Running Swift Kennel

New Blog Site

2007-10-30T14:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, since I'm slowly changing our kennel name and things back, that means that I've also had to start a new blog! So, here's the link to that one. I'll begin posting there, as I build the new site. Bear with me during the "construction" please!! Thanks!

http://RogueSummitKennel.blogspot.com/

Training report

2007-10-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

Training goes forward, with the A team about ready to jump up in miles. We like to do a couple of hard runs, with the dogs pulling the wheeler the whole way without help. When they come in looking good, then we up the mileage by a few miles. We alternate between hard, pulling runs and interval runs, where they speed up, then slow down, then pull hard, then run along. All of these are important for conditioning and muscling the dogs. Too much heavy work, and the dogs bulk up, slowing them down. Too much speed work, and the dogs don't build the muscles/endurance they need for the hill work or hard pulling they will see on races. It's imperative that the musher try to present every possible scenario that the team will see on a race; that way, the dogs (and musher!) are prepared for what's to come.

Manny has been rotating leaders in and out on each run. Yesterday, Dusk and Just took a turn in lead, working well and pulling hard together. Today, the B team goes out and I think he's planning on running Dutchess with Munchkin, or Riley, or Torus, or ? ? ? I'll find out later. ;o) Next run for the A team (if there's time today), he wants to put Sunshine in lead to see how he'll do. He was super slow last year, compared to our other leaders...so we'll see. Sunshine handles any speed in the team but tends to slow down in lead. Weird, but true. Temps are about 37F today...pretty warm. So, I imagine that the B team will be S-L-O-W. However, our trails have been groomed by our local sprint musher (Thanks, Mike!), so the dogs will now be running on hard, fast trail. Good training all around.

We've been discussing our kennel name and have decided to revert back to our original name, "Rogue Summit Kennel". We changed it upon moving to Alaska/Two Rivers...as there weren't any "summits" close-by. Our name derived from one of our first huskies, a beautiful red & white siberian named Rogue. He was a fantastic dog, a good friend and a good sled dog. Sadly, he passed away on the operating table, after a routine surgery. It broke our hearts, as Rogue was like one of our children. So, due to the combination of losing our guy and moving from the Bitteroot Mountains to Two Rivers, Alaska; we changed to Running Swift Kennel. However, now we've started seeing are a LOT of kennels with the "Running" theme. Also, we'd like to remember our good buddy, Rogue and at times, we feel like "rogues" ourselves. ;o) So, I'll slowly be switching our kennel name back to the original "Rogue Summit". Bear with me though...there are a lot of places where I'll need to change it!

-Tammi

Fox Hats and Beaver Hats

2007-10-26T22:17:00.000-08:00

Devlyn wanted to model my new Red Fox hat. Nice, eh? I was being a total girl when I got it!

Here's Conor wearing his brother's beaver hat. He wanted to try on a fur hat, too!

Winter Time

2007-10-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

There is just something to the great Northland. Man is it pretty out there! When I walked outside in the early morning hours, the luminous moon shed its silvery light across the newly fallen snow. The hush in the air excited me...like the Earth was holding her breath in anticipation of a new day, like that first present on Christmas morn. I started the car to warm it before my trek to town and headed back to the porch. As I gazed up, I was thrilled to see the starburst pattern of a few buds of the aurora, opening up into ribbons that spread across the sky. No matter how long I'll live, I'll never get over the wonder and beauty of watching the Northern Lights as they perform their ballet across that indigo stage. Breathtaking! Aww...it's a good day to be alive and living in the North.

Training is going well. The dogs are getting conditioned for the upcoming season, hard pulling; but, great for them. The trails have about 9 inches of mushy snow, like porridge and the warm temps make it hot for the furrier huskies in the team. Flashbacks to the Cantwell Classic!! Ha ha ha! However, it's great to get some trail breaking in and get the dogs used to soft, punchy trails. Then, we'll just need to alternate between those and the hard, fast trails to prevent injuries this year. All in all, things are looking good. Zen & Feather led the team for today's run, even though both girls have been giving Manny fits. Guess they figured out that their girly antics weren't going to work....that Manny was going to make them lead regardless of a heat cycle or not. Both girls led wonderfully, not giving Manny a single problem today. In fact, even with the soft trails, Manny said that the dogs really picked up on the run, doing even the rough section of trail faster than normal. Right on!! :o) These veteran dogs never cease to amaze me.

