SPK Dog Log

We had a party at the kennel last week — a ‘Booty Party’. Yea Baby!
Very exciting.
Okay… your imagination might be getting the best of you.
It wasn’t that exciting.

Sorting and packing dog boots is a chore. Usually at the top of kennel’s Christmas Wish List is that a ‘Booty Fairy’ will show up in the middle of the night before Food Drops. But, for one person to sit in the garage surrounded by, literally, thousands of dog boots can – in fact – be a little depressing. Or overwhelming. Or simply smelly (used dog boots sometimes have little dried doggie ‘gifts’ stuck to them.)

Anyhow – we decided to make the entire dog boot ordeal FUN this season.
So, turn up the music and get after it:

• look thru individual boots for holes and wear
• size the ‘still useable’ used boots or new boots (sizing depends on the color of the velcro)
• form boots into circular sets of 4’s using the velcro
• when we count how many boots we need for a training run or race, we mean how many “sets of 4”
• bag a certain # of sets and sizes into baggies
• these baggies will be put into race Food Drop bags depending on which dogs are on the team

SPK would like to thank: Will, Carolyn, Tom, Cindy, Wes, Scout, Willie, Lydia, Scooter, Rambler, Tig, and Sissy (although Sissy… did you have to pee on the floor twice?)

Simple Dog Boot facts:

• different dogs wear different size boots
• at SPK we generally use mostly small and medium, very few large, and Mac can, at times, wear XL
• boots can be re used several times if they do not have holes or large wear spots
• once a boot has even a tiny hole it is trash
• boots must be dried out between uses
• we use boots for training if conditions warrant (cold, icy or longer distances)
• we use boots for all races (this is precautionary since races generally cover more miles in a shorter time frame)
• most races REQUIRE a musher to carry 8 boots per dog at all times
• they cost about $1.00 per individual dog boot
• SP K buys 3,000 to 5,000 boots every year

Thank you all for joining the Dog Fan Club!!

Congratulations to Cindy Schaus who is a fan of Iron.

Ironman is a solidly built dog – legs, chest and power make him a shoe-in for some of the race teams. His break through season last year makes his want to perform even better this season. He is wonderful to watch: pure joy and enthusiasm of a talented sled dog.

He is BFFs with his brother, and last draw’s winner, Driver and they have experienced many ‘firsts’ together.

Cindy wins a signed copy of the 2016 Yukon Quest race guide, a glam shot of future Yukon Quest dogs Gold, Prata and Bronze plus an SP Kennel badge. She will also get a photo print portrait of Iron. We hope you enjoy your packet Cindy!

Our next draw will be November 18th. If you haven’t already won this season or if you are a new member your name will be in the next draw. NOTE: you can win more than once if you are a fan of more than one dog!

Click the button below for more information about how to join:

Click this button to take you directly to the Dog Fan Page.

Here they are! Click on the button below to take you to the new season’s Dog Page. You’ll find new team cards for all the racing dogs and yearlings.

Don’t you agree that Jeanne has done a fantastic job of capturing the personalities and beauty of our athletes? They really “pop” off the black background.

We have new short “blurbs” about each dog and we will update the racing histories for everyone as the season progresses.

A heartfelt and sincere “Thank You” to all our dog sponsors! We love that you have developed a relationship with “your” dogs even if some of you have never met them. We appreciate the unwavering support you have for your dog; and the kennel as a whole.

Noah and Sam cuddle with the Halloween Pups.

Bronze, Gold and Prata are exhausted after a long evening of ‘Trick or Treat’.

Thanks for being such a good sport Tiggy.

Photos: Jeanne Schnackenberg

Tig is of course the ‘odd dog out’ here at SP Kennel. A Black Lab born into a world full of huskys (ugly duckling comes to mind!) HERE is a website post from summer 2016 about how she helps around the kennel.

For being such a good sport we have opened up the Dog Fan Club to include her! Click the button below for instructions on how to join her Fan Club.

Click this button to take you directly to the Dog Fan Page.

Who is the Crew at SP Kennel this season?

Year after year, the SP Kennel Crew is an awesome dedicated group. When I first talk to someone about helping at SP Kennel, I say: “We are happy people and have happy dogs here. If you don’t think you will fit in that mold, we are probably not for you.”

