Happy B'Day, Billie (aka Billie Goat aka Toby)
I'll admit it, I wasn't always the kind hearted softie I am today. While growing up my pet name for my sister Billie was frequently "Billie Goat", for no more reason than it pissed her off to no end. Mom preferred the nickname "Toby", as she was born on the 4th day of October. Though I picked on her pretty consistently through the years, I loved her dearly then, and still love her dearly today.
Happy birthday, "Billie Goat". I hope you have a great day, and still maintain a good sense of humor.
Anniversary:
10 years ago today one of the most stupid people I've ever encountered in my life shot a bullet hole in the pipe. As it occured less than a month after the attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, he did the deed practically under the nose of a security helicopter observer. Danny is still languishing in prison and when he is eventually released will need to figure out how to pay back $17,000,000.00 (seventeen million dollars) in damages.
As a result of Danny's idiocy, combined with our response to the 9/11 attack, I ended up on duty well away from home and my wife, for 9 weeks (two months and change) without a break. The paychecks were good, but the rest of it sucked. It seems somehow appropriate to remember Danny today, and to let him know that he's still an idiot and currently residing in a most appropriate place.
Jury Duty:
It seems like every two or 3 years I get tapped for jury duty. The court system draws potential jurers from among applicants for the annual permanent fund dividend, which is a smart way of doing the job. Virtually every Alaskan resident applies for the annual dividend (after all, it DOES represent free money), and anyone who applies most likely is indeed a resident, and if they are not being unavailable is evidence that they lied on the application - a criminal violation that should be prosecuted more aggressively.
In any event, with my work schedule, the courts are good about scheduling my duty around the job schedule. All I have to do call their recording each evening to learn whether or not I have to go into town. It means I can't make firm plans for any given day, but it's actually rather rare for me to get "the call" into town.
The last time I did get the call, I spent most of the day waiting to be rejected, and that's what I would expect in the future. The nature of my job puts in in frequent contact with the troopers most likely to have made the "bust", and it's in my best interest to maintain a good relationship with those guys. It would be pretty unusual for them to post a witness and/or involved parties that didn't include at least 1 person I know, which is also a frequent exclusion criteria.
None the less, it's duty (a legal obligation), so I don't make firm plans, and I make the call each evening, and then I go about my business.
Election Day:
Today is election day for municipal offices and three proposed ballot issues. I know who I like for borough assembly and who I don't (stinking lawyers and professional politicians), and I know how I want to vote on the ballot issues. I'll take my cheat sheet with me to the school in a bit, and cast my "say so", which probably doesn't amount to much, but it's sort of like jury duty - an obligation of a citizen who has every intention of speaking his or her mind whenever and wherever he or she chooses to do so.
The 'relationship' between the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the people of Two Rivers isn't always friendly. In fact, most of the time it's downright contentious. That might be why I have cause to pick a bone.
A Bone to Pick with FNSB Animal Control Division.
More than a year ago I went down to the FNSB Animal Control Division's dog pound and submitted the paperwork to foster sled dogs needing temporary housing until they can be placed in permanent homes. At that time I had space available for up to three dogs, which I'd train along with my own to keep them in bood psychological and physical condition. I have experience dealing with DWIs (dog's with issues), and have access to professional advice from a highly qualified certified canine behaviorist. My kennel is Mush with P.R.I.D.E. certified, always earning a Certified Plus rating. I provided impecable references easily accessible to animal control division staff.
One would think that such a foster would be highly desirable to a dog pound that is frequently over populated and frequently blames sled dogs and mushers for that overpopulation. Apparently, such thinking would be wrong.
I was told that the only step remaining would be an on-site inspection by one of the Division staff and they would get back to me to schedule that visit. Well, it's been more than a year and they still haven't gotten back with me. I've stopped in at the dog pound to follow-up and remind them that my application is still pending on two different occaissions, and they still haven't bothered to get with me or come out and do a simple inspection, or even just review my P.R.I.D.E. inspection paperwork.
That's a pretty good indication that they just aren't real interested.
Now, there probably is a reason for the Division blowing-off my offer. I've been a harsh critic of the Animal Control Division in the past. They've done some pretty unprofessional things over the years and I haven't hesitated to speak my mind about them. On the other hand, I've also been diligent about recognizing the limitations imposed upon them by their budget, lack of adequate space and chronic understaffing. I've made note of things they do well.
Although those responsible for the Division's past mistakes are no longer employed there, it would appear that the new management has some issues of their own to address.
Life moves on, and I think I can probably find a private sector sled dog rescue organization that will happy to receive my offer. Meanwhile, the next time the borough animal control people complain publicly of their shelter being overcrowded with sled dogs, I'll use the same media to remind them of the opportunity they lost.
It's time for me to do my morning kennel chores and start my day. I'm watching young Cassiopeia closely as she has had some nasty diarrhea for a couple of days. If my current approach to treatment doesn't improve her condition by this afternoon I'll need to take her into town to visit the vet.
The sky is partly cloudy, the temperature is coolish, and I have dogs who would love to run.
Showing posts with label Kennel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kennel. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Another Mission Accomplished
Yesterday I woke up not sure what I would do with the day. It wasn't quite cool enough to risk running dogs, not quite warm and clear enough to risk painting the dog box on the truck, and not quite motivated enough to think up other useful projects.
While doing my morning kennel chores, I decided it was time to take a good, hard look at improving the kennel's 'launch pad'.
For the most part, I haven't been unhappy with my set up for harnessing and hooking up the dogs. Ted, on the other hand, and certainly anyone else who might happen to be mushing a team with me, would be in for a real thrill on launching. It's a matter of geometry.
When running a team by myself, I snub the sled to a birch tree, stretch out the gangline, bring the dogs over to a hookup line that is basically a semi-permanent picket line. Next I harness the dogs, move each dog just a couple of feet to hook them to the gangline, open the gate and call 'em up. Since the dogs are already pointed mostly straight down the feeder trail it is a pretty straightforward thing.
When hooking up and running a second team, it becomes a bit more difficult, because the musher of the second team has to picket, harness and hook up closer to the south fence of the yard. On launching, the dogs take a slight right hand turn to get onto the feeder trail, which draws the sled scary close to the stout fencepost at the gate. In the past I've clipped that post several times, at least once with some fairly serious consequences.