ADMA Symposium 2007

2007-10-21T22:08:00.000-08:00

The Symposium was a LOT of fun this year! I was pretty much camped out there, though a few club members were great and took a turn or two at the TRDMA table. We had several memberships, a few folks got race packets for either the Solstice, the Two Rivers 200 or both and we sold several t-shirts. All in all, a good weekend. Oh, and we sold the Arctic Oven tent within the first hour! Too cool.

I had a great time at the Quest Birthday party, as well as the ADMA auction on Saturday night. Got to catch up with lots of friends all weekend. I had to give Gerry my usual ration of "Scheiße" (hope I spelled that right, Gerry). ;o) Just kidding! It's always fun to joke around and talk with Gerry. It was great to see Laura & Tamra, as well as Sebastian, Hans and many others. It was also fun to catch up with local friends, such as Aliy & Allan, Lance, Benedikt, Jessica & Tom, Judy & Devan, most of whom I only see on the trails in passing, or on races. It's funny, because a lot of us live within a 10 mile radius of each other. Such as Jessica and Tom...we live just 2 miles from them and we all run the same trails...yet we usually only talk at length at Symposium or at local races. I guess we're all just too busy working/running dogs.

Oooo...I have to share a great deal I got this weekend! Ever since my beaver hat got washed (don't ask!), I've needed a new fur hat. But, I just got by with a rabbit fur hat. That worked fine, until I was on the Quest trail and it got soaking wet with condensation. So, there I was, just 2 tables down from Julie Collins's table, with all of her beautiful furs, hats, mitts, etc. I couldn't take it anymore, and decided that it was past time for me to have a new hat. I looked through them all, and I loved the wolf and marten. But talking with Julie, I wanted something durable, yet warm. I've always had beaver hats, so of course I looked at that. Quite beautiful, but a tad big on me. I could've lived with that though, and just put my hair in a ponytail. But then, I tried on the red fox. It was so SOFT and luxurious! Truly beautiful. I couldn't decide at all, so I asked Julie. She suggested the fox...and even gave me a bit of a break on it...so how could I say no? I LOVE it! I have to admit that I was being a "Girl"...because it's really pretty, looks good on me (a plus) and even matches my parka and sled bag! Ha ha ha! Then, I had to show it off. I was like a little kid, giddy with excitement. But, I rarely splurge on myself...it's always for the boys or my hubby. This was just for me, and I felt a bit sinful getting the hat. But, I really did need a new fur hat. ;o) I'll post pics up later...I'm off to bed. The weekend was fun to visit, but I'm beat! Laters.....
-Tammi

Crossing Eagle

2007-10-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

There's Dusk there on the right, leading over Eagle Summit for Eric Butcher in 2006. Immediately behind Dusk is Torus, and Rocket is back there by the sled, the dark dog with his tail up. I'll be glad to have these three veterans with me, when we run the 08 Quest 300 this season! It's coming!

Truckin' Along with Chevy

2007-10-13T12:48:00.000-08:00

Chevy is doing so well with us! We originally bought Chevy from Gerry to be a wheel dog with our A team. We really need a wheel dog to match Inu, who works hard and really does well "steering" the sled. But, Zen, one of our main leaders has come into heat. She wasn't taking commands and wouldn't take the turns Manny wanted her to take (he went longer with the team, requiring them to take a different trail). So, he took her out of lead and put Chevy in lead with Dusk. He said those boys took every single command without question! How exciting!!! He said that he really thinks Chevy could be a very nice leader. Right on!

Now, we're working on expanding the horse paddock, well...Manny, Jimmy & Devlyn are right at this moment. ;o) A really nice Percheron/Quarterhorse gelding named Sampson, needs a new home. He's a well trained horse, who has been ridden and packed all over Alaska. He's also a dynamite kid's horse! He's big...bigger than Bismark, but a very nice gentleman. Therefore, we really had to make the pen MUCH bigger to accomodate this guy. We hope to be done by tomorrow, so that we can bring Sampson home. Lots of things happening. It always seems like there's more and more work to do. Ho hum. And Manny is STILL working! We are ready for him to be done for the winter, as the dogs are running nicely and we need to concentrate on them full time at this point. We have several races that we want to do this year, so it's definitely time to 'get cracking'. Here's the run-down for this season: Solstice 100 (Manny), Cantwell Classic 200 (Tammi), Don Bowers 300 (Manny), Yukon Quest 300 (Tammi), and the Chatanika 200 (Manny). As you can see, we have a full schedule! Good thing we have 28 dogs in training right now! And, I'm comfortable saying we have about 22-24 dogs capable of racing. Excellent!

