SLED DOGS and MUSHERS

 

 

 Usually the symbols on those roadside "Visitor Services" signs will tell you about lodging, campgrounds, food, fuel, maybe shopping …  but it took a while to learn that this one means 'dog-sleds'.  Only in Alaska.

 Sled dog racing is a big part of the Alaska culture.   Mushers (almost anywhere around the State) may open their kennels to visitors and sometimes take tourists on a 'training run' during the summer.  

 

We visited the Iditirod Race Headquarters in Wasilla.  Below is a team  waiting to take a practice summer run.  These dogs live to run and were so happy when they got to start.    The only time these dogs barked was when the musher switched a few of the dogs from resting to pulling.  Then the ones who were switched in looked at the ones they replaced and said 'ha ha my turn now'.  (We both swear that's what they said!)

 

 The  musher (dog owner/trainer) here at Wasilla was the son of Joe Redington, the man who revived the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.  

The Race begins on the first Saturday in March.  All dogs must have a medical checkup and a clean bill of health before beginning.  Mushers must have between 12 and 16 dogs to start and must finish with at least six dogs on the towline.  

  The sled used today is the same design that was used by Alaska's Native people centuries ago.

There are three mandatory stops.   One 24-hour layover whenever the musher chooses, one 8-hour layover somewhere on the Yukon and an 8-hour layover at White Mountain checkpoint.

 

There are additional checkpoints every so often and at each one the musher must present a notebook to the Veterinarian on duty.    The notebook records  how much the dogs are eating, drinking, how they are running and a whole list of other things the Vet looks at before giving each dog a thorough check.  (If the dog doesn't pass it, or just doesn't want to run any more, he will be trucked back and that is how a musher may end up with fewer dogs than what he or she started with.)

 

There's a whole list of things each team must carry.  One of the most interesting was eight booties for each dog.  These are little colored socks to keep their feet warm.  

We learned that  Colleges of Veterinary Medicine (not just in Alaska) have had researchers studying these dog teams for many years.  One thing that I remember hearing  was that they learned the importance of Omega Threes to a dog's diet.   These dogs have enviable heart rates!

 

These dogs are well-loved and well cared for.  And they are also trained and highly skilled athletes.  We enjoyed learning a little more about them. 

 

FOR:  OUR WORLD on TUESDAY and next week's SATURDAY CRITTERS (if I am able to link; we may be out of cell-phone reach next weekend.).

Thank you to the hosts.