With the installation of two new pens eariler this summer, I could afford to sacrifice one of the tie-out circles that was previously needed to house a dog. The post of that tie-out offers a good, solid place to snub a sled during hook-up and launch and there was just enough room to snub most sleds and hook up a team of 6 dogs without having the gangline extend beyond the gate. With a bit of measuring, however, I figured out that either running my much longer traditional toboggan or a larger team of 8 dogs would require opening the gate before hooking the dogs to the sled, offering opportunities for hyper-excited dogs to escape down the trail.
To remedy the situation would require moving the gate and adding some fence to extend the enclosure a few feet down the trail. I decided to make that my 'project of the day.'
First, just to get access to the area in which I wanted to work I needed to mow down tall weeds and some brush. Since my gas powered weed whacker is equipped with a combination weed and brush blade rather than traditional string trimmer, that was the tool of choice, and the job went pretty quickly.
Once I had an area in which I could easily walk around and see what I was trying to do, I "surveyed" the changes that would be necessary. With a long tape measure I figured out where I wanted the gate to be located, and marked the locations for the two gate posts. Then I stretched string to mark the new fence lines, and tied some surveyor's tape to the string to mark the locations for new fence posts, which are spaced at 10 foot intervals.
That was done more quickly than I had estimated, so I decided I might as well dig the post holes. The post hole auger for the tractor made very short work out of a job that otherwise would have taken several hours. Since I won't need to plant any more posts for a while, once the holes were drilled out I removed the auger from the tractor, and mounted the ballast box that helps counterbalance heavy loads on the loader bucket. Dismounting the auger assembly was a bit more difficult than I had imagined, and the next time I need it I suspect remounting it may be a bit of a struggle.
Since I still had plenty of time, I decided I'd go ahead and plant the new posts. I have a small pile of 10 foot long poles available from a project a few years ago to thin out the black spruce behind the house. Spruce isn't the best material for fence posts, but since these were already seasoned and laying right in my back yard, the price was right.
I selected the largest of the posts for my gate posts, as they not only have to support the wire fencing, they also have to stand fast to keep it tight, and will most likely become the posts supporting the picket lines that are a key part of the whole hook-up line. I then grabbed up a selection of the better (more solid) posts for the intermediate posts and braces for the two gateposts. I used my four-wheeler to 'skid' (drag) all of those posts to my work area in one trip.
I learned how to plant fence posts as a kid growing up in the cow-country of western Colorado. Doing it right is tedious, but the result is as solid as a rooted tree. Putting the post in the hole is the easy part. Next, toss in one shovel of dirt, and use the handle of that shovel to tamp it down as tightly as possible. That's the tedious part. When the shovel bounces when you toss it handle-down onto the packed soil, that's probably as compressed as you can get it with the tools at hand. Put in another shovel of dirt, and repeat the process over and over and over and .... . It took about two hours to plant all four the new posts.
With the posts planted I glanced at the time, and decided I was making good progress so there was really no reason to stop. Hanging the new fencing was just a matter of measureing, using wire cutters to cut out the sections I needed, fastening the fencing to posts and then splicing the new sections of fencing into the old.
By the time I had the fencing up it was growing late in the afternoon. I put most of my tools away, and started the dog good soaking for evening kennel chores. Though I should have been thinking about cooking something for supper, my mind kept going back to the project. All I really needed to do to finish up was to hang the gate.
The gates I use in the dog yard are very lightweight, made up of PVC pipe and hardware cloth wire fencing. They are designed so they can be easily lifted to accommodate the increasing depth of snow through winter. Mounting the gate really just required pounding in a post, slipping the gate over it, and walking away. By the time that little job was finished, the dog food was ready for delivery. Here are some photos of the finished project.
The report and resulting agreement settles any lingering doubts over what happened during the 1950s and 1960s, when the sled dogs of 14 Nunavik communities—in some cases a village’s entire population of dogs—were eliminated by Canadian authorities, ostensibly for health and safety reasons. Over the years first one party, then another, denied that it happened, then denied responsibility. But Makivik pressed on, and in 2007 a retired Quebecois Superior Court Judge Jean-Jacques Croteau was commissioned by the province to investigate and put the issue to rest.
The slaughter, which wasn't limited to the province of Quebec, resulted in the near extinction of the breed, which is considered to be the oldest and rarest of North American indigenous dogs. The breed exists only because of the dedicated effort of the Eskimo Dog Research Foundation. Founded in 1972 by William Carpenter and John McGrath and largely funded by the Canadian Government and the Northwest Territories, the EDRF purchased dogs from the small (about 200 dogs) population remaining in the Canadian Arctic from remote Inuit camps on Baffin Island, Boothia Peninsula, and Melville Peninsula. The EDRF then began breeding dogs in order to increase numbers.
My puppy, Innoko, is said to be a mix of Eskimo dog, Alaskan Malamute, and Yukon River husky.
While doing my morning kennel chores, I decided it was time to take a good, hard look at improving the kennel's 'launch pad'.
For the most part, I haven't been unhappy with my set up for harnessing and hooking up the dogs. Ted, on the other hand, and certainly anyone else who might happen to be mushing a team with me, would be in for a real thrill on launching. It's a matter of geometry.
When running a team by myself, I snub the sled to a birch tree, stretch out the gangline, bring the dogs over to a hookup line that is basically a semi-permanent picket line. Next I harness the dogs, move each dog just a couple of feet to hook them to the gangline, open the gate and call 'em up. Since the dogs are already pointed mostly straight down the feeder trail it is a pretty straightforward thing.
When hooking up and running a second team, it becomes a bit more difficult, because the musher of the second team has to picket, harness and hook up closer to the south fence of the yard. On launching, the dogs take a slight right hand turn to get onto the feeder trail, which draws the sled scary close to the stout fencepost at the gate. In the past I've clipped that post several times, at least once with some fairly serious consequences.
With the installation of two new pens eariler this summer, I could afford to sacrifice one of the tie-out circles that was previously needed to house a dog. The post of that tie-out offers a good, solid place to snub a sled during hook-up and launch and there was just enough room to snub most sleds and hook up a team of 6 dogs without having the gangline extend beyond the gate. With a bit of measuring, however, I figured out that either running my much longer traditional toboggan or a larger team of 8 dogs would require opening the gate before hooking the dogs to the sled, offering opportunities for hyper-excited dogs to escape down the trail.
