Here is an introductory video of the “Coffee Litter”. Aliy paced around nearly the entire day of September 23rd, always with a cup of coffee in hand. So… why not? The Coffee Litter.
First Born: “Barista”
Little Runt: “Coffee Bean” or Bean
Big Dark Girl: “Sanka”
Light Colored Girl: “Creamer” in honor of her Uncle Beemer
Mellow Boy: “Decaf”
Hyper Boy: “Percolate” or Perky
For any of you following the “In House” Olivia Pool, no one picked the correct date. We dropped all the SP Kennel Crew names in a bowl and picked a winner. Mark “the Chauffeur” won! He choose the name “Barista” for the first born.
The 5 “Five” yearlings are a fantastic group of dogs. They are excited, yet dedicated. They truly are the perfect combination of their resolute Mother, Chica, and their energetic and always hungry, Dad, Clyde. Only Scooby looks like his Mom. The other four youngsters are blonde variations of their Dad.
Here is a quick video of the FIVE during a short break on a training run in mid September.
The Olivia-Nacho puppies arrived earlier than expected yesterday – September 23rd. Olivia was in labor much of the day — then whelped the first born at 4 PM and the last one about 6 hours later. We were up all night checking the little ones and are pleased to report that the six puppies are small but nursing fantastically. Mama O is, of course, an exceptional mother. The first four puppies were girls and the last two were boys.
The newborn nursery is in the Dog Room adjacent to the garage. They will stay in this heated room for quite a while. The nursery has a large whelping house filled with cedar shavings, plenty of fresh water for Mama O and a doggie door for a quick exit to the toilet.
Here are a few quick photos before we head back to watch the babies.
The Dog Box Artist finished up the new SP Kennel dog hauler this week. The interior is even complete with wiring and lights. The SP Kennel dogs will truly be riding around in style this season!
The color of the new hauler was of some debate but once the doors were painted, there was no turning back. Notice the homemade harness hangars.
Of course, there was an inspection at every stage.
Is it going to fit?
Hollywood (the Dodge Ram truck) is really stylish now!
The Black and Red Teams will be racing the 2016 Copper Basin 300!
This year the CB300 committee allowed the top 10 finishers in the 2015 race the opportunity to sign-up before they open registration to all other mushers on October 3rd. This was because last year the race filled up in about eight minutes, such is the popularity of the race. As the Black Team won and the Red Team were 6th, both Allen and Aliy were able to sign up early.
The CB300 is a race Allen and Aliy enjoy very much. It really is “the toughest 300 miles in Alaska” and the kennel has enjoyed much success in this race. Allen and the SPK Black Team have won this race six times and Aliy and the Red Team have finished in the top 10 on multiple occasions.
2015 Copper Basin: Allen, Kodiak, Quito and the Black Team Champions; Aliy, Scruggs and Red Team sixth!
The CB300 has also been a great proving ground for many of our youngsters as they negotiate some of the most difficult terrain and sometimes, extreme weather. For some of them it is the first real test and they’ve gone on to great things with this race under their belt/harness.
So, look out for the Black and Red teams when the race starts on January 9th in Glennallen! We’re excited!!
These clips are from a beautiful November day back in 2012. There was not yet enough snow yet for sleds but it was cool enough for a training run in the hills.
Olivia is the Diva of the sled dog world – she knows it, we know it… the world knows it. Whenever there is an Iditarod advertisement, Yukon Quest fundraiser or simply a dog mushing magazine article, you’ll find a glamour photo of her. She is a poster girl and has had centerfold layout in numerous mags. (Hey now… don’t let your mind wander! No wardrobe malfunctions from this girl.)
Yes, Olivia is a celebrity. It’s a tough job being a celebrity: always looking good, howling at the correct time, staying fit, not biting photographers and don’t forget those Instagram and Twitter posts – if you don’t get those correct, you’re down the tubes ASAP!
So, you can imagine that for the last few years the SP Kennel Crew has been overwhelmed with Olivia in the Spotlight. Now as a middle aged gal, this pregnancy has taken even more effort from her support staff. Yes… it was an intended pregnancy with her long time boyfriend, Nacho. But still, the stress of it all has required extra support from us all.
