First sled run of the season!

I took 10 of the A team dogs out on our first sled run of the season today. I loaded up the team and sled and went over to Jodi's, just across the road. We both took our main race team out for a 50 mile run. Everything seemed to go well at first. I had Just & Feather in lead, Dusk & China in swing, Booger & Tricky in team, Inu & Rocket just in front of the wheel dogs, and Jake & Taurus in wheel. I was carrying 2 bags of dog food for some weight, to help keep the speed down. We made it out of the driveway in one-piece and the run started off nicely. Then, about 5 miles into the run, I looked down and see the cross bar at the front of my sled that holds the bed up had broken...the plastic snapped in half. That left the front of the bed hanging down. Not cool! I hooked down to a tree and proceeded to tie the bed up. After a good 20-30 minutes, we were back on our way. Due to the broken cross bar, I dropped a bag of kibble off at Bill's house, to lighten the load in my sled a bit. This seemed to help, as I was able to do a full 50 mile run with the sled.

We were going to run up to Stiles Creek cabin, but didn't want to take any chances with my sled; so, we went out to the rifle range instead. The dogs ran nicely, no problems crossing the three sections of overflow (it's wet and flowing...water was above my ankles), though Colorado Creek was surprisingly nice, and then we made the turn around the range to head back. We stopped the dogs to give them a snack break. I checked/cleaned feet and we just took a break. I was trying to convince Inu that he was supposed to rest, but he just kept barking away. Dusk was also barking, so I put him up in lead to give Just a well-deserved break. We took off and I told Jodi to go ahead. Her dogs were already running 40s, while ours have done 20s on the atv for months. The dogs ran slowly for the first 30 minutes...stopping to poop and pee every so often. I was thinking that we'd never get back! Then, it was like someone threw a switch and they just took off! I was just floored; but, very happy! We caught Jodi at the road crossing where she was waiting for us (only 11 minutes...not bad!) and we headed off again. I stopped the dogs just after Jenny M creek to give the dogs a well deserved pat and checked feet. There were a few ice balls here and there. I noticed that Booger had a scrap on his front foot, and Tricky had a tiny scratch and a raspberry up inside his foot (that's where some ice gets up in there and rubs). So, I bootied those gentlemen right up and off we went. The dogs finished the run slow, but all came in looking good.

I'm very proud of these guys! To do a 50 mile run like that, and do it well, is great! We had some good overflow/ice/water to get through, the road crossing to navigate, as well as a nasty drop onto Jenny M creek (not cool with a broken sled!), several head on passes with other teams and they managed to do it all with no trouble. If we can get my sled fixed in time, we're planning another run, but this time we want to go out to Stiles Creek cabin...another good 50 mile run. I think I'll take 2 different dogs and leave 2 home, to continue with a 10 dog team. It's iffy to run them on a sled, but there are plenty of trees to hook to, and hooks are holding in certain places. Still, it's so much better to be on SLEDS!!! Wahoo!

I'll post some pictures of the run up as soon as we get them downloaded. Later all!

What can go wrong...

Took the B team out today for a longer run down around the lake loop trail. Devlyn decided that he wanted to go with, so we bundled him up and went out to harness dogs. Things went well at first, the dogs were all running well except for Wrangler. She was by herself just behind the swing dogs and appeared really unsure of herself on this run. She'd run well with Banjo on the last run, so I was surprised to see her tail flagging at me and her looking back. We stopped and I put Plato up with her, thinking that might help her confidence; but, this just didn't seem to do it. So, I pulled her back farther in the team and paired her with good ole' Achilles, a very hard working hound who is out of our first hound breeding that we did. Wrangler did a bit better after that, but was still off today. About halfway through the run, Horus popped a neckline...then Banjo did too! How crazy! And these are cable necklines...that should tell you how bad our guys chew at hookup. So, I stopped and replaced necklines...then as we got going again, Munchkin popped the leader neckline off her collar. Ok, no worries. We got that sorted out and Banjo's neckline came unsnapped from the gangline. Devlyn tried to go up and snap it back in, but Banjo was so skittish that he couldn't do it, so I took care of it and off we went. Until we hit the lake. Dutchess wanted to go to the right, even though there was a trail straight across. I went up and pulled Dutchess and Munchkin over to the straight trail, and they jumped back to the right. Up I went again, pulled them over, and off they went to the right. After about 5 times of doing this, I was very frustrated. I pulled Dutchess's harness over, plopped her back on the straight trail (a few choice words in there) and tried to go. Guess what?!? Back to the right she dove. So, I had Devlyn go up to the leaders, pull them over as I got them going. I picked Dev up on the way by and we headed off. Another musher dropped down on the lake at that point running 8 dogs and a toboggan sled. We waved and went on up off the lake. The dogs took a misturn, but this time, Dutchess listened and we got going the right way.