Well, I'm off to help haul logs and put up rails. Have a great day everyone!
-Tammi

Upping mileage and Jury Duty

2007-10-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

Well, the race dogs have bumped up in mileage and they STILL came in barking. Man, that's nice to see!!! I planned on taking the B team out today, but I had jury duty and was selected for a jury. So, I had to run back to my classroom in order to prep for a sub. Of course, it's never that smooth...turns out that I'm going to miss some meetings, so I had to fill out forms to cover my absence, straighten my desk, get supplies ready to do projects, etc. Needless to say, no running today. That's ok though. I do have to say it was NICE to come home to fed dogs! Jimmy was in the yard when we pulled up, finishing up on the watering. Now, THAT is cool!! He's also going to help run dogs. Yea, buddy!

Other news, Chevy ran in lead for the first time. He came in looking nice, wagging his tail. I think he was just waiting for us to run him in lead. He's been shy since we got him from Gerry....now he's doing better. Feather was acting up in lead, not taking commands, tangling the team...so Manny switched her out. I think she does it to him because she knows he'll get tired of it and take her out of lead. He said as much after a run...so little Miss "Ice Princess" will be in for it on the next run. Hee hee hee! I think I'll be taking 12 dog teams from now on, as the snow has made the turns slicker than normal. These dogs are really looking nice!! :o)

I'm off to bed...jury duty comes early. Laters!
-Tammi

Running yearlings

2007-09-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

I took the B team out and ran the 3 yearlings for the first time. Odin and Zeus took to it like they were old pros. At hook up, they stood there, waiting to go. No twisting and jumping. Way cool! Peiper, though, decided to snap at Plato. I was a bit worried, because I was afraid Plato would just lay into the pup...but, to my surprise, Plato just tried to get over away from Peiper. Before take off though, Herod, old dog that he is, decided to mix it up with Riley back in wheel. Herod ended up with a strip of skin missing off of the top of his nose. Man did it bleed! I wasn't going to take him...but Manny got a paper towel, cleaned it and I saw that it was missing a bit of skin. Well, maybe that would teach Herod to leave Ri-ri alone. It must have...Herod didn't pull any more shenanigans for the rest of hookup or the run. Odin and Zeus pulled fantastically! From the start, they were laying into their harnesses and pulled great. Peiper necklined a bit for the first 1/8-1/4 mile...but soon figured it out and started running nicely as well. I kept the dogs down to about 7-8 miles an hour, not letting them go over 10 mph during the run. They worked hard and came in looking good. It's harder for us at this point, as Manny is still working...so we're having to run after work. He doesn't get home til about 7:30pm, which is just about the kids' bed time. A good thing though, is that my brother, Jimmy is moving up here on Friday, so he'll be around to help run dogs. What a relief until Manny is off of work for the season and back to running dogs full time.

Laters all! I did get some pictures...though Devlyn took them with the regular film camera and not the digital. So, you'll have to wait for pics! Ok, off to get dinner. Phew!

Running in the mud

2007-09-22T22:08:00.000-08:00

Manny took the dogs out today, well, at least 14 of them. Of course, since I'd just sewed up the 4 harnesses that had been chomped; Sunshine decided to chomp another one while we hooked up the rest of the team. Danged dog!!! And while all of the other dogs, though very rambunctious, didn't do any damage to gear or themselves...Sunshine decided to also chomp on Jericho. I guess we moved too slow for him, so in his frustration, he kept laying into Jericho, his partner. Luckily, there was no blood letting. The dogs did well, though I guess Just decided that he didn't want to pass by another team, so ended up balling the whole team up. I guess he's back to his old bull-headed stuff again this season. By the end of last season, he was taking commands nicely and running great lead. This fall, he's back to going where HE wants to go. "Oh, you said Gee? I don't think so! Whose the lead dog around here, huh?" I can just see him saying that, if he could talk. What a booger! Speaking of Booger....he and Ahab went out of here as white dogs...they came back brown. Manny said that the rain yesterday (or day before?) left big old mud puddles along the trail. That's ok...good to keep the dogs cool. But, so much for my white dogs!!! Ha ha ha! We'll see how Spike, Banjo and Odin look tomorrow. I'll try to remember to grab the camera and snap some photos.