Now, Olivia’s next big adventure is only one week out! Her due date is September 26th. Since there is such a high intensity atmosphere at the kennel, we have decided to add a little stress relief. So, we are having an “in house” Big O birthday guessing pool. Those of us here at at SP Kennel… chewing our fingernails and pacing… have all thrown 1 dollar into the kitty (or “puppy$” as we like to call it!) We’ve made a chart listing all of Olivia’s Support Crew and their jobs.
The winner of the pool must guess the correct date and litter size. If there is a tie we will draw one of the tied names out of a dog bootie. If there is no correct guess we’ll draw a winner out of all the Support Crew names. The winner not only gets the “puppy$” (the $23 kitty, NOT a cute little fur ball) but will also get to name the first born.
Biscuit’s birthday is September 14, 2005 and today he is a proud and distinguished 10 year old SP Kennel dog. We’ve added him to the SP Kennel All-Star Page today! Here’s why…
What can we say about Biscuit that hasn’t already been said?
As of Fall 2015, Biscuit is not retired from racing. He finished so strongly in the 2015 Iditarod that he is in harness and training today. Despite the fact that he isn’t retired yet, Biscuit has certainly already qualified as an All-Star!
Biscuit is as tough as they come. He is the best wheel dog in the business and can maneuver in the trickiest spots. The wheel position is often an underestimated position in the team. With our Howling Dog harness and line system, the wheel position isn’t necessarily the best spot for the biggest and brawniest dogs. Since a wheel dog must always go under the mainline when switching sides, he or she must have tremendous agility, quickness and smarts. Biscuit has all of that and more.
Biscuit is one tough character with a very gentle side. He has never been a cuddly dog. He doesn’t give kisses or enjoy ear scratches. But, boy oh boy, does he love a butt scratch. When you walk up to greet him he presents his haunches and playfully looks over his shoulder saying “go on, scratch my butt!” He will stand there for hours if you can hold out. He will ‘coo and moan’ as you rumple the fur on his rump. We have even noticed that his offspring, Felix and Mismo in particular, enjoy a rump scratch as well.
As an 8 week old puppy we noted “He is vocal and secure. A tail wagging dog!” As a yearling the comments were “Biscuit looks really good now – strong and excited to go! One of the strongest yearlings ever.“
We have chosen to perpetuate Biscuit’s All-Star genetics. He and Quito have had two litters together. These 11 puppies are now the team members with the most enthusiasm and energy on an SP Kennel team today. In 2015, all but three of them raced in the Iditarod.
Biscuit starts his eighth Iditarod! (front right)
Biscuit has also been known to lead the team, but only during the most challenging times. He lead Allen and the 2013 Yukon Quest team during a horrendous blizzard. This quote is from a YQ Checker in Eagle. Mushers “… had a terrible time coming over American Summit. There were high winds and snow and blizzard conditions that knocked out the trail and replaced it with large drifts. Hans Gatt was in a bad way and almost hypothermic from sweating so bad trying to break trail for his team. David and Mike went out with snow machines to help show the way and had a terrible time getting through with the snow machines.” Allen put Biscuit in lead during this storm and he and Allen worked together to get the team to safety. Again in 2015, Biscuit found his spot in front of the team during the wind storms out on the Western Coast of Alaska during the Iditarod. Allen said he let “the Old Man” take charge for at least 300 miles through some rough weather.
Biscuit has started the Iditarod eight times and finished seven. In 2014 he was dropped from the team, for the first time in his racing career, in the Ruby Checkpoint simply because he was tired. His age was starting to show during the fastest Iditarod race ever. Biscuit is a multiple Yukon Quest and Copper Basin champion and has raced in just about all there is to race! His first distance race was the Tustemena 200 along side his sidekick and brother, Tatfish.
Aliy says: “Biscuit is dedicated and true to himself, his musher and his team.“
Allen says: “Biscuit has always had the heart of a Champion.“
Biscuit turning 10 years old is shocking because, honestly, you wouldn’t know it if you saw him! He has the enthusiasm of a two year old and, although he doesn’t have the speed of one, can still enjoy playing around in the field during the summer alongside his offspring or racing down the trail during the winter.
Biscuit is truly an SP Kennel All Star!
Click here to go to the All Stars page to see Biscuit, and all our other All Stars’ Team Cards.
