SPK Dog Log

Over the weekend, photographer and dog lover, Jeanne Schnackenberg, visited SP Kennel to take the “glam shots” for the web and for the dog sponsors’ packet. With Aliy, Meghan, Wendy and Moira helping, she got some FANTASTIC pics of everyone!

Felix gets the glamour treatment

We used all manner of distractions: squeakers, kibble, falsetto voices and many, many gloves thrown towards (and sometimes at) Jeanne. And you wouldn’t believe what went in to getting 11 puppies looking in the same direction at the same time!!! When Jeanne said “we’ve got it” we all jumped up and down, squealed and clapped then breathed a sigh of relief. The puppies looked quite amused.

Some of the dogs managed to nail it with just a few shots (Boondocks, Beemer and Tug) whereas Pepe and Scruggs took their chance to play to the camera a little longer! Boris has been renamed “Boris Zoolander” as he showed us his “Blue Steel” in almost EVERY frame!

Jeanne was able to capture pics that reflect the dogs’ personalities so they are not just great photographs, they also tell a story. We’re sure you’ll love them as much as we do. There’s some editing to do and once that’s done we’ll get the updated team cards up on the web as soon as possible.

It was such a fun day, thanks Jeanne!

Meghan takes a shot of Jeanne with the babies

– Moira

Fall training is well underway here at SP Kennel. The dogs are finding their rhythms as we increase mileage, and the yearlings are settling into the routine of running with the big dogs. With fall training comes a growing list of fall projects! As I wandered around the dog yard after our runs this morning, fixing a broken chain here or a bent swivel there, I was reminded of just how much goes into keeping the kennel ship shape (or should I say, “sled shape”).

One of our big projects this week is to insulate the dog barn. With its indoor/outdoor pens, this provides a neat housing option for bringing dogs in on some of those 50-below days. Other projects include building dog houses (with 11 puppies growing fast, we’re going to need a FEW more houses!), putting the dog boxes back on the truck, strawing houses, and keeping the much-loved-but-much-abused ATVs maintained. This last task always make me look forward to getting on sleds, as an SPK dog team is much more reliable (and sweet) than any vehicle!

– Meghan

L-R: The dog barn, pre-door and pre-insulation, Olivia enjoys her fresh straw bed.

Allen cuts plywood for dog houses.

At this time of year with the “warmer” temperatures and no snow it is important to find water on the trails for the dogs to drink and cool off a bit. We are lucky that just 2.5 miles from the kennel is Iron Creek and we can take the teams through several times during the course of a run. This morning I camped out there for a while to catch the teams going through.

Here’s Allen with his team enjoying a splash down!

And Meghan, with SPOOG in lead!!!

– Moira

The puppies went for their morning walk and fun ensued…

IV and Chemo were born three and a half years ago. Two cute little Alaska Springtime puppies. They were so furry that they looked like cotton balls and I thought about naming them “Johnson’s” or even “Q-tip”. This pair were the only puppies we had at SP Kennel in 2010. They were special.

A week after they were born, I heard a story about a little girl who was in the Children’s Hospital in Seattle going through chemotherapy. This little girl, Ava, was our Two Rivers neighbor and a dog lover. Ava and her Mom, Dad and sister spent hours and days at the hospital. They always looked on the bright side and were up for any happy distraction. So, I asked them if they ever had the time could they help me name these special pups.

Mom said that Ava thought about it long and hard and came up with: “IV” and “Chemo”. I am sure that those two words meant a lot to the entire family.

I am super excited to share with everyone that Ava came to visit IV and Chemo this Fall. She is a gorgeous, proud, strong cancer survivor. IV must have felt the connection because she shared many kisses and Chemo was happy to let her pull our some of his shedding fur. Ava had followed the pups last season and knew that both dogs had been on the championship Copper Basin 300 team, run the Yukon Quest (or YQ 300) and finished Iditarod. She said she’ll continue to root for them!

Here is a link to the website post we did 3 years ago: Introducing…

I jumped on the back of the four-wheeler with Meghan again yesterday as it was such a beautiful day! It’s a little warm for the dogs – at about 45 degrees in the heat of the day – so we are still running early in the morning before it heats up.

Honda and Scout, Junior and Spoog, Puppet and Mismo, Dutch, Driver and Iron, Tug and Kodiak

Meghan and Moira took two teams, nearly the whole ‘racing dog’ yard, out for a 13 mile run on Monday. They took them through Iron Creek to cool down on the way home and Moira got some video to share with you.

Later that night, after Moira was fast asleep in the cozy SP Handler Cabin, the dogs welcomed her home.