Spring cleaning and such

Spring has certainly sprung at Running Swift Kennel! While we've been lucky in only dealing with about a week or so of mud in the dogyard, there are some remnants of ice/snow hidden under scattered straw, though not much. The main chores in the dogyard will commence this weekend, when I go through each house, clean out all the old straw, and replace it with fresh, dry shavings. Then, I'll need to rake up the loose straw to dispose of. I've already gone through the yard giving everyone a new can for water, as the warmer days allow for fresh water 24 hours/day. The dogs have been switched to their summer diet (the same kibble, just no meat added in) and will be getting brushings/baths as the summer commences. It's great to look out the window and see my babies basking in the sun, enjoying the warm days. Once the trails harden, we'll be able to get out with the dogs, giving them exercise and just frolicking around, having fun.

Summer chores seem endless! With our new house comes a long to-do list: painting, re-staining the logs, redo the deck, build/paint/fix dog houses, build or refurbish the dogboxes for the truck, build new puppy pens, fence off the horse paddocks, etc., etc., etc. Luckily, I plan to take the summer off to spend with the boys, ride the horses and work with the dogs. This will be the first summer off that I've had! I usually either get a job, take classes (almost finished with that Masters degree!) or something. It'll be nice not to have to rush around at all, though I'll have plenty to keep me busy. :o)

Other news: We're getting a new dog from Gerry Willomitzer. Chevy is a NICE dog from Gerry's Black Jack. We've wanted these bloodlines for a while, so we're very excited to have the chance to acquire Chevy. We're planning on doing a breeding this summer, if Zen comes into heat soon enough. I'm working on lining up the stud, though haven't managed that just yet. We were going to breed to Black Jack, but now that we are getting a good, solid son of his, we want to get some of those Mackey lines in the yard. You just can't beat back-to-back wins in the Quest and Iditarod in the same year, with virtually the same dogs!! Folks would be CRAZY not to want to get some of those "iron dog" bloodlines in their kennel.

On the Bear Dog front, we took in a new male Karelian. His name was Bear, but we've changed it to Bane, since we already have a Bear. Bane is a beautiful boy who had an unfortunate accident with a cat when he was a puppy, leaving him partially blind in one eye. That doesn't stop this guy though! He is a sweety, though he hasn't had much training. He is also the grandson of our Alpine and Kiley. We are working with him on basic obedience commands, and may start field work this summer, unless we find a home for him in the meantime. If interested in adopting Bane, contact us at runswift@alaska.net and we'll give you more information.

Happy Spring all!

-Tammi