We headed up a ways and I decided that it had been such a screwy run, why not push it? (ha ha ha) So, I put Deez up front with Dutchess. He actually did ok, but he didn't have enough umph to get 9 yr old Dutchess moving faster...which meant that Banjo and Munchkin, the swing dogs, were running up on the leaders. I had to keep the team lined out at a slower pace. Things went ok until we passed the fenced Siberians and Deez all but climbed under the swing dogs. At this time, I just had to laugh. I patiently went up and lined him out, untangling the mess he'd made and off we went home. Then, when Manny tried to secure the front of the team upon our arrival in the dogyard, Deez did an about face, circled around BEHIND the swing dogs, ran out the other side and practically flipped out when Manny caught hold of the leader necklines. Crazy! That entire run was just a mess...but like Andi told me, that's what makes mushers better. It isn't those "perfect" runs, where everything goes smooth and the run is a breeze. It's those runs where good Ole' Murphy rears his ugly head (by the way, I'm convinced Murphey just doesn't like me!) and anything that can go wrong, will. Those crazy runs teach us to handle the unexpected, teach us to be patient, even when it's really hard, and teach us that even sled dogs can have off days.

Good news is that through all of this madness, Jenny actually let me pet her 2 times out there! After the trouble on the lake, I made it a point to walk up the line and pet each and every dog. Jenny usually shies away, but this time, she stood there and let me pet her head! I was so happy, that I gave her extra scritches. Then, a little later when I stopped again, I went up the line and she accepted her pets with the others. At home, she didn't shy away when it was time to unharness and she let me give her scritches again. Talk about progress!!! :o) So, that made the run not quite so bad.

Heading up to the Whites on Friday to run a sled. Should be interesting. Ha ha ha! Ciao!

New snow & new trails

I took the A team out for a run today. I'd planned to just do a shorter run, then head back and run the B team, but that was not to be. The plan was to run up "Oh-My-God" Hill, go up around the Fireline turn, then head back down via "Times Square" and the lake loop trail. Well, Just, who has been running wonderful lead, decided to completely mutiny today when I called a Haw. He KNEW we were supposed to go straight, and even though i walked up and pulled Just and Feather over to the left trail 4 or 5 times...each time I went back to the atv, Just had yanked Feather back over to the straight trail. Unfortunately, each time they would do this, the team yanked the atv farther and farther down the trail (I'm telling you, these guys are scary strong!), brakes locked, in low gear and all. So, eventually, we got to the point that I couldn't get the team turned, as we'd gone too far past the turn off. Grrrr! So, I decided that we'd just go ahead and see the lake trail and then go on through Times Square (tussock central....ugh!) on the way out. Not a bad idea, since I hadn't gone that way before, so it was good to do it in the daylight. Off we went. The dogs were doing a good 14mph down the trail...I was bumping around on the atv and when I called Feather on-by the normal turn, she took it smoothly and off we went across the lake. We hit the other side and I swear, we were in the spin cycle of the biggest washing machine, ever! Those tussocks are horrible!!!! But, we made it through and I even managed NOT to get thrown off the wheeler!