To remedy the situation would require moving the gate and adding some fence to extend the enclosure a few feet down the trail. I decided to make that my 'project of the day.'
First, just to get access to the area in which I wanted to work I needed to mow down tall weeds and some brush. Since my gas powered weed whacker is equipped with a combination weed and brush blade rather than traditional string trimmer, that was the tool of choice, and the job went pretty quickly.
Once I had an area in which I could easily walk around and see what I was trying to do, I "surveyed" the changes that would be necessary. With a long tape measure I figured out where I wanted the gate to be located, and marked the locations for the two gate posts. Then I stretched string to mark the new fence lines, and tied some surveyor's tape to the string to mark the locations for new fence posts, which are spaced at 10 foot intervals.
That was done more quickly than I had estimated, so I decided I might as well dig the post holes. The post hole auger for the tractor made very short work out of a job that otherwise would have taken several hours. Since I won't need to plant any more posts for a while, once the holes were drilled out I removed the auger from the tractor, and mounted the ballast box that helps counterbalance heavy loads on the loader bucket. Dismounting the auger assembly was a bit more difficult than I had imagined, and the next time I need it I suspect remounting it may be a bit of a struggle.
Since I still had plenty of time, I decided I'd go ahead and plant the new posts. I have a small pile of 10 foot long poles available from a project a few years ago to thin out the black spruce behind the house. Spruce isn't the best material for fence posts, but since these were already seasoned and laying right in my back yard, the price was right.
I selected the largest of the posts for my gate posts, as they not only have to support the wire fencing, they also have to stand fast to keep it tight, and will most likely become the posts supporting the picket lines that are a key part of the whole hook-up line. I then grabbed up a selection of the better (more solid) posts for the intermediate posts and braces for the two gateposts. I used my four-wheeler to 'skid' (drag) all of those posts to my work area in one trip.
I learned how to plant fence posts as a kid growing up in the cow-country of western Colorado. Doing it right is tedious, but the result is as solid as a rooted tree. Putting the post in the hole is the easy part. Next, toss in one shovel of dirt, and use the handle of that shovel to tamp it down as tightly as possible. That's the tedious part. When the shovel bounces when you toss it handle-down onto the packed soil, that's probably as compressed as you can get it with the tools at hand. Put in another shovel of dirt, and repeat the process over and over and over and .... . It took about two hours to plant all four the new posts.
With the posts planted I glanced at the time, and decided I was making good progress so there was really no reason to stop. Hanging the new fencing was just a matter of measureing, using wire cutters to cut out the sections I needed, fastening the fencing to posts and then splicing the new sections of fencing into the old.
By the time I had the fencing up it was growing late in the afternoon. I put most of my tools away, and started the dog good soaking for evening kennel chores. Though I should have been thinking about cooking something for supper, my mind kept going back to the project. All I really needed to do to finish up was to hang the gate.
The gates I use in the dog yard are very lightweight, made up of PVC pipe and hardware cloth wire fencing. They are designed so they can be easily lifted to accommodate the increasing depth of snow through winter. Mounting the gate really just required pounding in a post, slipping the gate over it, and walking away. By the time that little job was finished, the dog food was ready for delivery. Here are some photos of the finished project.
 | |
| Looking down the feeder trail from the newly configured hook-up line. Not the bracing on the gate posts. |
 |
| The four-wheeler is parked where a sled would be staged to hook up a team. |
 | |
| View of newly relocated gate as seem coming up the feeder trail toward the yard. |
Quebec Takes Responsibility and Pays $3 Million Redress for 1950s and 60s Inuit Dog Slaughter
According to an article on the Indian Country Today Media Network, the Canadian province of Quebec has agreed to make financial reparations for it's role in the mass slaughter of Canadian Eskimo Dogs during the 1950s and '60s.
Jean Charest, premier of Quebec, signed the agreement personally with the Makivik Corp., a non-profit Inuit organization, to acknowledge that killing the Inuit’s primary means of transportation stripped them of their ability to hunt, trap and fish, and thus had lasting, detrimental effects on their way of life.The report and resulting agreement settles any lingering doubts over what happened during the 1950s and 1960s, when the sled dogs of 14 Nunavik communities—in some cases a village’s entire population of dogs—were eliminated by Canadian authorities, ostensibly for health and safety reasons. Over the years first one party, then another, denied that it happened, then denied responsibility. But Makivik pressed on, and in 2007 a retired Quebecois Superior Court Judge Jean-Jacques Croteau was commissioned by the province to investigate and put the issue to rest.
The slaughter, which wasn't limited to the province of Quebec, resulted in the near extinction of the breed, which is considered to be the oldest and rarest of North American indigenous dogs. The breed exists only because of the dedicated effort of the Eskimo Dog Research Foundation. Founded in 1972 by William Carpenter and John McGrath and largely funded by the Canadian Government and the Northwest Territories, the EDRF purchased dogs from the small (about 200 dogs) population remaining in the Canadian Arctic from remote Inuit camps on Baffin Island, Boothia Peninsula, and Melville Peninsula. The EDRF then began breeding dogs in order to increase numbers.
My puppy, Innoko, is said to be a mix of Eskimo dog, Alaskan Malamute, and Yukon River husky.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
A Dog Day of August
Unlike the dog days of August in the Lower-48 right now, last night the temperature dropped to nearly freezing and this morning it remained cool enough, long enough to take a small team out for their first training run of the season. I had planned on running two teams today, but it warmed up too early for me to get the second team out on the trail.
Today's team included Just and Capella in lead, Amazing Grace in single swing, Midnight's Son and Beau in wheel. The goal was just to have a fun first run, to help the dogs start thinking about their jobs again, and to check out Midnight's Son, who I haven't run before.
I wasn't surprised when my leaders missed directional cues, but I was pleased by how quickly they corrected their errors. In both directions they ran directly past Ted and Clare's dog yard without any hesitation at all. Although Midnight was a bit nervous about the machine following him, he kept a tight tugline and after a while he settled into the rhythm of the game quite nicely.
Here is a video showing the most 'active' five minutes or so of the run, including all of the cued directional changes and behaviors.