Over the last few years, we have had great people helping us — honestly, more than helping — they are SP Kennel! Thank you guys.

The full-time SP CREW for 2016-2017 Season:

Still here:

Aliy and Allen

People always ask us “What are you guys up to this season?” The answer is: The Same. While it is a boring answer, in truth, what we do is our passion.

We are still dedicated to our kennel, our racing and each other.

This coming season will be Allen’s seventh Yukon Quest and tenth Iditarod. He loves mid distance races as well. Allen also holds the kennel together: buildings, vehicles, sleds, Aliy, you name it.

This Iditarod will be my 20th 1,000 mile race. Sounds like an anniversary! My speciality is: D – O – G – S. I am 100% dedicated to these awesome athletes. I spend most of my time thinking about how to better train them and make their lives more complete. I sweat the small details about their future happiness and retirement. (Maybe I should worry a little more about mine!)

Moira

Moira is the primary Sponsorship Coordinator and Website guru and dog lover. She has been with SP Kennel for four years. She knows the dogs, the races and the overall goals of the kennel. She manages to hold both Aliy and Allen together during the busiest times of the season.

Moira is a technical genius and can have a cup of tea, text on her phone and type on her laptop all while watching the New Zealand ‘All Blacks’ rugby team beat Australia. I sit in awe and watch her as my phone auto corrects every word I try to type with my one finger.

Moira lives part time in New Zealand and part time at SP Kennel.

Chris

Chris was a very important part of SP Kennel last season and decided to return for a 2nd season. We are super pleased. Chris basically raised both the Coffee Pups and the Goldens: puppy walks, the big move to their own dog house and their first harness experiences. (The Goldens were born the day after he arrived in Two Rivers.)

Chris will race this season. He is signed up for the Copper Basin 300, the Northern Lights 300 and the Two Rivers 100. We hope some of the Coffees and Goldens will be on his teams.

Chris and his three little husky puppies — Cloud, Smokey and Blitz — live in the Handler Cabin at SP Kennel. His pet, Green Dog, moved in with his parents in Montana.

New to the Kennel:

Ruth

Ruth comes to us from Norway, but is originally from Estonia. We met her while we were at the 2015 Kiruna Sled Dog Seminar in Sweden. She stayed in touch with us, and jumped on the chance to come to SP Kennel when we needed an extra hand.

First and foremost, Ruth is a dog lover. She flew her pet dog Loki with her from Norway (Loki’s airfare was more expensive than Ruth’s!) Ruth came to help Aliy and Allen with Fall Training – they really need a third person during September and October. She will return to her husband, Ole, and family during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays and then come back to Two Rivers and keep and eye on the kennel during the busy racing season.

Ruth has been spending a lot of quality time with the 2016 SP Kennel litter: Gold, Prata and Bronze.

Still in the Neighborhood:

Wes & Wendy

With their international jobs (they often travel around the globe… literally). But both Wes and Wendy find as much time as the can to be a part of the kennel.

They might be available to be handlers for several races this season: Two Rivers Races, Copper Basin 300, Northern Lights 300, Yukon Quest, Iditarod… we have quite a few on the schedule.

No matter what, I’m sure they will find the time to play wth puppies or train some adult teams.

Then again… they might be in Kenya, Hong Kong or Washington DC. You never know!

But Wes and Wendy call ‘home’ a place just down the road from SP Kennel in Two Rivers so we will see them at times throughout the winter.

Wes and Wendy love the dogs (and put up with Aliy and Allen well enough).

Mark

Mark was a key SP Kennel handler last season and will put the time aside to help us again. He is incredibly busy with his life and job at Camp Liwa just east of Fairbanks. But Mark loves the dogs, so he needs SP Kennel in order to get his “dog fix”!

Mark will be driving Hollywood (SP Kennel Dog Truck) to all the races. Photo on the right is at the 2016 Yukon Quest finish line in Whitehorse, Canada. L-R: Bridgett (Allen’s daughter), Mark and Moira.

Mark occasionally pulls himself away from his full-time job and comes out to the kennel to train some dogs with us before the racing begins.

