Over the next few days we will be giving the DogLog a new look!
(Things may be a little chaotic in the process, but we’ll get it done as fast as possible!)
Photographer at the Kennel
Kennel friend and fantastic photographer, Jeanne Schnackenberg, came to the kennel recently to take “studio portraits” of all the dogs. This is one of many steps we are currently lining up to bring you a brand new updated website later this month.
Needless to say, the pictures are awesome. Here are just a few samples.
Sad News
I do not want to share this particular kennel news. I would much rather sit in a corner in my house, wondering why and keep this to all to myself. In no way will sharing this make me feel better or make anyone else feel good. I simply feel obligated to share this news in order to remain open and honest about our dog family.
Bonnie died. She was one year and three days. There was no trauma. She died peacefully laying in front of her house after a morning run and then breakfast.
We had an autopsy done right away. There was no obvious signs of trauma. However, the most likely cause was cardiac arrhythmia (or abnormal electric activity in the heart.) We have sent heart tissue samples to a lab for further investigation. It is unknown whether we will learn any more details.
Bonnie was ChaCha’s last female puppy (fathered by Paul Gebhart’s Lieutenant). Her brothers are Clyde and Outlaw.
Please, no sympathies or comments.
Heat Loss in SP Dogs
During the research this summer we worked with several different scientists and looked at a variety of canine “issues”. One of the more interesting days came in late August when Dr. Dennis Grahn came up from Stanford University to look at our dogs under a “heat loss microscope”. Dennis studies temperature regulation methods by dogs as well as humans. He brought a camera that measured the heat loss areas on our dogs (and humans when they got in the way!) Recently, some of the raw data footage from the camera was made into this video.
In this video are: Beemer, Rambler, Waylon, Hank, Scout, Chica and Aliy. Waylon is the last dog to leave the screen. You can see his warm tongue hanging out of his mouth.
Dogs have a fantastic heat regulation system which include skin heat loss, breathing techniques, panting and foot pads heat loss. This study at SP Kennel is part of a larger project trying to “Make a Better Canine Solider”. Dogs working in current war hot-spots such as Afghanistan or Iraq must use all of their natural biological abilities to stay cool. We are hoping to do a small part to help create cooling “man made” aids for these canine soldiers in the future.
Norway Trip
Aliy and Allen were invited to speak at the Hakadal Sledehundklubb Seminar September 22nd and 23rd. We spoke about SP Kennel facilities, training techniques and racing theories. Other speakers included: Thomas Waerner, Stein Havard Fjestad and Jan Vidar Dahle. Norwegian mushers are dedicated to the sport and their dogs with a passion that inspired us.
Snorre Naess picked us up at the airport and showed us around. He was raised in Olso and has a kennel in the forest area to the north west of the city. He is also a renowned sled builder and shared many design ideas. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Snorre’s sleds up and down the Iditarod trail soon.
Our hosts for the weekend were Elisabeth Edland and Per Olav Gausereide. We stayed at a moose hunting cabin just up the valley from their home and champion mid-distance racing kennel (www.flyinghuskies.com). Their house was the meeting place Friday night before the seminar. Mushers continued to arrive and we were up until after midnight talking about dogs and our beloved sport.
We were lucky to be welcomed by such passionate and talented mushers (and their dogs!) The mushing dedication that Elisabeth and Per Olav have was obvious each morning when the dogs were run loose in their pen, harnessed, trained by cart or quad and then run loose afterward. This system of training allowed them to monitor each dog individually – before, during and after training.
We had planned an additional four days to “tour Norway”. We were elated when Morten Borgen allowed us to borrow his vehicle. So, during the seminar we asked if there were any kennels that we might visit – simply to see Norwegian mushing first hand. Well, the response was overwhelming! We had far more invitations then we could accept. (Thank you EVERYONE for your invitations!) So, in the end, we saw no fjords, stave churches or viking ships … but we saw a great many sled dogs and mushers!
The first day, we were welcomed by Iditarod champion, Robert Sorlie and his wife, Elin, at their home and kennel. Fantastic dogs and a kennel set up to envy the best kennels in the world. The dogs were in tune with every move that Robert made as he walked through his yard of 16 adult huskies talking to each one and telling us a few dog stories.
That afternoon Robert and Elin (and their little “powder puff” Pekinese dog) took us on a walk through their small village overlooking a mountain lake. We visited the sled dog kennels in the area including Iditarod musher, Bjonar Andersen’s home. Bjonar is still recovering from a fall that he took during Iditarod in 2009. He had a kidney removed this Spring and says he feels much better. His home and dog yard along the mountain lake is remarkable. He had some gorgeous dogs as well.
Iditarod musher, Sigrid Ekran met us at Robert’s and we drove north together the next morning. She suggested that we stop for lunch at mushing legend Stein Havard Fjestad’s home. While talking to Stein Havard we could feel the enthusiasm that he has for sled dogs. He raced the Iditarod in 1977 and has been consumed with the “sled dog addiction” since. He has kept semen straws gathered from the top Alaska sled dogs for over 20 years. His breeding program is obviously purposeful and he continues to try and bred the best possible canine athlete.
We then traveled further north past Lillihamer (site of the 1994 Winter Olympics). We were delighted to see the enormous ski jumps along the mountain sides. We drove through small villages, over snowy mountain passes and to Sigrid’s kennel near the small village of Folldal.