Lance Mackey signed up to run the race again, which I think is very cool. Lance was looking healthy and happy today. The Wild and Free Mushing kennel will be represented by two mushers next year, Brent Sass and Kyla Durham.
Today's team included Just and Capella in lead, Amazing Grace in single swing, Midnight's Son and Beau in wheel. The goal was just to have a fun first run, to help the dogs start thinking about their jobs again, and to check out Midnight's Son, who I haven't run before.
I wasn't surprised when my leaders missed directional cues, but I was pleased by how quickly they corrected their errors. In both directions they ran directly past Ted and Clare's dog yard without any hesitation at all. Although Midnight was a bit nervous about the machine following him, he kept a tight tugline and after a while he settled into the rhythm of the game quite nicely.
Here is a video showing the most 'active' five minutes or so of the run, including all of the cued directional changes and behaviors.
Happy Birthday, Selene
Our cute, furry little bi-eyed Selene turned two years old today. Since she is in season she didn't get out to play much with the other dogs, but she got special treats and lots of hugs, pets and butt-rubs. She adores all of those things and was basking in the extra attention.
This afternoon I combined some errands in town with a visit to the Yukon Quest first day of signups for the 2012 race. There are going to be some GREAT teams out on the trail in February, the our little community of Two Rivers is very well represented.
From Two Rivers, signing up today were;
Abbie West - the fastest woman on the trail.
Judy Courier - I am surprised she is a rookie in the Quest, as she's run the I'Rod several times.
Mike Ellis - the fasted pure-bred Siberian husky musher on the trail.
Sonny Lindner - he's done this a time or two before
Allen Moore - running the SP Kennel team.
Jason Weitzel - he's a rookie in the Quest, but he's been building up to it for a long time.
Lance Mackey signed up to run the race again, which I think is very cool. Lance was looking healthy and happy today. The Wild and Free Mushing kennel will be represented by two mushers next year, Brent Sass and Kyla Durham.
You can see the full list, at least from the Alaskan side, on the Yukon Quest website. There are some nice photos taken from today's sign-ups on the YQ Flikr site.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Happy B'day Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace was born July 10th, 2006 which means she turns 5 years old today. At about 9 months of age she was relinquished to Loving Companions Animal Rescue, described as being "hyper and destructive". You know, a typical adolescent dog. She found herself being fostered by Lynn Orbison. Lynn gave me a phone call to come over and check her out. OH MY GOD, what talent she showed from the very beginning. This girl could RUN.
I can't recall what her original name was, but when we watched her running she earned her name Amazing Grace straightaway. At every gait she is smooth she reminds one of running water.
We quickly learned that Grace suffers from Canine Obsessive Compulsive disorder, exhibiting stereotypical running as her compulsive behavior. It was so bad she couldn't stop running to eat (she just grabbed a bite every other lap or so) or to interact with humans. After consulting with our favorite certified canine behaviorist, we changed her feed to a totally corn-free diet (maize free) and began changing her environment on a frequent basis. We also ran her on every team leaving the yard.
Although she's a small dog by Stardancer standards, she has been a constant and consistent member of the team for several years, running mostly in the lead or swing positions. All of our dogs love to run and pull, but Grace seems to love running in the team even more than most. She can be a bit too exuberant at first, sometimes snarking at her team mates, but once she settles down she does a grand job.
In the yard, Grace gets along well with her kennel mates, and can be housed with nearly any of the males in the yard. She is a true love-muffin with humans, and is now an excellent house dog. She is fully house trained and is content to just hang with the humans.
There's really only one more thing to write. Happy birthday, Grace. We're glad you are part of the team.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Transistions
Back in the days when I was a kid Labor Day marked the unofficial end of summer. It was certainly the end of summer vacation as, traditionally, school always started the next day. This thought was weighing on my mind through much of the day, as it happens to be the last day of my R&R. Tomorrow morning I’ll be returning to my place of employment.
Yesterday’s tasks were almost all domestic in nature. I like to leave a tidy house so I don’t return from work just to face a major mess. I’m actually pretty good about keeping things at least reasonably organized around the house though you might not agree if you saw my dining table. It is the center of my lifestyle, the place where I park my computer, pay my bills, eat my chow, and fiddle with stuff. Consequently it tends to collect clutter right up through the last day of the R&R, when it get’s cleared down to its wooden surface.
By evening the only thing remaining on the table was the computer, which will be packed up for the trip to my job site later this morning, after I’ve checked my Emails, read the on-line edition of the Fairbanks Daily News Miner, and scanned my favorite forums for new posts while I drink my morning pot of coffee. That may be the only ‘ritual’ in my lifestyle that I can consistently enjoy both at home and at my place of employment.
During early fall, when others seem to be winding down after a summer filled with activities or finishing up summer projects I am actually gearing up for the mushing season. Yeah, I know many of the summertime posts have mentioned tasks that must be done ahead of the cold season. It seems there really are only two seasons in the Interior of Alaska – Winter and Getting Ready for Winter. I’m already putting together my “Must Do” list for next R&R and it’s looking pretty full.
For example, both of my rigs need service prior to the cold season. Oil, lube and filter changes and probably new wiper blades all the way around. The truck needs a new set of studded snow tires – and that’s going to be an expensive albeit predicted “hit” in the wallet. It is a necessary hit as the truck will see more use as we (the team) travel to different trails and new places to explore.
All of my dogsleds need a bit of maintenance here and there. Some of it is stuff I probably should have done sooner, but just couldn’t find the time or motivation. My snow machine, an old but reliable Skidoo Tundra, needs a couple of parts and I’d rather do that during a cool day in autumn than a cold morning when I need to be breaking out or grooming a trail instead of dinking with the damned machine.
All of my mushing gear will need a thorough inspection so I know which items need to be replaced, and which will be good for a full season. Gang lings (called “mainlines” by Lower-48 mushers) need to be in perfect condition. If they fail the entire team can break free and go running off down the trail. Obviously that would NOT be a good thing.