We are VERY excited about the season and what’s in store for the SP Kennel Crew. Thank you SP Kennel Crew (past, present and future) for your time, your effort and your love of our dogs. You guys make us who we are!

Let’s talk about the SP Kennel Golden Harness Yearlings. What a dynamic bunch!

We knew very little about what type of pup this breeding — between two-time Golden Harness winner Quito and Kosak (look HERE for more info on him) — would produce. We thought that the chances were very good that they would have that extra energy and enthusiasm that all the “Quito” pups have acquired from their Mom.

But to bred in somewhat different genetics with Kosak rather than the traditional SP Kennel lineages was a bit of a gamble.
This gamble, however, has paid off! Now we are:

G – O – L – D – E – N.

Overall the standout personality trait from these six yearlings is that they have focus. They watch, listen and learn. They are certainly more patience than the Quito Pups that have come before them (Chipper, Izzy, Sandy… to name a few.)

The Golden Harness litter seem to have the enthusiasm, but perhaps some of the ‘high strung’ energy has lessened somewhat.

These photos (by Jeanne) shows the litter with Scout and their half brother, Woody, in lead.
(L-R): Woody and Scout, followed by Chevie, QT, Bruno, Dancer, McCaw and Jefe.

Chevie already has the confidence to run in lead. Pretty impressive for a youngster. She is tall and lanky. Her grey coloration comes directly from her Mother. She is a happy dog, but not silly. She is business minded when in harness.

Bruno looks exactly like Dad. He has become quite a bit ‘chestier’ than his lanky sisters. He speaks his mind when getting harnessed and certainly has some vocal chords on him. Bruno has never stopped working and likes a position right in the middle of the team.

QT is delicate-boned. She is very tall and this most likely accentuates her ‘Super Model’ stature. QT likes to scream at hook up and whenever we take too long of a break out on the trail. Her composure while working in the team however, is very mature.

McCaw is still the big fellah – long, tall and husky. He is really starting to get some rear end muscles that should be able to pull a tractor trailer before Springtime. We will see. McCaw gets excited at hook up and tends to jump all over the place. After we start, he does settle down. Thank goodness.

Jefe has surprised everyone with his chunky muscle, weight-lifter growth spurt. In the past two months he has changed from a puppy to ‘the Man’. His voice, however, does NOT correspond to his Mr. Universe body – it is high pitched and squealing. YIKES. Perhaps after puberty his voice will drop. If not, he can certainly hold his own if ‘push comes to shove’.

Dancer seemed like she was going to be the small intelligent one. But she has sprouted in the last month as well and now stands taller than all of the Coffee Pup girls. She is proud of that. Dancer is proud of a lot of things. She is the pup who notices the most things on the trail: “Do you see that grouse? Do you see that tree? Do you see that house?… Oh… that’s mine!”

The dog portraits are complete and we are in the process of updating the Dog and Puppy pages with their new glam shots. This is quite an undertaking so keep checking back to see your favourites. We’ll let you know once they are all up.

In the meantime we thought you would enjoy a sneak peek at some of them.

Jeanne (right, with Prata, Gold and Bronze) captured the dogs true personalities and quirks. She really knows the SP Kennels dogs.

I think my favourite of them all is Sissy’s portrait; Jeanne has captured her happy self and she looks so relaxed. Check out how mature and handsome Five is looking in his glam shot.

Sissy-bean enjoying her day; Five is a handsome boy

A sentimental favourite you might enjoy is of Nutmeg; you can see she is a kennel elder and I love her softer expression. Daisy is looking so much more mature as a three year old.

A senior study of Meg; Daisy is growing up

Each year we are especially excited for you to see the latest pictures of our yearling class. These are the dogs you will notice the most change from their last season’s puppy pictures. Take a look at these comparisons from this time last year and see how grown up these kids are now!

Dancer 2016 and 2015

McCaw 2016 and 2015

Perky 2016 and 2015

Due to popular demand, here are a few outtakes!

tra-la-la-la-la; “Hey hooman, I look like you”

ummm… this way; Prata’s rabbit ears

Thanks again to Jeanne Schnackenberg for sharing her incredible talent with us all!

– Moira