The run up the ridge was actually pretty nice. It's a bit narrow and twisty, with some side hills and trees...but all in all, it's a nice trail. I knew we were going to take some different turns, and since Just decided to mutiny, I took him out of lead and put ole' Taurus up there. He's not the speediest of pups, but he is a good command leader. With that, we went up to the fireline and took the haw to go back towards the barriers when low and behold (no Abbie...it wasn't the Big Guy with bells, tee hee hee)...there was a team of 14 dogs on a Sled! The other musher was just snacking his team, getting ready to go. We exchanged pleasantries...I grilled him on how hooks were holding (his 2 hooks were solid). He said he'd done an 8 hour run just yesterday out along the Winter trail and that hooks are holding alright. Both his team and my team were screaming and slamming harness, so the other musher took off and I gave him a bit of a head start. The dogs were running well, albeit a bit slow. After all, we were plowing through some fresh powder, which made for hard pulling and good ole' Taurus was manning the helm. We missed a turn coming back (musher error, totally), so ended up on another rough section of trail, before heading home. It was only 20 miles, but man, that was some rough, hard pulling and when we got in, the dogs looked great. Inu almost knocked me off my feet when I unhooked him! Jake did the same thing. I decided to let Just go and he headed to his own house. I did the same for several other dogs, because my back was already aching...I didn't need to fall on my butt to add to my misery.

I'm going to get the sled out and break the B team down into 2 smaller teams. It's kinda of hairy getting out of our yard with a sled, so I'm hoping we make it out in one piece. Would be nice, anyway! Stay tuned for up and coming adventures! (Gulp!!)

Merry Christmas and a Ho ho ho!

Merry Christmas!!!

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Things have been wonderful here at Running Swift Kennel and we are truly blessed. The boys got their Christmas wishes in the gifts they received from "Santa." I got a new watch that the hubby said can be used out on the trail (a really nice Indiglo Marathon watch) along with several other wonderful gifts (jewelry, comfy slippers, canisters, etc.). The hubby got his Newcastle United Jersey that I had to send away to England for (my, that was a time getting that!), along with some other Newcastle United items, nice polar fleece pants for mushing, a new heavy flannel hoody, etc. We really made out well this year! We must have been pretty good for Santa to be so kind to us.

We got another Christmas present as we were opening gifts this morning. My biggest wish was for snow...and guess what! It's still coming down, though they are light flakes.

Yesterday, I took the main team out for a nice run and boy did they run strong! They were maintaining between 13-15mph throughout the run, though on hills (we have some doozies!), they did slow to 8-10mph. Can't say I blame them, since the atv is 650lbs, plus me...that's a hefty load for them. But, they did very nicely and came in looking good. Now that we are getting more snow, I think we'll be ok taking small teams out with the sled. I'm really looking forward to it after all of the time on the atv, that's for sure!!! I'll be busy running the dogs now that I have a few weeks off from school, so bear with me on updates and such.

Enjoy the holidays and spending time with loved ones! We hope your holidays are as joyous and blessed as ours.

From: Tammi, Manny, Devlyn, Conor and all the pooches (horses and kitties, too) here at Running Swift Kennel!

Nice running

I took the dogs out yesterday and ran 2 teams of 14 dogs (wow, our dog yard sure has grown!). The A team ran very strong, with Just and Feather leading. Taurus and Plato also joined the A team and are actually managing just fine. I'm not sure how they'll do as we do our longer runs (we do varying runs to keep things interesting, especially since we're STILL on the ATV). I'm not too worried about Taurus, he's a veteran who ran both the Quest and Iditarod; so, he'll have no trouble. Plato is a young guy who hasn't really been out on any type of distance, so I'll probably drop him down to the B team and move someone from the B team up to take Plato's spot. We don't like to push our yearlings very much and usually wait until our dogs, particularly our hounds, are 2 years old before we start taking them on long runs.