I’ll be ordering some of my winter clothing replacements while at my place of employment. I find that each winter I wear out one or two pairs of silk long johns, several pairs of silk stocking liners and at least 6 pairs of silk glove liners. Two woolen shirts and two pair of woolen trousers are also needed each year to replace the oldest in my wardrobe, which by now are worn beyond repair. My outerwear is all in good condition so I don’t have to worry about replacing my insulated bib coveralls or my Wiggy’s parka. That’s a relief because the best gear also comes with a big price tag. When one spends as much time outdoors during Alaska’s winter as I it isn’t enough to buy the best you can afford – you really must afford the best you can buy.
All of things on my “Must Do” list must be done in between training the dogs. Though a few of us have started training already, nearly every serious musher in Two Rivers will be out on the trails, running dogs with four-wheelers or other wheeled rigs. Dogs can only do what we’ve trained them to do, and wheels give us the opportunity to get an early start.
Moose hunting season opened yesterday in my area. Unfortunately I’ll be at work through the entire season, so my track record of never harvesting a moose remains intact. I’m hoping that several of my friends will be successful, as their donated butchering trim provides bones and good lean meat for my dogs. I grind a lot of that ‘scrap’ and form it into ¼ pound meatballs which I freeze and then toss into a bag in my freezer. When we’re out on longer runs those meatballs make excellent snacks for the dogs to help them maintain the energy needed to work. I’ve never yet seen a dog turn down a meatball or fishball snack.
As we break into the fall routine, I will be spending a lot more time on the stationary recumbent bicycle in the workout room at my place of employment. I have to be careful of my knees, so need to avoid the traditional treadmill as much as I can. Nonetheless I need strong legs to peddle or run (well, waddle) behind or beside the sled when the dogs need a helping hand. By cranking the resistance level up pretty high I can get a degree of strength training in addition to a good aerobic workout. That’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it. I probably should do much more strength training than I normally do, especially upper body work, but the thought of just humping iron for the sake of humping iron doesn’t wrap real well in my brain.
The summer has certainly had some highlights. I was able to expand the dog yard and make it much more comfortable for the dogs, with more usable space and convenience for me. Installing a second pen was a brilliant idea as that is now “home” to Lucky and her litter of wonderful puppies. I have enough tie-out and pen space to easily house my own team along with a bit of extra space for others that may need a temporary place to stay.
I had a great time at the Alaska State Rendezvous in July. I always enjoy escaping into the past for a few days, and I’m looking forward to escaping again to the Alaska Fall Rendezvous, the last weekend of my next R&R. That one will be in Mendeltna, a bit of a drive but always well worth doing.
My house is nearly as comfortable and snug as I can make it though the high price of heating oil and electricity remains a concern, and will probably be an on-going concern for some time to come. I still haven’t decided wether I will run the furnace in the shop this winter. I might not make that decision until the last moment. I still need to install a bit of weather stripping and cover the shop window with plastic before I make that decision.
That long, wet rainy spell we had in July through early August resulted in one of the cooler summers that I can remember. The blueberry crop sucked and the raspberries didn’t do particularly well, though I did enjoy a couple of meals on them. Tending to the puppies has certainly been a highlight of the season I’ll never forget. They are doing incredibly well. There isn’t a shy pup in the bunch.
Our early training runs have resulted in a surge of optimism for the upcoming season. The dogs seem to be running well, our leaders still remember left from right and brilliant old Torus still remembers what “easy” and “pick it up” mean. Rose and Nels have apparently gained some maturity that improves their potential as leaders, so I can look forward to rotating three different young dogs through the lead position this year, and spending a lot of time concentrating on their training. My goal is to have all three running as “finished” leaders by the end of this season because I don’t know if I can count on Torus being able to run. He might, and if so I’ll certainly let him, but he isn’t a young dog anymore.
Training Opportunities:
Parents are probably already well aware of the concept of “teachable moments”, circumstances that occur in daily life that provide an opportunity to teach their children about important things.
Sometimes dogs provide us ‘teachable moments’ as well. While training our sled dogs we look forward to those unexpected but inevitable encounters with other teams to help train our dogs to pass nicely, or distractions along the trail providing an opportunity to reinforce the ‘on by’, ‘leave it’ or other “pay attention and keep on running” cue.
When scooping feces from the yard, I use a large janitorial dust pan with a handle and a light weight ‘yard broom’ type rake, sized for children. These tools allow me to do the job without having to do a lot of bending.
While scooping the puppy pen this morning several of the puppies were absolutely fascinated with dust pan. I imagine the swaying, swinging motion as it moved at their head level most likely caught their attention, and they found it a fascinating toy to chase around the pen. I decided to take advantage of that fascination to teach them to follow a target stick.
A target stick is just a stick with a bit of contrasting color on the end. In use, the dog is first trained to “touch” the end of the stick. Then the dog can be trained to follow the end of the stick wherever it might lead. From there, the target stick can be used as a sort of conditioned lure to guide the dog through motions we might wish to train (such as left and right turns) or through a wide variety of behaviors. Target sticks are frequently used to train assistance dogs to operate light switches and many other tasks.
If I can ‘shape’ targeting behavior now, while the puppies are so young, I’ll have a huge advantage when training them to walk on a loose leash, to “line out” (pull the main line on a sled taught without actually dragging the sled), walk up the ramp to load into the dog truck, jump up on their houses for husbandry and handling and many other very useful behaviors.
To train these puppies to target, I took a dowel of suitable length and drilled a hole into the end in that I can load with cheese or other “sticky” treat, and used a strip of blue electrical tape to mark the target on the end. I then headed into the pen to begin my experiment. I loaded the stick with potted meat (no spam, than you) and within just a few seconds every puppy in the litter was following the target like ducklings following their mom. I’ve asked my training partner to follow up on the process while I’m away at my place of employment.
When I get back I should be able change the criteria of the game very quickly. Instead of loading the target stick, I’ll load my bag with goodies, and when a puppy touches the end of the stick I’ll reinforce the behavior by feeding a treat from my hand. I’ll also be introducing them to the clicker to develop the value of the “click” as a secondary or “bridge” reenforcer.
But that is then, and this is now. Now it’s time for me to saddle up and start making the trek up the road to earn money to pay for kibble.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Training Run Video & Domestic Duties
It's overcast and a bit warmer this morning than yesterday, but still chilly enough to justify shutting down the outside water supply. We're back to hauling water in buckets, but it's only an inconvenience, not a major issue by any stretch.