Rabies clinic in the morning. Manny didn't want to put the dog boxes on the truck just yet, as we still have to haul hay in a week or so. Jodi was going to loan us her box to just put on top of the truck bed...but it wasn't wide enough. So, we're going to be using kennels. Yay! So much for looking professional, eh? Ha ha ha! Oh well! At least they'll get their rabies vaccines, no matter how we get 'em there. ;o)

Jake is BACK!!

2007-09-08T23:23:00.000-08:00

Jakers is back! He has been missing from Leonora's dogyard since June. Jake retired from racing this year and as promised, went back to Leonora, his original owner. But, just about a week or so after arriving, Jake went missing. It looked as if someone had let him off of his chain, but we'll probably never know. Jake wasn't one to wander. He got loose at our house once and stayed right in the dogyard. However, he disappeared back in June and though many of us looked high and low, he wasn't found. Until today. Actually, it was on August 21st that Animal Control picked him up, in the same area that he dissapeared from. He was well fed and looked cared for. A mix up with his paperwork (he'd been listed as female on the paperwork) and a miss in the shelter database (they revamped their missing dog reports in July, which meant that since Jake had been reported in June, he was not entered in the new report) which all resulted in them not realizing that Jake was our missing dog. I happened by the shelter today and as soon as I saw Jake, with his little black scar across the top of his nose, I knew we'd found him. Ironically, my son Devlyn had just mentioned Jake this morning, and I said that I doubted we'd ever know what happened, since he'd been missing for so long. Then, lo and behold, there he is on house G in the shelter dog yard. I immediately looked closer to verify that this dog was our missing Jakers....then, went to the front desk to tell them that this was our missing dog. I asked if they found a Quest microchip and my #3 Quest tag on his collar. They said they sure did. Righteous! We'd found Jake. They allowed me to spring Jake from the shelter so that I could take him back home to Leonora's (a promise is a promise).

At first, I was very worried, as Jake wasn't very responsive and even looked sick (though he's really FAT). I got him to the car, and the boys and I just kept talking to him. Within 5 minutes, he started resting his nose on my shoulder (he was sitting in the back seat, just behind me). Then, he was responding to his name, kept nudging me and Devlyn to pet him and by the time we'd got him to Leonora's, he was jumping on me again, giving me hugs. What a happy dog he was to be home!! We are so very thankful that this old guy is safe and sound now. He's been missing for 3 months! We'd all but lost hope of finding him. Then, there he was. I wanted to bring him home with us....but, he's a retired Quest dog and he was promised to go back to Leonora, his original owner once he retired. So, he's now back and happy.

Moral of the story? Never give up. Something told me to go check the shelter, even though I hadn't been there in a few weeks. I'm glad I listened to that voice, because it was already late afternoon and I had thought that perhaps we should just head home. But, I listened to my instincts and found our boy. I guess I should have never doubted him...Jake's a tough, Quest dog. I'm so happy he's home!! Right on!!

Wes Rau Clinic

2007-09-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

Just finished the 2 day clinic that TRDMA organized with Wes Rau. Originally, there was to be a 2 day Basic class and a 2 day Advanced class...but, we didn't have enough folks for both classes. So, we trimmed it down to a 2 day intense course. I have to say that for all those who missed it...you really missed out on an incredible opportunity. With 10 of us there, Wes was able to do a lot more hands-on and one-on-one training with all of us. That really made a big difference and we were able to learn a LOT about our dogs, how to diagnose problems, and then how to FIX them! If I'd known half of what I learned this weekend when I ran the Quest 300 last February, we would have been able to finish...and probably with most of my dogs, too. We learned how to diagnose shoulder issues, neck/back issues, wrist issues, and hip issues. Then, Wes walked us through how to help/fix each one. I gained so much, that I feel truly confident that I can now help avoid and/or alleviate joint issues...or at least figure out what is going on with my dogs if I see one of them start to limp, or pull funny, etc.

I took Radar the first day, as I thought he'd be a bit calmer and such. Turned out the opposite and he became Spazzoid dog! Plus, while working on shoulders, we found out that pointers tend to have straighter and even thicker bones/joints. I had a real hard time trying to get a scapula lift on him (though my partner, Jillian got it right away). So, knowing that we'd work on wrists today, I took Feather with me. I found out quickly that she truly hated to be put down on her side...which meant that we ended up with a squirming ball of fury most of the time. My partner had to leave right after lunch, so I was on my own working with the Ice Princess. Turned out to be the best thing that could've happened. I not only got Feather to lay down...but was able to do the techniques that we learned today. Then, because I didn't have a partner that needed to do the techniques, I was able to practice all of the things that we learned yesterday as well! This resulted in a dog that became relaxed and at ease. I could actually see and feel her relax/get more flexible as I worked on her. It was great! I am so glad that I went ahead and did the clinic. I feel more confident that I'll be able to care for my dogs 10 times better than I have in the past. Right ON!!! And, handling Feather on my own was great practice, because it'll be just me out on the trail...so it is good to know that I managed to work with Feather by myself. :o)

Here's the litte "Ice Princess" looking very satisfied after a well earned treat.

