SPK Dog Log

As the saying goes…

“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

Well, after a ‘puppy free’ summer we are now looking forward to a litter born on or about September 27th. And as that saying dictates… why not keep doing what has brought us so much success. So, here we go! Olivia and Nacho are the expecting parents.

As many of our long time kennel fans know, Olivia and Nacho are the parents of the four 3 year olds: Kodiak, Lydia, Dutch and Junior; as well as the eleven 2 year old siblings from the Fire Litter: Chena, Spark, Coal, Torch, Daisy, Hotshot, Commando, Violet, Amber, Nomex and Tinder (pictured in that order below.)

Puppy Portraits: 3 year olds Kodiak, Lydia, Dutch and Junior; 2 year old Fire Litter.

Olivia is already quite round, therefore we are expecting a large litter. She has never had complications with her pregnancies so we are hoping for the best. Olivia is 8 years old, is very fit and will be the great mom that she has always been. This pregnancy will obviously keep her out of training for several months. We hope that, if all goes well, she will start training after she weans the pups in the beginning of November. We will have to be very cautious as we bring her back into training and she might even have to sit our first few races. Time will tell.

We will give you a weekly update and, of course, an announcement!

Training begins in the early mornings when the temperatures are cooler. It seems that just before and just after sunrise is currently the best time to hook up our dog teams. Sunrise is always an amazing spectacle on the trail!

The eastern horizon just at sunrise.

As the sun comes above the horizon and lightens up the day, it shows us the beauty in the Fall colors. The tree line is a vibrant yellow. And the shrubs are yellow, orange, red and all of the hues in between. But don’t forget those ever greens – they will be with us through out the winter.

Fall colors close ups – don’t forget the ever greens!

Enjoy this video from the morning training run:

Thank you to all of you who had a go at our first “Name the Faces” competition. We hope you had fun identifying everyone. Our winner is Jana Leal – congratulations!

L-R Kodiak and Scruggs are in lead, then Scout (centre) and Boondocks in swing, followed by Nacho and Chica (just her ear can be seen), Willie (centre) and Biscuit, Mac and Dutch with Felix and Chipper in wheel.

Here’s some tips for identifying some of the faces in this pic:

Kodiak is a brown coloured Nacho. You can clearly see in this pic the similar expressions and markings of the two, just different colors. You will see him in lead a lot this coming season.

Scruggs and Olivia are lookalikes. Big O’s white forehead is more rounded than Scruggs’ (and he sometimes has “goggly eyes” in photographs – go take a look at some others if you don’t believe me). He’s also leggier than Olivia.

Most people got Scout correct. He’s got a distinctive reddish colour and he looks just like his Mom ChaCha. Scout’s ears are laid back against his head in this photo which was deceiving. Boondocks is smaller than any of the other grey dogs at the kennel. She also has a distinctive white spot on her forehead that can be seen in this photo.

Willie was one not many people picked. He is almost 10 pounds smaller than Clyde and is slightly darker. Outlaw is lighter (almost white). “Outie” is a tall, thin version of Willie. It is true that our blonde dogs are very similar (and now we also have Ernie in training!) But, Willie is one of the best SP Kennel team dogs ever. He is so good, so well behaved and so consistent that perhaps we don’t talk about him enough! Sorry buddy.

L-R: Willie; Clyde; Outlaw (All from 2013 Portrait Day.)

Biscuit / Felix / Mismo / Izzy: Yes we know they all look sooo much alike huh? Biscuit has slightly rounded “eyebrows” compared to Felix’s who has very pointy peaks in his widow’s peak. Mismo also has pointy eyebrows but he is slightly lighter in colour on his face (and he is also enormous!). Izzy has a brown body, not black.

L-R: Biscuit; Felix; Izzy (All from 2014 Portrait Day.)

Mac appeared to be the easiest to identify as everyone got him right.

Dutch has a pronounced widows peak with quite a dark streak down the middle of his forehead.

Chipper, well, she’s just a tiny, brown, enthusiastic gal with pointy ears and a big attitude! This photo epitomizes her attitude because in the wheel position, we shouldn’t really even get a good glimpse of her tiny little body… but, Chipper isn’t one to be ignored, so she is standing on her hind feet and jumping up and down in order to get into this photo.

Allen and the Black Team of Quito, Scout, Chica, Olivia, Boondocks, I.V., Nacho, Schmoe, Willie, Puppet, Biscuit and Felix won the 2014 Copper Basin!

