There was no dog training today. The mercury did rise above the 44 below shown above, but not by much.
Well…. one thing is for sure: It’s Winter!
The cold temperature did give all of us a chance to catch up on office work, clean the basement and work on broken sleds. So, all in all, there is an upside to the chill in the air.
How and when do you prepare the teams for the cold temperatures of races?
Send some of that cold temperatures and winter to us in europe.
Most of the dogs are living outside and thus acclimating to 44 below zero. But, things happen in harsh cold temperatures that would hurt a dog (or human) for the entire season. Believe or not, frostbite is not unheard of on male private parts, dog flanks or even feet (if their booties get frozen to their feet.) But, probably what we are more leery of is the dogs loosing too much body weight. They spend so much energy (calories) just staying warm that when we ask them to travel 40 miles as well – they drop pounds quickly. These are critical pounds that an athletic animal needs to stay healthy and happy. Once they loose these pounds during the early season, it is nearly impossible to put them back on while racing. And as you know…. we like fat, happy dogs!
Don't worry they'll be ready to race in the cold.