SPK Dog Log

There has been some great media coverage of the Yukon Quest and a couple of articles about Allen in particular (click on red links to take you to the articles)

“In Cold Pursuit” by Amy Nordrum from “Fairbanksalaska.com”

“Seconds Matter” by Jeff Richardson from the Fairbanks Newsminer

We’re going to do our own “interview” with Allen during the weekend and we’re wondering if there are any particular questions you would like us to ask him? We’ll keep it short and ask just 5 or 6 questions so put your question in the comments and we’ll do our best to get it answered for you!

Dr Tamara Rose DVM from Fairbanks came out to the kennel to do official veterinary checks on all the potential Yukon Quest 1000 team members.

The checks are very thorough and start with formal identification of each dog – age, sex and colour along with microchip number. All of our dogs are identified by micro-chips and the medical history of each dog is associated with their chip number. Vaccination records including 5-way, kennel cough and rabies need to be evidenced also.

The dogs were then weighed, an overall body condition rating was given (on a scale of 1-5), temperatures, heart rates and oral respiration rates taken. A vital part of sled dog health care is hydration so each dog’s mucous membranes are checked for capillary refill rate followed by a general body check (eyes, ears, musculo-skeletal etc). She performed a thorough hands-on physical exam on them all.

As you know, in the sport of dog sled racing the dogs are the athletes so it is important that they are in the best physical condition possible. At SP Kennel we do monthly medical checks on the dogs but we don’t have the skills to pick up on everything so it is critical that we get vet support prior to, during and after races.

Here you can see Nacho and Beemer getting the once-over with Chemo waiting his turn. Thanks TRose for the great care and attention you give to each one of our SP Kennel dogs!

The YQ300 checks are done by the vet team over in Whitehorse prior to the race.

Allen and Meghan took 26 dogs out today for an 80 mile training run from the Two Rivers Yukon Quest checkpoint right into downtown Fairbanks following the Quest trail down the Chena River.

At this point Allen’s BLACK team is not finalised so any one of the 26 could make the team. This run will narrow it down for him with the absolute final decision made the day before the race.

We caught up with them just a few miles into their run then again at the finish. (Try to figure out which team Ranger is on…!)

Boris is a sweetheart!

Boris is as steady of a sled dog as we could ever hope to have. He is a powerful one as well. His overall strength will certainly be to our benefit this year as we hope to include him in many of our racing teams. We have just seen the beginning of his racing talents

“Bobo” is always sporting a big smile and just wants to get out there and work as a team dog.

Aliy and Meghan took a couple of teams up into the hills around Two Rivers recently and Aliy captured some great video…

Aliy’s team is Lead: Quito and Beemer, Swing: Schmoe and Chemo, Team: Kipper and Lester, Scout and Willie, Spoog and Mac, Wheel: Biscuit and Tatfish.

Food drop bags for the Yukon Quest and Yukon Quest 300 were due this weekend and we dropped off 56 bags to the depot to cover the BLACK team’s 1000 miles and the RED team’s 300.

You might wonder what goes into the drop bag – we pack snacks for the dogs (meat, fish etc) and kibble for meals, human food and snacks, booties and leggings, extra dog coats, blankets and harnesses, gloves and socks for the musher, sled plastics and a “vet pack” that includes extra ointments, wraps and algyval and other essential bits and pieces to keep dogs and mushers happy and healthy.

It takes a lot of planning, preparation and checking to get them right and each race teaches us something else about what we should and shouldn’t pack in the bags by way of snacks and equipment.

Next week we start all over again for the Iditarod drop bags!

We’ve put together the best bits from the Copper Basin 300 pics and videos, we hope you enjoy it!

Congrats to the yearlings on a successful first race!

Howdy, folks, Meghan here. As the excitement from the Copper Basin begins to settle, I thought I’d take a moment to recap what a fantastic job the yearlings did on their first race, the Solstice 50, last week. After training alongside the adult dogs all season, the seven yearlings – Clyde, Nelson, Felix, Pepe, Izzy, Outlaw and Mismo – had the opportunity to show off their hard work. The youngsters were led by a stellar quartet of adults – Scout, Kipper, Waylon and Spicy. One additional adult, Tug, ran in wheel to “keep the peace,” and round out the team. Tug ran alongside Mismo (who is, incidentally, approximately twice her size). Thanks, Tug!

Getting the team hooked up at the starting line was, as expected, a bit hectic. The yearlings were beside themselves with excitement. Other teams taking off, folks walking around taking photos… what’s a young sled dog to do?! In their enthusiasm, Nelson broke his harness (not chewed, but actually broke, from pulling), Clyde broke the metal snap holding him at the truck, and the five yearlings on the other side of the truck actually bent the metal bar that held their picket line! These guys were amped, to say the least. I love their energy, and I love it even more when their energies are all pointed in the same direction.

Once we took off from the starting line, we had a pretty smooth run. The team was presented with obstacles that the yearlings haven’t had much experience with yet – going through river overflow, passing snow machines, and passing lots of teams (as well as occasionally being passed). They all did outstandingly well. I was particularly impressed with Pepe and Nelson, who were so focused and kept a smooth lope the entire run. Izzy, who is traditionally one of the more playful yearlings, really stepped up as well. On training runs, she likes to pick up anything she can find on the trail – sticks, ice chunks, lost booties… But she was all business on race day. Way to go, Izzy!

Photo by Julien Schroder

We completed the race in 5 hours, 22 minutes. This included two snack/love breaks, and several “mini-stops” to sort out minor tangles, remove frozen booties, etc. Everyone finished the race happy and healthy. What an honor it was to accompany such a fine group of youngsters on their first race. Undoubtedly, they all have long, distinguished race careers ahead of them! Go pups!