This morning I created a video with some of the highlights of yesterday's first training run. At 14 meg, it's a pretty large file, but I think a lot of folks might enjoy watching it. To download it, just click on this link - First Training Run Vid
For the dogs, today is a 'rest day'. I will be giving them another training run tomorrow, probably focusing on lots of "gee/haw" work. Gee is the cue used to prompt them to turn right, and haw the cue to turn left.
Although the dogs got the day off, I did not. I have to return to my place of employment on Tuesday, so it's time for me to do some housekeeping. It's mundane stuff, but I've fallen behind so needed to wash a sink full of a dishes and especially clean the floors. Since I am in and out of the house frequently through the course of any given day I tend to track in quite a bit of mud and dirt, loose straw and other dog-yard debris. Then there were a couple of loads of laundry that needed to be washed, dried, sorted and put away, all while maintaining the daily kennel chores.
While out in the kennel tending the mutts I shut down and rolled up the garden hoses that provide water during summer. We've had frost and a frozen hose nearly every day for the past week and at this time of year there is no reason to believe it will get substantially warmer. I also fired up the little garden tractor and mowed the lawn, most likely for the last time this year. Unless there is a major change I'll remove the mower deck and install the snow blade and tire chains early next R&R.
I'm planning to hit the rack early tonight, probably shortly after I feed Lucky and the puppies and give all the of the dogs a couple of scoops of water. We're going to run tomorrow fairly early, and I want to be awake, alert and well oriented to what we are doing.
This morning I created a video with some of the highlights of yesterday's first training run. At 14 meg, it's a pretty large file, but I think a lot of folks might enjoy watching it. To download it, just click on this link - First Training Run Vid
For the dogs, today is a 'rest day'. I will be giving them another training run tomorrow, probably focusing on lots of "gee/haw" work. Gee is the cue used to prompt them to turn right, and haw the cue to turn left.
Although the dogs got the day off, I did not. I have to return to my place of employment on Tuesday, so it's time for me to do some housekeeping. It's mundane stuff, but I've fallen behind so needed to wash a sink full of a dishes and especially clean the floors. Since I am in and out of the house frequently through the course of any given day I tend to track in quite a bit of mud and dirt, loose straw and other dog-yard debris. Then there were a couple of loads of laundry that needed to be washed, dried, sorted and put away, all while maintaining the daily kennel chores.
While out in the kennel tending the mutts I shut down and rolled up the garden hoses that provide water during summer. We've had frost and a frozen hose nearly every day for the past week and at this time of year there is no reason to believe it will get substantially warmer. I also fired up the little garden tractor and mowed the lawn, most likely for the last time this year. Unless there is a major change I'll remove the mower deck and install the snow blade and tire chains early next R&R.
I'm planning to hit the rack early tonight, probably shortly after I feed Lucky and the puppies and give all the of the dogs a couple of scoops of water. We're going to run tomorrow fairly early, and I want to be awake, alert and well oriented to what we are doing.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Anxiously Awaiting News
Although it wasn’t quite so cold the last two nights the sky has been overcast or nearly so the past 2 days, so it feels chilly.
When I go out to feed, all of the puppies rush the gate, making it difficult to get all the puppies plus their food plus me inside at the same time. To help solve the problem I made a barrier across the entrance to the pen, about 16” tall. It won’t last forever, as these guys are getting some serious legs underneath them (courtesy of Lucky) but it will help keep them under control for a while. Kyle says that Lucky always throws rangy pups, and in fact that is something we wanted from this breeding.
Lucky has had a swollen lump over her right hock for a while, and it hasn’t been resolving on its own. Yesterday I was finally able to get her in to see our Vet, Dr. Jeanne Olson. Dr. O is the only holistic veterinarian I know of in our region. Although she doesn’t have a lot of the fancy diagnostic equipment of larger clinics her clinical skills are excellent. She also has many years of experience treating working dogs and has been a key researcher in some sled-dog related issues that have plagued dog mushers for a long time. I have a lot of faith in her and am hesitant to take the dogs to anyone else. The problem is that there is only one of her, and a whole of lot of us who rely on her. Getting an appointment can be tough because she has a full dance card. Still, it’s usually worth the wait.
I’m afraid that Lucky and I put Dr. O into a bit of a quandary yesterday. The issue is an approximately golf-ball size fluid-filled lump over her right hock. She does not have an elevated temperature, the lump is not tender and she is not lame. In fact, she acts like it doesn’t bother her in any way at all. These indicate that there is probably not an infection such as a bacterial cyst or n abscess, but they don’t provide much information to indicate what it is.
Because the lump is directly over the joint, Jeanne is concerned that it could be some form of synovial cyst similar to a Baker’s cyst in humans.
Because Lucky is a healthy working dog and still nursing puppies Jeanne doesn’t want to take any chances. If she were to needle it to aspirate fluid there is a risk of introducing bacteria into the joint that could result in a nasty and very difficult to treat infection and / or cause damage to the underlying joint that could lame her forever. In the case of a synovial cyst, Simply aspirating it (draining the fluid) would not resolve the underlying problem.
Jeanne will get back to me with a recommended course of action as soon as she can talk to Dr. Stuve. It may be as simple as “keep an eye on it” or may require some diagnostic testing or even a potential need for surgical correction.
I’ve been on the phone with Lucky’s owner (Kyle Belleque, owner of Nushagak Kennels in Dillingham). Kyle is a really good dog man who relies on his team for many of the subsistence activities that are a part of daily life out in the bush. Kyle uses his freighting team for hauling firewood, running his trapline, hunting and all the other transportation chores that are a part of Alaskan bush life, so the health of his team is of vital imporance. Kyle and I discussed Lucky’s situation pretty thoroughly. Among the considerations is lack of veterinary care at home. Dillingham does not have vet residing in the community though they have a great Doc who flies in fairly regularly. Consequently we need to deal with this issue here if at all possible.
We also have to consider Kyle’s plans for running Lucky in the future, as it can have an impact on any decisions we have to make regarding her care. Kyle wants her on his main working team this winter, after which she’ll most likely be going into semi-retirement, taking on the job of teaching new dogs and new mushers the secrets of our craft. Of course until we hear back from the doctors we can’t know how this situation will affect Kyle’s plans for her.