Well, I'm off because the clinic was intense and I'm beat. Happy Labor's Day to All! Cheers!

Hunting Season Starts Tomorrow

2007-08-31T20:54:00.000-08:00

Well, the guys are off at their moose camp, hoping to score for the season. Keeping the fingers crossed here at home. I'm hoping the weather starts to cool off soon. The mornings are cool enough, but when you have to be at work early in the morning, it's just not possible to train dogs at that point. So, evenings it is. The weatherman is saying the first frost could hit tonight in the low lying areas. We're more up on a hill, but still...it's great to hear that the colder temps ARE coming. Lots of plans this winter...we now need Mother Nature to cooperate.

My Intern is GREAT and it seems to be a good fit. I hope that I help her on her road to being a good teacher. It's rather odd to think about me having an intern, particularly since I can remember being in her position not too many years ago. It is pretty cool! And, the coolest thing is that she will take over my classes right when I'm racing this season. That definitely works!

Well, I'm off. It's been a long week and I have to be up early in the am for the Wes Rau clinic at Mushers Hall. As soon as we start training, I'll try to post more frequent updates on here. Not too much happening at this point...just waiting for the coolness to arrive.

Later!

First day back at work

2007-08-13T22:19:00.000-08:00

Today was my first work day back at school. I'm looking forward to a great school year. I have a wonderful intern who will be observing my classroom, lessons and other teachers in the building, while she's learning "the ropes". This program is good in that it gets teachers-in-training in the class so that they learn in a hands on environment. I was very glad to have been able to be with a great mentor teacher, as I learned a lot more than I ever could have from books and lectures. Right on!

The weather is getting cooler....I'll be glad when it freezes, as the little gnats are driving us crazy! And it'll be nice to get out with the dogs...though that will be a little tricky while Manny's still working so much. We're hoping they'll back off a little on the hours so that we won't be out there at 9pm running the dogs...but if that's what we have to do, so be it. We hear our neighbors back behind us hooking up, already starting their fall training. I'm anxious to get out there...but have to get that darned atv stuff done. Grrrr.

I'm off. Have a good one and get out there with those doggies!
-Tam

Future cowboy

2007-08-06T20:18:00.001-08:00

Ride em, Conor! This is Conor up on Bismark. Yes, that's Manny behind Bizzy's head...that shows you how big Bismark has gotten. Manny is 6'1".

Quest signups, the fair and other happenings

2007-08-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

Opening day for sign up at the Yukon Quest Cache!!

This has been a whirl wind week, as it usually is right before school starts up again. Devlyn and I have been helping out at the fair, which started last Friday. Then, Saturday was CRAZY! We had Quest signups at 9am, then a soccer game at 10am, then the Pet show at the fair at 1pm. We were running from here to there, getting things done.

Here I am with Devlyn and Kim, being the first to sign up for the 2008 Yukon Quest 300. It's official! I'm hoping that this third time on the trail will be a success (I tried to run the race back in 2003, but we had so many problems that I never made it to the startline and had to withdraw). In 2006, the blizzard took us out on Rosebud Summit. In 2007, the trail was an icy highway after we had been training through powder, breaking trail all season, which put us out at McCabe Creek, just 90 miles from the finish. The dogs just had too many injuries, and though I was managing them, the vet said it just wasn't good. On a positive note, I've gained tons of experience and feel sooo ready to hit the trail for a successful season. :)

Devlyn's soccer team won their tournament...I mean they won EVERY game! It was great to see those boys working together out on the field. They really came together as a team this season...right on!! Devlyn is so proud of the medals that they all got. Very cool!

Now, I'm hoping to just enjoy my last week of summer, before I start work next Monday. It's hard to believe that the summer is about over, at least for me. But, that means that it's time to start running dogs again!!! :) Yahoo! We could have done so today, as it's a nasty, raining, chilly day. Unfortunately, the whole household is in various stages of illness...I have achy joints and sinuses; Manny has a sore throat, achy body and headaches; Devlyn is getting over strep throat; and Conor has a case of snail trails (really snotty nose...but don't you love the visual you get from snail trails?? Tee hee hee!!). It figures!! Still, the lows are supposed to be in the mid to upper 40s this week. So, it's time to do the maintenance on the ATV, get the ganglines and harnesses out to go over, and scout the trails. ;o)

Ciao!!