The B team only ran 4 miles today. I had Dutchess and Munchkin in lead, but then about half way, I put Spike up front. That wasn't such a great idea. She didn't have a problem being there, but when we slowed down, like on a hill, she'd start messing with Dutchess. So, I pulled her out and put Munchkin back up there. She's really turned into a nice leader. I'm hoping to get her past that 20 mile wall that she kept hitting last year. She works so hard, that she just burns herself out in 20 miles. She has learned to trot this year though, so I think she'll handle the distance just fine. I had Wrangler and Banjo in the rear of the team, just in front of wheel. Banjo, while shy, is a hard charger! She laid into her harness the entire way, had no trouble with speed (I stretched them out at 16mph on a flat stretch) and did the 4 miles without a problem. Wrangler worked well too, seemed to handle the speed, but appeared a bit unsure at times. I think that with more runs/miles, she'll improve. She does have a nice gait. We'll see if she can do the distance as the year goes on.

We picked up a new guy from Andi Huetten over the weekend. Deez is a SMALL little guy, with a big heart. He is about Feather's size (she's the smallest dog in the yard!), looks just like Skuuga (all black, white front legs with little black spots on them) and is a ball of dynamite. I ran him with the B team and he seemed to be driven, except when passing other dogs. Then, he'd become unfocused and nervous. I'm sure time and training will help him with that. Remus is down in Nenana trying out life as a sprinter. He's a GREAT dog and I'll really miss his drive on the A team, but his short coat just isn't good for distance racing. Last year, he ended up with a bit of "nip" in a very sensitive area during our cold snap, so he'll be prone to getting frostbite on those masculine parts again. Ouch!!!

I'm all signed up for the Cantwell Classic, so we're gearing up for that. Think SNOW!! I really, really want to get on sleds before the races! Sheesh!

Here's Taurus. He's a Gee/Haw leader who is hanging out and racing with us this winter. He's off to New Mexico in the spring, and retirement.

Here's the dog yard. Notice how little snow there is on the rooftops of the houses.

Here's Just! He's turned into a GREAT leader! He's such a sweet guy, too.

Is it true? Are those snowflakes?

I'm fairly excited, though trying to keep from getting my hopes up before I actually see it...but it's snowing. :o) True, they are just flurries, but still, it's something. This winter has been truly disappointing thus far. I really hope we can get enough snow for sleds. I'm tempted to load the dogs and head over to the Musher's Hall just to get on a sled, even though conditions are marginal there, at best. Ho hum. Well, at least the dogs are looking good, no injuries (knock on wood!!!) and they have great energy. That's a nice gift in itself.

The Sheep Mountain 150 starts this weekend. I checked out the site and hadn't entered, because I thought that it was full. Looks like there are still a few slots open. Too bad I found out this late...there's just no time to prep for a race now. That's ok. I'm looking forward to the Cantwell Classic, which should be a blast!!

Take care and have fun all! Keep doing those snow dances!!! :o)
-Tammi

This is Wrangler. She is a recent addition and is originally from Dan Kaduce & Jodi Bailey.

Meet Banjo! She just arrived in the yard, and though shy, she's a very nice girl.

Back in training!

It's been a while, but the dogs are back in training and pulling well. All of the dogs are looking much better and the Pursuit/Momentum mix has worked wonders on those few dogs who were thin. It's nice to see these guys with so much energy! They look great, they are running well and they are in high spirits. That's what we strive for.

The Solstice is cancelled (no surprise) due to lack of snow. However, there is a new race on the horizon...the Cantwell Classic that will run from Jan. 12-14, 2007. This race has an excellent venue for the new musher, as well as veteran racers. It is a 200 mile race that runs from Cantwell to Maclaren River Lodge and back to Cantwell, all on the Denali Highway. The race will start at Noon on Jan. 12th, with a restart at Maclaren at 10am on Jan. 13th. This race should be a great learning experience for all, with some nice, smooth trails along the way. I am entering this race with the A team and hope to do well. There is a limit of 30 teams, so if you are thinking of giving this race a try, you'd better get those entries in fast!