So, I’m in a situation where all I can do is wait to hear back from Dr. Olson so we can plan an appropriate response to the issue. Being essentially a man of action, I find the inaction of waiting to be the worse part. Once we have more information and can actually do something about it my brain will settle down nicely, but in the meantime I tend to fret and worry the situation and sometimes, like last night, loose sleep over it.
So, I find myself at the keyboard at 5 o’clock in the morning sharing my angst with you (sigh).
When I go out to feed, all of the puppies rush the gate, making it difficult to get all the puppies plus their food plus me inside at the same time. To help solve the problem I made a barrier across the entrance to the pen, about 16” tall. It won’t last forever, as these guys are getting some serious legs underneath them (courtesy of Lucky) but it will help keep them under control for a while. Kyle says that Lucky always throws rangy pups, and in fact that is something we wanted from this breeding.
Lucky has had a swollen lump over her right hock for a while, and it hasn’t been resolving on its own. Yesterday I was finally able to get her in to see our Vet, Dr. Jeanne Olson. Dr. O is the only holistic veterinarian I know of in our region. Although she doesn’t have a lot of the fancy diagnostic equipment of larger clinics her clinical skills are excellent. She also has many years of experience treating working dogs and has been a key researcher in some sled-dog related issues that have plagued dog mushers for a long time. I have a lot of faith in her and am hesitant to take the dogs to anyone else. The problem is that there is only one of her, and a whole of lot of us who rely on her. Getting an appointment can be tough because she has a full dance card. Still, it’s usually worth the wait.
I’m afraid that Lucky and I put Dr. O into a bit of a quandary yesterday. The issue is an approximately golf-ball size fluid-filled lump over her right hock. She does not have an elevated temperature, the lump is not tender and she is not lame. In fact, she acts like it doesn’t bother her in any way at all. These indicate that there is probably not an infection such as a bacterial cyst or n abscess, but they don’t provide much information to indicate what it is.
Because the lump is directly over the joint, Jeanne is concerned that it could be some form of synovial cyst similar to a Baker’s cyst in humans.
Because Lucky is a healthy working dog and still nursing puppies Jeanne doesn’t want to take any chances. If she were to needle it to aspirate fluid there is a risk of introducing bacteria into the joint that could result in a nasty and very difficult to treat infection and / or cause damage to the underlying joint that could lame her forever. In the case of a synovial cyst, Simply aspirating it (draining the fluid) would not resolve the underlying problem.
Jeanne will get back to me with a recommended course of action as soon as she can talk to Dr. Stuve. It may be as simple as “keep an eye on it” or may require some diagnostic testing or even a potential need for surgical correction.
I’ve been on the phone with Lucky’s owner (Kyle Belleque, owner of Nushagak Kennels in Dillingham). Kyle is a really good dog man who relies on his team for many of the subsistence activities that are a part of daily life out in the bush. Kyle uses his freighting team for hauling firewood, running his trapline, hunting and all the other transportation chores that are a part of Alaskan bush life, so the health of his team is of vital imporance. Kyle and I discussed Lucky’s situation pretty thoroughly. Among the considerations is lack of veterinary care at home. Dillingham does not have vet residing in the community though they have a great Doc who flies in fairly regularly. Consequently we need to deal with this issue here if at all possible.
We also have to consider Kyle’s plans for running Lucky in the future, as it can have an impact on any decisions we have to make regarding her care. Kyle wants her on his main working team this winter, after which she’ll most likely be going into semi-retirement, taking on the job of teaching new dogs and new mushers the secrets of our craft. Of course until we hear back from the doctors we can’t know how this situation will affect Kyle’s plans for her.
So, I’m in a situation where all I can do is wait to hear back from Dr. Olson so we can plan an appropriate response to the issue. Being essentially a man of action, I find the inaction of waiting to be the worse part. Once we have more information and can actually do something about it my brain will settle down nicely, but in the meantime I tend to fret and worry the situation and sometimes, like last night, loose sleep over it.
So, I find myself at the keyboard at 5 o’clock in the morning sharing my angst with you (sigh).
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Monday Mayhem - Tuesday Trivia
Frequent readers of this blog know that I live two distanctly different lives. In my "real life" I'm a dog musher, outdoorsman and rural gentleman. In my working life, I am employed in a dual rule, as a security officer & paramedic at a remote industrial site. I joke that my job is to protect this particular asset from the ravages of crime, terrorism and disease, but the reality behind the joke is that my job really is to protect the asset from those things.
My work schedule is usually two weeks on duty / two off, with big chunks of my "off" time spent in work related training. That's a whole 'nother story for a whole 'nother time, though.
The Monday before I return to my place of employment is always pretty darned busy as I run errands, pack for the trip, and try to tidy up the house a bit so I don't come home to total disarray. Since I board my dogs at two different kennels, those trips are also part of the mayhem.
Cleaning out the refrigerator is a very important part of the Monday mayhem. I forgot to do that once. Only once, and a long, long time ago. I'm actually surprised the resulting stench didn't prompt a borough haz-mat response in which the appliance was declared a biological disaster area.
The dogs seem to cope with the routine very well. Most of the team boards with Mike and Kim Green in their sled dog kennel. They really seem to enjoy hanging out with their canine buddies at "Kimik Kennel". Torus was so excited about going to Mike's that he actually bent his most enough to pull the spinner out and escape into the free run yard. One more good reason for building and maintaining a perimeter fence around the kennel. Mike and Kim say they always know when I'm coming to visit if I'm driving the truck, as their dogs can apparently hear and react to the unique sound of my diesel dog truck as soon as I pull off the highway and onto their side road.
This tour of duty, Amazing Grace, Seamus and Lucky and the puppies are all staying with Lynn Orbison at Daisy Acres. We've been planning for many months for the puppies to board with Lynn, and she's done a wonderful job in preparing a great space for them. I wish I'd taken my camera when I dropped them off this morning.
Their "puppy pen" is about 30 X 15 feet, and contains two whelping houses and a big "A" frame. They have tunnels to crawl through, things to climb on, dangly toys to hang from, plenty of fresh straw for bedding - all of the luxuries of puppy life. It's a wonderful space, and Lynn is a wonderful friend for providing it, and providing so much support in breeding, whelping and raising this litter.