Golden Days Parade

2007-07-23T22:37:00.000-08:00

Here is a great picture that Tania Simpson (new Quest Director) sent of our "float" in this year's Golden Days Parade. Julie was in lead with Sammy and then in swing is my little leader Feather and myself. Devlyn is sitting in the front seat of the cart (blue shirt) holding one of Ken & Gwen's pups (that's Ken in wheel to the right). Tania is at the helm of this "dog team". She did finally get the commands down! :o)

It is really fun to do this event each year. As a musher, I usually can't volunteer much in the winters, as I'm out on the trails, running in the races. However, summers will find me helping out wherever I can. It's important for us to remember that we have to give back to these great organizations (Yukon Quest, Two Rivers Dog Mushers, etc.), or we won't have the wonderful races to run each year. I usually have a great time volunteering at booths, for events, etc., because it allows me to talk to people about something I truly love...running dogs. It doesn't get much better than that. If you can't run the dogs, then the next best thing is talking about running the dogs. ;o)

-Tammi

My Arabian buddy...

2007-07-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

This is my gorgeous Arabian gelding, Druid. He sure is a beauty, isn't he? His dapples get better and better each year. Dru is 7 years old now...we've had him since he was a yearling. He's my boy!

It's been a very nice summer so far. Hot and sunny, though we've been getting plenty of rain (mainly in the late afternoons/evenings). We got the yardwork done today, so now I can see the dogs again! Ha ha ha! It looks soooo much better. We actually have a yard instead of a jungle! Next is to fence off the area (behind Druid in the picture) for the horses. Manny is working so much that we just haven't been able to get the permanent fencing up...so, we figured we'll do the wide, electric tape fencing for now, then get the permanent wood fence up later.

The parade was a blast! Ken Anderson brought his big cart, along with harnesses and we all "harnessed up" and hooked into the gangline to "mush" our way downtown. Devlyn helped hold the pups that Gwen brought, while he rode in the cart. We had Feather with us, so we put a harness on her as well; so, Feather and I were the "swing" dogs during the parade. It was hot; but, Donna really pulled through for us and was our "water girl" throughout, making sure Feather, Sammy (Julie's pooch) and all of us "sled dogs" were well hydrated. It was a lot of fun! Hopefully I'll get some pictures to follow soon. Until then, enjoy your summer and don't forget to hug your kids (both the 2 legged & 4 legged variety)! :o)

Summertime, summertime...

2007-07-20T21:32:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Bismark, our Percheron getting tacked up for his very first ride down the road. He did GREAT! He's turned into a beautiful, BIG boy.

Sorry for the long delay on updating the blog. I was off in New Orleans at a Education Conference, learning LOTS to bring back to school. Hard to believe that summer is on it's way out...boo hoo! I'm really enjoying summer this year...no classes, no work, nada! Just me, the boys, the dogs, the horses and the sunshine. You GOTTA love that! ;o) I have to confess that I've been rather lazy, not getting much done. But you know what? Life's too short to worry about it. Building great memories with the boys are more important than getting projects done. The work will be there tomorrow, or the next day. The kids are only kids once.

The puppies are growing and are more rambunctious everyday. We've named them: Hale (the male pup), Storm (his twin sister) and Rain (the dark colored female). We've started taking them out for walks around the yard and all three are little lovers and very outgoing pups. I think that this is a fantastic breeding! I'm bummed that we didn't get to do the breeding between Zen and Zorro...but that's ok. We can always do it next spring. In the meantime, we have Hiltey and Chevy, two VERY nice males who we hope are excellent additions to the kennel.

I have to get pictures developed and get more photos on the digital so you can all keep up with us here in Two Rivers. We've been having 80F, beautiful summer days. While I was gone, the grass grew like crazy...so we're doing yard work again this weekend. The veggies that I planted are really flourishing! We've already eaten some lettuce and broccoli...next are tomatoes as there are a couple starting to ripen...and green peppers on the plants, along with cucumbers! Wahoo! I'm not very good at gardening...so this is pretty cool. ;o)

Well, more to come...but I'm going to sign off for now. Devlyn & I are going to be in the Golden Days Parade tomorrow morning, supporting the Yukon Quest. So, look for us along the route...our "float" is like number 55 or something. You won't be able to miss it. :o)

-Tammi

Chevy has arrived!

