SPK Dog Log

Take a tour of Aliy’s racing sled! In this video you will learn a little about the construction of the sled and what is kept on the outside for easy access. In a later video Aliy will show us what she takes inside her sled for 1000 miles of racing.

It has been gorgeous here in Two Rivers over the last few days as we do our final training runs before the Iditarod. The teams are out today for a few hours then will do a short, stretch-out run on Wednesday morning before heading down to Anchorage by truck on Thursday.

Aliy took a team of 16 out a couple of days ago; here’s some photos from that run.

(Moira was riding a tag-sled behind to get these photos)

The entire SP Kennel Crew and dogs will be in Anchorage for the Iditarod. Where do over 30 dogs and a dozen people stay? Our “home away from home” is Clarion Suites Downtown Anchorage. Not only are the pillows fluffed for the human entourage, but the biscuits are readied for the dogs. The whole crew is welcome at Clarion!

Clarion Suites is Aliy’s exclusive hotel sponsor and a huge supporter of the entire SP Kennel family. As dog lovers themselves, the folks at Clarion really know what it takes to make a team of huskies comfortable! The hotel flies a huge “Aliy” banner along “L” Street downtown. If anyone is still looking for a room during the iditarod weekend, Clarion Suites is offering an “Iditarod Special Rate”. Call the front desk for more information (907)222-5005.

Clarion Suites is a Chenega Native Corporation owned property and one of the finest hotels in downtown Anchorage. Another fine hotel in the area (and owned by Chenega as well) is Quality Suites Convention Center. Quality Suites is Allen’s exclusive hotel sponsor. The hotel flies a huge “Allen” banner along “C” Street downtown.

“Meet and Greet” Aliy and Allen on Friday evening!

Come to the Clarion Suites on Friday evening from 6-7 pm to meet Aliy and Allen and visit with the dogs!

They will talk about the up coming Iditarod, show you their sleds and some of their equipment and tell you how they use it on the trail. They might even share some of their strategies for the race.

There will be some (limited) merchandise available and you’ll get the chance to meet the whole crew!

See you there!

The biggest question these days is: “Are you ready?”

We should be. With Iditarod only one week out, there’s really not much more to be done. Most of the race preparation has happened over the last few weeks, months and even years. Allen and Aliy turned in their Food Drops on February 11th. In total, Aliy sent 1,633 pounds and Allen sent 1,550 pounds of dog food, gear and personal items. These bags are labeled with a musher’s name and a checkpoint name. The Iditarod Air Force as well as commercial airlines will haul all of these supplies out to the trail starting this week.

There are 19 checkpoints that are “resupply” points this year. It is at these checkpoints that the teams can pick up more dog food, fuel and straw bedding for the dogs. Some mushers might choose to stop and stay at all 19 checkpoints. Usually there is parking for the dog team, dog water available and perhaps even a warm spot for a musher to get some rest. But, not all mushers choose to stay in checkpoints. They are understandably very busy places with noise and commotion. Depending on a team’s race strategy, they may “go through” a checkpoint and camp outside of the commotion. This requires planning however because the team will most likely still need to resupply.

The Iditarod Trail follows the “southern route” this year. The Iditarod race route leaves the starting line in Willow and heads west. The dog teams begin to travel away from South Central Alaska. River travel gives way to occasional hills and soon encounters the magnificent Alaska Range Mountains. The teams climb through the range and over a mountain pass as they continue north and west. They arrive at the headwaters of the Kuskokwim River drainage and follow the valley west. After passing through several villages, the trail heads north into the rolling hills. It turns west and follows the traditional route through the ghost town of Iditarod. The teams still head west until they reach the Yukon River and make a sharp turn upriver (or north.) They follow the mighty Yukon for nearly 200 hundred miles until the village of Kaltag. The teams get off the river and follow the ancient trade route and 90-mile portage trail over to the Bering Sea. After reaching the western coast, the trail once again turns north. It follows the coastline – occasionally travel on the frozen ocean – for the remaining 275 miles to the finish.

One week out… we better be ready!

Thanks for all your entries into the “Give Taco a Home” competition. The correct answers were 1) At the Eagle Summit road closure, near Mile 101 (when the handlers couldn’t get to Circle on time); 2) Dawson City Dog Camp; 3) Fairbanks finish-line; 4) Braeburn 5) Two Rivers and 6) Circle City.

Congratulations to the prize winners… we will get your prizes in the post this week!