Well, I'm off. The dogs will be running 30-40 milers within the next week. It would just be nice to be able to do it on sleds instead of the ATV. Bleh!

Lazy days

Well, almost. I've been home sick with pneumonia for the past 3 days, ugh! To me, there's nothing worse than being regulated to the couch, because you're too weak to do much. Well, I'm determined to return to work tomorrow, and training dogs on Saturday. That's all there is to it.

So, there's really not much to report. All of us are getting over illness, but the dogs have been being fed really well! I swear, these guys eat better than we do! Three meals a day, baited water (especially for the princess of the yard, Feather!), nice thick straw beds inside their houses...now, to just get them out running again. Dutchess was letting us know today in no uncertain terms that she should be running. She barks and jumps on her hind legs, front legs off the ground, at the end of her chain. She always does this when we hook up...but, today she was doing it all by herself. Guess she's saying that the vacation is over!

Manny checked out the alternate trail to the logging roads, and it is so filled with tussocks, that he said he got stuck with the atv. Though, someone is running sleds out there. We've only had about 7 inches of snow, total. By this time, we usually have about 2 1/2 feet! There isn't any snow in the forecast either. So much for the Solstice! Well, there's still hope. Some folks have said that hooks will hold smaller teams (6 dogs), so that's something.

Well, I should sign off, as I'm getting pretty tired. Check back after the weekend, to see how training goes.

-Tammi

Kennel chores

With the atv in the shop, we've been taking care of general kennel chores. I planned to trim nails and such, but couldn't find the clippers! Sad, since we have about 3 pairs floating around somewhere. Of course, we'll find them after I go buy a new pair...that's par for the course. Worming took place, we're scheduling the vet to come out, vaccinations are due, redid straw (again!), change out snaps/hooks, etc. There are many chores that need to be completed around the kennel regularly; so, we try to make the best of our situation...ie. little/no snow coupled with no atv, then we'll do those other "little" things that need doing from time to time.

Good news is that I woke to some more of that white stuff falling from the sky and about an inch on the porch. Yay!! Even though it's not much, I'll take what I can get. Doing the snow dance!! Paxson saw several inches dumped on them over the weekend, so there is ALWAYS hope.

We added 3 new dogs to the kennel this weekend. Plato comes to us from Cassia Condon, while Wrangler and Banjo come to us from Marya Lewanski. Marya took on Limo and is trying Rondy out in her sprint team. Both dogs should do well for Marya and I look forward to hearing how they run with her. I'll get pictures of our new additions up over the next few days. In the meantime, check back often and keep those doggies rollin'!

ATV troubles

The ATV is still in the shop, getting the front ball joints replaced. We were supposed to have it back to train today, but then we were told that we wouldn't get it until Monday. It really stinks that we have the dogs training really well and now we have to put training on hold. So, the dogs have had a week off now. Not that it will matter much if we don't get some snow soon. The Tune up was cancelled and now we're facing the Solstice being cancelled for the 2nd year in a row, if we don't get a fair amount of snow in the next 2 weeks. We had a teaser yesterday, but now there is no snow in the forecast, at least for the next week. Ho hum.

We have a few new additions in the yard, completely filling every available spot. Plato came to us from Cassia Condon, so he's going to give distance running a try. Tomorrow, we're going to pick up two different dogs, as Limo and Rondy are going to go a' sprinting. We have a couple of very good race dogs available, as we really want to be around 25 dogs. Check out our kennel site at www.noatak.com under the Kennel directory if you are interested in some quality dogs. Also, don't forget that the Second Chance League has many quality sled dogs just waiting to be adopted.

Wishes DO come true...

Well, it's not much, but it sure is a start! I was so thrilled to wake up to those beautiful flakes falling from the sky, creating a wonderous landscape of freshly fallen powder. The hush as I opened the door came over me, only to be broken up by the "crunch, crunch" of my footfalls as I walked to the garage.

I LOVE it when it's snowing! Thank you, Mother Nature! Now, we need a foot or so more, and I can check that off our Kennel Wishlist. :o)