2007-06-29T23:02:00.000-08:00

Today, Devlyn, Conor and I took a trip down to Tok to meet Gerry Willomitzer, who was on his way to Anchorage for a BBQ at Martin Buser's...and Iditarod signups and BBQ tomorrow. We bought Chevy from Gerry a few months ago, but had to figure a way to get him up here. This worked out nicely, as it was a beautiful day...the boys and I had a fun drive (we counted 5 moose and a possible bear out on one of the rivers), had lunch in Tok at Fast Eddy's, Gerry dropped Chevy off with us and then we headed back (after a refreshing ice cream cone...Chevy didn't like it much). Chevy is a beautiful black and white husky...about 50 lbs with 4 white feet and a white stripe down his nose (as you can see from his photo). He was a bit shy and wasn't sure about us and riding in the car, but he took it in stride and soon settled down on the floor (he was riding shotgun, but decided he liked to lay under the dash on the passenger side better). This actually worked out, because it was really hot and though I had the vents going and windows down, poor Chevy was HOT. I put the air on the floor and it came out nice and cool. Chevy finally stopped panting and dozed.

I didn't get the camera out for some new pictures yet, as it was threatening to thunderstorm, so I rushed to get the chores done outside, then get dinner made by the time Manny got home from work. But, I'll try to get some tomorrow night. Chevy is out of Gerry's main leader/stud Black Jack (Gatt) and Blue (Gatt). I'll post Chevy's lines on my Noatak site as soon as Gerry gets back home and emails them.

Dutchess is doing fine and seems to have recovered from her bout of bloat the other night. I'm still being very careful with her and staying right with her as she eats, to make sure that she doesn't spill her food. I'm going to get her a spill proof bowl tomorrow. The puppies look great! I got them to drink some water tonight. I'm going to start them on soaked kibble tomorrow, since they are showing interest in food and water now. I had to put a ramp on the pup house, because 2 of them crawled out and were toddling around on the ground. They truly are outgoing pups!

Well, I'm off to bed. All that driving really wipes a person out. Check back for pics and updates! Ciao!

-Tammi

Puppy pictures!!

2007-06-27T23:10:00.000-08:00

Dutchess and Dusk really produced some beautiful pups together. And boy are they big! What little honkers they are! They are toddling around and are ready to start eating some mushy kibble. I like to also put dried milk, or milk replacer in with the kibble. They will also be getting wormed, along with Dutchess. I want to wait a little bit before I do that though, because of Dutchess being on antibiotics...I don't want to add any more stress on her or the pups' systems.

Hello, World! Here's Dutchess and her babies. This is one of the girls (the bigger one of the 2 girls), making her way towards me when she heard my voice. They are so cute!!

Here's Dutchess's only boy with our resident Puppy Manager. Devlyn is so great with puppies and he's doing a wonderful job socializing them. Conor likes to help, too when we bring the pups in the house for "social hour".

And last but not least, Dutchess's other little girl pup. She was the smallest of the 3 pups, but now she's the most outgoing of the bunch. She decided to climb out of the pup house today. She's the first to head toward us and is just a little lover.

We haven't decided on names yet. We'll figure their names out as their personalities emerge. They sure are some nice looking puppies and we are so happy to have them. It'll be great to watch them grow and develop. I know that they'll turn out to be great sled dogs, just like their parents. :o) Cheers!

Bloat Emergency!

2007-06-27T22:35:00.000-08:00

Dutchess really scared the crap out of me last night! I went out to check on her and the pups before bed (around 11pm). I noticed that her belly was a little swollen...I listened to her stomach and heard normal gut sounds. Plus, when she walked, I could hear water sloshing. She acted alright, but I didn't feel right. I searched through the First Aid info for information on bloat. Within 30 minutes, I heard Dutchess start to whine and she tried retching, but only foam came out. I knew she was bloating and according to all of the literature on bloat, it says that you have to get the dog to the vet within minutes, or relieve the pressure. Tubing was recommended, but that was out, as I didn't have the equipment. The other steps were to administer simethicone (vet recommends 1mg per pound of body weight), and relieve some of the pressure with a syringe. So, that's what I did, though I didn't use a large gauge needle, as I was worried about perforating the stomach wall, allowing fluid to leak out, causing more problems. I did get some liquid and then air out, which seemed to help Dutchess a little and bought some time. At that point, I was on the phone to the After Hours Vet and we were in the car.

