi-collapsible aluminum and worked just fine once I banged them back into the correct shape!
    It was a very fun season to do exploring, because we were on the 4-wheeler for so long, but I don't like doing 30 mile runs on dirt. Even when there's snow on the ground, it's a long, cold grind for the dogs. But the exploring helped morale for us all - as long as it wasn't too icy, which made for a nervous ride for me!
    The challenge of being on the dirt is the dogs feet. We racked up miles and some of the dogs, especially the hard driving dogs, got worn pads and toes. I bootied them all, but that meant going through a set or more per dog per run...lots of $$$. But it helped immensely, even if they were booted for just part of the run, and with good foot ointment and backing off on the mileage the dogs feet were in great shape again before the snow finally arrived on Christmas Eve (our first sled run).
    Along with the exploring, I also began running at night to mix things up. The dogs loved it and it gave me the opportunity to try out some different headlamps and such. That's the outline of fall training in 2014, now some photos:

Watching the Pups Grow

    One of the best parts of mushing is getting to watch your team develop and see your puppies fill the team. This year I'll have ten of my own puppies in the team and I'm excited and a bit nervous to see how they do - will they be as good or better than the retiring dogs? The only way to find out is to give them a chance...Frost, Peppermint and Jingle didn't let me down in 2015, so I hope the younger pups follow in their footsteps. I feel like I'm getting some good consistency as far as the dog's confirmation, but in dog sledding it's all about how they do in harness.
    In case you're not familiar with them all, here's "the fantastic ten" young dogs that have been born and raised here at There and Back Again:

The Mouse and Pepperjack puppies - 12-31-2012

 Frost

 Peppermint

Jingle

The Mouse X Mambo puppies - 11-13-2013

Achilles

 Nestor

Odysseus

The Rowdy X Clyde litter - 7-25-2014

Bee

Eagle

Owl

Falcon

Summer 2015 Plans

    Before we go back to 2014, this month looks like it will be a busy one at the kennel. As several dogs get older and with the small litter sizes for the Mouse and Rowdy pups from 2013/2014, I took the plunge and bred three litters of my own, and will be splitting a litter with my good friend and fellow musher, Hannah. Here's what's planned...

Litter #1

Summer (2009, bred by Katie Davis - Etna [Jacques Philip] X Lightning [Tom Thurston] and Razz (2010, bred by Scott Smith - Sady [Buser/Russ Bybee?] X  Pepperjack] - Due July 10, 2015.

Summer has been on my team since I got her as a yearling and is the largest dog in the kennel at 60lbs. She is a power house and I've never reached her limit.

Razz was a yearling when I was in Alaska and I fell in love with him there. He's smooth and graceful; I wish I had a team just like him!

Litter #2

Rowdy (Razz's full sister) X Tobasco (Brent Sass - from Hannah)

Rowdy was a yearling when I was in Alaska and has never lost her enthusiasm. She's becoming a more reliable leader and, like Razz, is amazing!

I've admired Tobasco and his offspring at Hannah's place for a while now, but just wasn't sure who to breed him to. He is large, 60lbs + but as graceful as Razz. Very excited to see some of his red pups in the team!

Litter #3

Bella (2011 bred by Scott Smith, Mouse X Yukon village dog [Abbie West's 2012 Yukon Quest team]) X Tobasco

 Bella was a dog I harness broke in Alaska. She's a big girl and gets better each year - actually leading a bit this year. She's still young, so I look forward to watching her mature...those Mouse pups are always good.

Catching up on the Summer of 2014

   So after the races, we lost our snow by mid March (as usual) but not before I was able to get some 15 mile runs on the Mouse X Pepperjack puppies. They were good, no chewing and relatively easy to harness. I'm amazed how much the pups pick up from running with the adults. It always seems like they come back from a run with "the big dogs" and are so much more confident.
    I'm at the point where I really don't need to buy dogs, and had made a rule against it, but after the Iditarod Scott offered me Rowdy - Razz's sister - bred to Clyde (his best male after Pepperjack). I took some time to think about it, but at last decided to go for it. She's just so good! She completed the Iditarod with Rick Casillo and there's nothing to complain about with her (unless you don't like getting jumped on - she has this thing about being overly friendly...).

 Rowdy

 Clyde

    I must confess, I was nearly in tears when I picked her up. It was a good reunion (and the people at Spokane's Alaska Air Cargo are the best!) and she was, I think, very happy to see someone she knew. She settled in quickly; Rowdy isn't a dog to search for fights. Then it was just waiting for the July puppies, which came right on time:

L to R: Falcon, Owl, Bee and Eagle

Bee - the only female

 Owl and a young friend

Eagle - having fun under a chair

This litter rivaled the 2012 Mouse X Pepperjack litter in terms of niceness - no escape stories (like  the Mouse X Mambo and Sweetwater puppies!) and supper social. They are by far the biggest - a full harness size bigger than the other pups I've harness broken, despite being only 7 months (I prefer 8 months old) when I harness broke them. And, of course, I was thrilled to get a girl - Bee (or Princess Bea - depending on the day) is just like her mom and all of them have great confirmation.

Bee and Nestor (white face - out of Mouse X Mambo)

Eagle and (white) relative - Peppermint

Wheel - Odysseus (Nestor's brother) and Jingle (Mouse X Pepperjack). Falcon is next to Frost (Jingle's brother)

Owl - so serious at such a young age!

Falcon and Frost

    All in all, 2014 was a good summer - lots of dreaming as I watched Rowdy's puppies grow and realized the Mouse X Pepperjack puppies would be good additions to the race team. The weather was cool enough that I could keep running dogs except for a few weeks in June.