Yukon Quest Vet Checks

Dr Tamara Rose DVM from Fairbanks came out to the kennel to do official veterinary checks on all the potential Yukon Quest 1000 team members.

The checks are very thorough and start with formal identification of each dog – age, sex and colour along with microchip number. All of our dogs are identified by micro-chips and the medical history of each dog is associated with their chip number. Vaccination records including 5-way, kennel cough and rabies need to be evidenced also.

The dogs were then weighed, an overall body condition rating was given (on a scale of 1-5), temperatures, heart rates and oral respiration rates taken. A vital part of sled dog health care is hydration so each dog’s mucous membranes are checked for capillary refill rate followed by a general body check (eyes, ears, musculo-skeletal etc). She performed a thorough hands-on physical exam on them all.

As you know, in the sport of dog sled racing the dogs are the athletes so it is important that they are in the best physical condition possible. At SP Kennel we do monthly medical checks on the dogs but we don’t have the skills to pick up on everything so it is critical that we get vet support prior to, during and after races.

Here you can see Nacho and Beemer getting the once-over with Chemo waiting his turn. Thanks TRose for the great care and attention you give to each one of our SP Kennel dogs!

The YQ300 checks are done by the vet team over in Whitehorse prior to the race.