Sigrid’s kennel was a treat. We saw here unique “two-dog” condominium houses. They keep dogs warmer and save on materials.
Sigrid has fenced in a tremendous amount of space so that her dogs can run free. There are literally countless sheep in the area, so dogs are not allowed to roam outside of pens. (Actually that evening Sigrid woke to barking dogs and found a fox fighting a sheep just outside her fencing. The fox was throwing the sheep into the fence. She chased off the fox and went to rescue the sheep but, all it did was butt her in the legs – so she gave up. However, there was no sheep or fox to be found come daylight!)
While in the area we visited Swiss native, Emil Inauen. His racing success in the Grand Odyssee and mid-distance races is notable. His dog yard was great to visit and Aliy had a hard time not stealing his, now retired “Superdog”, Leda. (Do you think ChaCha would share the couch?) The puppy pen was a delight. The pups played just outside of the house!
We were very intrigued by the sled building throughout Norway. We were welcomed into Emil’s sled building shop. Allen has been toying around with new sled improvements for his Yukon Quest sled, so this really got his mind reeling. Emil’s sled company is Bewe Sleds (www.bewesleds.com).
We then stopped by the home of Iditarod musher, Hernan Maquieira and his wife, Vanessa Quinche. Vanessa is the General Manager for the Femundlopet (sled dog race). They are training 13 yearlings. The yard was a flurry of dog tails as we approached. The youngsters had just finished their daily romp around the pen. (Good thing! There were probably 500 sheep surrounding the pen and if a dog kills a sheep a musher must pay for the sheep.)
In Norway, we are sure that the fjords are gorgeous and the history is rich. But for us, this country was fantastic because of the welcoming and genuinely adventurous people. (Not too mention the amazing dogs, a few pretty cool cows and two rather bold cats that accompanied us on a morning hike – that’s never happened in Two Rivers!)
Thank you everyone who made of “Tour of Norway” grand!
Mickey’s Musings – Final 2012 Edition
The SP Kennel ‘Family’ members are dedicated to the the pure adventure of an Alaskan lifestyle. It’s amazing to see folks venture to the far north for ‘a few months’ or ‘one racing season’ or ‘just a year’. They get drawn into the arctic rhythm and Alaska becomes home! It’s that sense of adventure calling us to Alaska that undoubtedly encourages us to explore far afield. Example: This summer of 2012 has become SP’s Season of International Adventure.
To those of you living ‘outside’ (Alaska jargon for ‘not in Alaska’), it probably seems that life in rural Alaska, in a self built home, at the end of a two-track, caring for more than 50 canine athletes and anticipating -50 degrees Farenheit in a few months, is pretty exotic and adventuresome. Well, at least it’s extreme!
But our ‘family’ pushed the boundaries this year. Ryne spent the beginning of her summer in Ecuador, visiting her brother and volunteering at a local non-profit. She is now back in Two Rivers, building her own kennel and attending college. As you know Wes accepted a job in Afghanistan helping to keep community development projects on budget. He’ll be there for a year. Last Thursday, Aliy and Allen hopped a flight to Norway! Yup, Norway. There they are featured speakers at an annual symposium in Hakadal, near Oslo, that draws hundreds of mushers from Scandanavian countries. Then on Saturday morning, we put Wendy on a flight to Bangladesh. As an international Red Cross/Red Crescent professional, she will be part of a team administering emergency aide to populations effected by severe flooding. She and Wes plan to meet in Australia in November. She promises to be back in Alaska for the first race of the season in mid December.
This sounds like pure fiction, but it’s all true!
To top it off Doug and I (Aliy’s parents) are closing up our cottage in the woods, just down the two-track from SP Kennel. On Saturday we fly back to our winter digs in Florida. Southern Florida is exotic and international in its own unique way. And it is a long, long way from our summer place in Two Rivers, Alaska.
So what do all these international adventurers have in common? A special home in Two Rivers, AK named SP Kennel.
- Quito, Ecuador to Two Rivers, AK — 5617 miles
- Kandahar, Afganistan to Two Rivers, AK — 5577 miles
- Oslo, Norway to Two Rivers, AK — 3787 miles
- Dhaka, Bangaladesh to Two Rivers, AK — 5626 miles
- Brisbane, Australia to Two Rivers, AK — 7095 miles
- Miami, Florida to Two Rivers, AK — 4821 miles
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| The nucleus of our SP Family, Aliy and Allen |
Mickey’s Musings is signing off for 2012. You’ll hear more from me next year.
Puppy Fun
A little bit of puppy fun in the sun.
The Secrets
There is a little secret lurking in the puppy pen at SP Kennel. Four new canine athletes joined the kennel just 6 weeks ago. Their parents Olivia, SP rockstar, and Nacho, SP jester, have some pretty nifty genes to pass on. The two boys and two girls from this litter are healthy, spunky and already sporting very unique personalities.
In the photos below Aliy introduces Junior, the spitting image of her mom, Lydia, named after a friend, Kodiak and Dutch, named for Horizon Lines’ ports of call in Alaska.
I guess Kennel Mom has just named them the Secret Litter.
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| Junior is Olivia’s little clone |
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| Lydia is a little girl with a big attitude |
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| Kodiak is talkative and friendly |
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| Dutch is a mellow version of daddy, Nacho |