I have might taken for granted that everyone knows how extensive our pre Iditarod health check ups are for the dogs. But, after talking to a few folks, it seems that everyone DOESN’T know all of the health check “hoops” that we ask them to jump through (you’d think they were agility dogs!) So, here is an overview:

First of all, every dog is identified by microchip number. A microchip is inserted by syringe under the skin behind the ear (it is the size of a grain of rice). Each microchip has a unique identification number that can be read with a scanner to identify the dog. For Iditarod purposes, this unique number can track the dog’s medical history, as well as race history. All race dogs are scanned at the start of the race, as well as the finish. This is a very secure way to make sure all dogs can be identified with their musher. (For example, the Iditarod knows that ChaCha first raced in 2004 with Randy Chappel, then raced every year with Allen or Aliy, retiring after the 2011 race.)

Being that all of our dogs are reliably identifiable (to everyone, not just us), they then must pass individual Iditarod Veterinary Pre-Race Exams. Our personal Vet, Dr T Rose, came out to Two Rivers on Tuesday and examined all the dogs per Iditarod standards. Her exams were thorough. They included simple measures such as: weight and temperature. (We keep a monthly log book of dogs’ weights, so we can compare through out the season.) One of the more important tests in the exam is a cardiac auscultation. With a stethoscope she can detect the heart’s:
1) rate and rhythm, 2) value functioning (e.g. stenosis, regurgitation/insufficiency), and 3) anatomical defects.

Quito gets the once over by T-Rose while Rambler and Scout wait their turn

Also with a stethoscope she listened to their respiration and overall health of their lungs. The final part of the exam has to do with total body condition and musculo-skeletal issues. For this she uses a simple “sight exam”. By watching a dog’s gait she can tell if someone is uncomfortable or even in pain. We have the dogs romping around in the garage, so she can get quite a view.

Yesterday the dogs took the next step toward medical approval to race in the Iditarod. All race dogs must have a Complete Blood Count as well as an ECG print out (Electrocardiogram.) These two tests require a clinic set up and knowledgeable specialists to administer the tests. The volunteer Iditarod crew this year were FABULOUS. We brought all of the dogs into Animal House Vet Clinic in Fairbanks where they were escorted inside a room designated for their testing. (Their was a bit of canine chaos and barking periodically in the background from the boarding kennel and doggie day care that shares this facility.)

First, two vials of blood were taken from each individual (Right: Ranger with two of the volunteers). These samples are, of course, identified by the dog’s Microchip number and are set to Providence Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska for analysis. We will get the results in four days as will the head Iditarod Veterinarian, Dr. Stu Nelson. Dr. Nelson phones all mushers to talk about any irregularities or questions he might have about the dogs’ blood work. If necessary, he can advise mushers to re test a dog or he has the authority to decline a dog from the competition.

Second, is the ECG or Electrocardiogram. The dogs must lay on a table and relax. They are hooked up to electrodes and a computer which monitors their heart. It will document the result with an 8-second print out. These print outs are looked over by a cardiac specialist as well as Dr. Nelson. Once, again, if necessary, the doctors can advise mushers to re test or decline a dog from the competition.

L-R: The ECG Machine; Chemo getting his ECG

All of this is absolutely necessary to try and keep our dogs healthy and safe. None of these tests are “looking for illegal substances”. The drug testing protocol for Iditarod dogs has a completely different protocol. We will do a website post explaining the canine drug testing later on during our Iditarod coverage.

See Rambler, I.V., Clyde and Felix getting checked over by the fabulous volunteers.

Click on the image (left) to view the latest SP Kennel Howler.

This edition features the story about Allen and the Black Team’s victorious Yukon Quest, tells of the Red and R&B teams in the Yukon Quest 300 and gives you some details about the upcoming Iditarod!

We also have the spotlight on our Yukon Quest Golden Harness Winner Quito!

Enjoy.

For those of you that remember “Taco” (the stuffed toy husky) from the Yukon Quest here is your chance to take him home! We have photographic evidence of him visiting most of the checkpoints along the way but there are a few pics in which his location is a little harder to identify! If you can tell us the name of his location in these six photos your name will go in the draw to win him plus a copy of the 2013 YQ Race Annual signed by both Allen and Aliy. The second and third place getters also receive a signed Race Annual.

You can either email your answers to spkdoglog@gmail.com or private message us on Facebook BEFORE midnight (AST) Thursday, 21st February and we’ll draw the lucky winners! Good luck.

1) We had some trouble here 2) Taco caught up with some rest here 3) This was pretty exciting!

4) Yum, cinnamon buns 5) The National Guard helped out here 6) Some mushers slept on this fire truck

PS Taco came from a large, healthy litter so watch out for his siblings as the season goes on!