In this Slow Mo Sunday video you can get an up close look at the champion team leaving Glennallen, arriving at Chistochina and Lake Louise Lodge checkpoints then coming home in first place.

Enjoy!

Music Elysium by Apple Inc

Flashback Friday only brings us one year back.

Can you name all 11 faces in this great pic from last year’s fall training?

Although there are 12 dogs on this team we will let you get away with naming 11 of them. There is a tricky ear hidden in the middle. This photo was taken by Jeanne Schnackenberg in October last year. It’s an awesome shot and shows all the emotions of the dogs… “Let’s get going!!!“

Email us on: SPKDogLog@gmail.com with your name and your answers before Sunday, September 6, 2015 – 8PM Alaska time. We will draw one of the correct entries out of a hat and send the winner a black SPK ball cap!

This is an easy one! Our “Name Those Faces and Win!” series will get harder after this one!

Fall training is officially underway here at SP Kennel.

The temperature this morning was a brisk 34 degrees Fahrenheit. There are plenty of large puddles in the trail for quick breaks.

It was a perfect morning to run five teams a few miles.

The neighborhood in Two Rivers is already a happening place with our mushing neighbors underway in training as well.

LET’S HAVE A GREAT SEASON!

Here is a very short video showing some happy SP Kennel dogs in harness!

In our new occasional series “Slow-Mo Sunday” we take video clips and, as the title suggests, slow them down. This is a really great way to truly appreciate our amazing dogs in action!

These clips are of the Red Team during 2015 Iditarod. You’ll see some start line action from Fairbanks, the team leaving Manley checkpoint and then crossing the finish line in Nome.

Hope you enjoy it!

Music: Borealis by Apple Inc

One of the most common phrases that mushers say in order to describe the unique race-like culture of the Iditarod is: “There is only one Indianapolis 500 and there is only one Iditarod!”

Aliy and Allen were in Indianapolis last week. They thought it would be a crime to be in Indianapolis and not visit the Indy Motor Speedway (just like it would be a crime to be in Wasilla and not swing by the headquarters of the Iditarod.) So, Aliy, Allen and Bob McDonald (Aliy’s uncle) drove to the ‘Brickyard’ just before noon one day to simply get a glimpse of the historic 2 1/2 mile race track.

As they neared the enormous, famed race track they got excited and could almost hear the cars engines revving (maybe that was Bob’s heavy foot on his accelerator!) But, when the three of them walked through the doors to the Motor Speedway museum they were immediately surrounded by racing memorabilia and excitement. The thrill of competition was everywhere! Needless to say, Allen wouldn’t stay out of the Indy cars!

For racers, like Aliy and Allen, that excitement became quite overwhelming. They couldn’t help but compare everything to the Iditarod! And, of course… it came down to a competition between dogs and cars.

Heat 1: The Indy 500 started in 1909. Iditarod started in 1973. The cars win.
(Note: the 400 mile All Alaska Sweepstakes Sled Dog Race did start in 1908.)

Heat 2: The Indy 500 is 500 miles. The Iditarod is 1000 miles. The dogs win.

Heat 3: The Indy 500 cars moving average speed is 161 mph. The Iditarod sleds moving average speed is about 8 mph. The cars win.

Heat 4: Number of Cars entered in the 2015 Indy: 33. Number of Sleds entered in the 2015 Iditarod: 78. The dogs win.

Heat 5: The Indy 500 Motor Speedway has 300,000 fixed seats for race fans. Iditarod… probably not so many. Aliy did say that in 2015 “Race spectators lined each and every street in downtown Anchorage this year!” But, let’s be honest, the entire population of Anchorage would have had to be in attendance in order to achieve and audience of 300,000 and we know for a fact that at least one couple was on their Honeymoon in Hawaii that weekend. The cars win.

Heat 6: The first woman to race in the Indy 500 was Janet Guthrie in 1977. The first woman to race the Iditarod was Mary Shields in 1974. The dogs win.

Janet in her racing gear; Mary in her racing gear.

Heat 7: The first woman to win the Iditarod was Libby Riddles in 1985. The first woman to win the Indy 500… hasn’t won yet. The dogs win.

Heat 8: The Indy 500 Race song is sung by Jim Nabers. The Iditarod song is sung by Hobo Jim. Tie.

The Indy 500 Motor Speedway was a lesson in history as well as an inspiration to keep up the racing passion! As the Alaskan mushers pulled away from the race track Allen quietly remarked… “The Indy 500… the Iditarod… neither of them have anything over the Yukon Quest.”