Upon arrival, Dutchess's stomach had bloated so big, that it looked like someone had inflated a ballon in her abdomen. It was really hard and sounded like a drum when you tapped it. The vet went over the possible outcomes, from a simple bloating/air to torsion and dead tissue/damaged organs. Luckily, there is a blood test that indicates if there is dead tissue, or if a tube might relieve the pressure. Her blood work looked good, which meant that she probably didn't have a twisted gut. The vet and vet techs were AWESOME! I was able to assist and stay with Dutchess the entire time. We tubed her, and she immediately belched. They flushed her stomach a couple of times and discovered some gravel. Dr. Lane figures that Dutchess spilled her food on the ground and inadvertently ate some gravel with the food, which irritated her stomach, causing her to drink a LOT of water. She's not a rock eater and never had a problem before this. Dutchess recovered nicely and is doing fine now. She had her oatmeal with her kibble this morning, her antibiotic and a dose of simethicone. I’ll be keeping a close eye on her. Dr. Lane suggested feeding her oatmeal for the next 2 days with her kibble to help clear out any remaining gravel, put her on Amoxicillin for a week, and simethicone at least for today, if not tomorrow, too.

That was very scary! I hadn’t ever had a dog bloat before…I’m just glad I checked on her before bed and recognized the symptoms. Dutchess has been such an amazing leader for us and gave us 3 beautiful pups; it would have been heart wrenching to lose this girl (not that it's ever easy to lose any of them). Make sure you know the signs and symptoms of bloat and what to do if it happens to one of your fur kids. Hug your fur kids (and all your loved ones), as you never know what could happen.

-Tammi

Happy Solstice!

2007-06-21T21:46:00.000-08:00

Peiper and Odin (in the back) coaxing me to come play!

Today is the longest day of the year, which doesn't say too much in the Land of the Midnight Sun! :o) I volunteered at the Yukon Quest Booth during the Solstice celebration in downtown Fairbanks and had a great time. Those who know me know that I love to talk and it's always a fun time talking with folks about the Quest and dog racing in general. Plus, since I'm home with the boys most days and Manny is working a LOT, it's really nice to have other ADULTS to talk with! Ha ha ha!

The pups are looking great and their eyes should open any time now. It's really hot out, so I put a tarp over the top of the puppy pen to provide even more shade. As I went through the dogyard yesterday, the sun was just beating down at almost 90F. And though the dogyard does get shade at various times of the day, I felt really bad for the dogs. So, as I made my way through the yard with the hose, I sprayed down each of the dogs. It was hilarious....as a few of the dogs just stood there, enjoying the cool water (I swear they were saying "Ahhh!"). Others acted like the water was a dog eating monster, so I just sprayed it up in the air like rain on them. No matter what, I could tell that they felt better afterward. I know I did, as I got soaking wet! Ha ha ha!

I'm off. Take care, have a great day and we'll catch you on the flip side!

-Tammi

Chillin'

2007-06-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

Have you played with your dog today?

Here's Feather, playing with me. She is such a goof ball! She normally acts like she's the Queen of the dogyard, but here, you can see that she still has some 'puppy' in there.

Most of our fur kids here love to play. I take the time to go through the yard and play with each one of them, as I go through giving pets and hugs. Soon though, I need to go through the yard and give everyone baths! I try to do baths for everyone in the summer, as it's important for them. Besides, I know I feel so much better after a bath; so, I imagine the dogs do, too.

Dutchess and pups are doing great. We've moved them out to the puppy pen, which is much more comfortable for Dutchess. The pups are already growing and looking great. Also, I had to correct the last post; I goofed on listing the pups. We have 2 Girls and 1 Boy. They are really nice looking and beautifully marked. Eventually, I'll get the camera out there.

Well, it's a gray, rainy day so we're just hanging out. Devlyn had his 2nd soccer game last night and his team won again, 2-0. Way to go Wolverines! I was going to practice passing with Devlyn & Conor today, but it's one of those days to hang out with a good book, cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie, or play in the house. So, I'm off. Have a great day all!

Fur kids

2007-06-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

Jaeger at 7 months old. Man, he's getting big; but, he's SO handsome!

"No, we're not spoiled, Mom!" That's Fergus the cat, Otto (check out him using the pillow) and Lady girl.

This is Hiltey. He came to us from Mackey's Come-back Kennels