Packing for work is easy enough. It should be, I've been doing this for the past 16 stinkin' years. The only problem is that each and every time I seem to forget something. Don't tell anyone, but once I even forgot to load my gun belt and had to call a friend and ask him to fetch it up to me. That was very embarrassing, but it was a long time ago. Usually it is something trivial such as a book I intended to read or bill I intended to pay. The really scary times are like tonight, when I know I have forgotten something, but I can't remember what it was.
In any event, I'm now back at my place of employment doing what I must to pay for my most enjoyable lifestyle. Much of my money pays for good beer and better dogs, and all the rest is wasted on the mortgage, heating oil, utilities and so forth.
My work schedule is usually two weeks on duty / two off, with big chunks of my "off" time spent in work related training. That's a whole 'nother story for a whole 'nother time, though.
The Monday before I return to my place of employment is always pretty darned busy as I run errands, pack for the trip, and try to tidy up the house a bit so I don't come home to total disarray. Since I board my dogs at two different kennels, those trips are also part of the mayhem.
Cleaning out the refrigerator is a very important part of the Monday mayhem. I forgot to do that once. Only once, and a long, long time ago. I'm actually surprised the resulting stench didn't prompt a borough haz-mat response in which the appliance was declared a biological disaster area.
The dogs seem to cope with the routine very well. Most of the team boards with Mike and Kim Green in their sled dog kennel. They really seem to enjoy hanging out with their canine buddies at "Kimik Kennel". Torus was so excited about going to Mike's that he actually bent his most enough to pull the spinner out and escape into the free run yard. One more good reason for building and maintaining a perimeter fence around the kennel. Mike and Kim say they always know when I'm coming to visit if I'm driving the truck, as their dogs can apparently hear and react to the unique sound of my diesel dog truck as soon as I pull off the highway and onto their side road.
This tour of duty, Amazing Grace, Seamus and Lucky and the puppies are all staying with Lynn Orbison at Daisy Acres. We've been planning for many months for the puppies to board with Lynn, and she's done a wonderful job in preparing a great space for them. I wish I'd taken my camera when I dropped them off this morning.
Their "puppy pen" is about 30 X 15 feet, and contains two whelping houses and a big "A" frame. They have tunnels to crawl through, things to climb on, dangly toys to hang from, plenty of fresh straw for bedding - all of the luxuries of puppy life. It's a wonderful space, and Lynn is a wonderful friend for providing it, and providing so much support in breeding, whelping and raising this litter.
Packing for work is easy enough. It should be, I've been doing this for the past 16 stinkin' years. The only problem is that each and every time I seem to forget something. Don't tell anyone, but once I even forgot to load my gun belt and had to call a friend and ask him to fetch it up to me. That was very embarrassing, but it was a long time ago. Usually it is something trivial such as a book I intended to read or bill I intended to pay. The really scary times are like tonight, when I know I have forgotten something, but I can't remember what it was.
In any event, I'm now back at my place of employment doing what I must to pay for my most enjoyable lifestyle. Much of my money pays for good beer and better dogs, and all the rest is wasted on the mortgage, heating oil, utilities and so forth.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Puppie's Eyes Starting to Open, Kennel Chores
The morning was foggy and gloomy, but not actively raining so I was able to get quite a bit accomplished in the kennel. I cleaned the junk out of the straw storage area (now under the end of the canopy) and made a run to the dumpster station to get rid of some of the garbage. I moved Grace and Torus out of the pen attached to my house and moved them to posts in the yard so I could lay down some old straw in the pen in hopes of drying up or at least hiding some of the muck.
While I was working in the yard I gave all of the dogs a chance to run free for a bit, in pairs. They were all happy to stretch their legs a bit and all were well behaved.
When I gave Lucky her mid-day meal and performed the neuro exercises on the puppies I got a real treat. Three of the puppies, Capella, Orion and Cassiopeia are starting to open their eyes. It's a sure sign that our little ones are growing fast.
How fast? Let's look. The first picture below was taken of Lucky and the litter on the afternoon they were born. The second photo was taken this afternoon.
While I was working in the yard I gave all of the dogs a chance to run free for a bit, in pairs. They were all happy to stretch their legs a bit and all were well behaved.
When I gave Lucky her mid-day meal and performed the neuro exercises on the puppies I got a real treat. Three of the puppies, Capella, Orion and Cassiopeia are starting to open their eyes. It's a sure sign that our little ones are growing fast.
How fast? Let's look. The first picture below was taken of Lucky and the litter on the afternoon they were born. The second photo was taken this afternoon.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Preparing For Some Serious "R&R"
Tomorrow I'll be going off-duty at my place of employment, and heading home for some well deserved "R&R" (aka Rest and Real-Life). There is much to be done and enjoyed this time around.
My friend Janece will be flying up from Kentucky for the first week of my R&R. She is recovering from injuries suffered in a bad automobile collision and is under solemn doctor's orders to take time away from her work to REST and REHABILITATE. The only way for a business owner to get away from working is to get as far away from that business as possible, hence she will arriving late Tuesday night. The very easy-going agenda for this visit includes several trips to Chena Hot Springs to soak in the mineral hot springs.
Our informal "Red Lantern Club" is planning a pot-luck picnic and afternoon of fun with dogs for Thursday afternoon. Our "club" is really just a group of friends who train our sled dogs together, and who frequently quality for the traditional last-place consolation prize in most of the races in which we compete.
Friday morning my venerable and brilliant lead dog, Torus, will be going to the vet for the Big Snip. Having confirmed that Lucky is pregnant, Torus will be sterilized to reduce the risk of unintended breedings in my kennel. Frequent readers of this blog know that Torus is a truly exceptional leader, and he was bred to Lucky, an equally exceptional bitch belonging to musher Kyle Belleque of Dillingham. Kyle and I will be dividing the litter between us.
Lucky is due to whelp in the middle of August, and will probably do so while boarding with my training partner. Nonetheless I need to finish some details of her whelping pen, where she will raise the wee-ones during my time off from employment. Having finished converting a good shelter into an excellent whelping house with a removable roof, all the remains is to cover the pen with fencing wire to thwart the intentions of owls, hawks and other airborne predators with fresh puppy on the menu. To integrate that project with an enclosed storage barn for the straw used for bedding during the cold seasons, I'll need to remove some fence posts and replace them with taller posts, which will serve double duty in supporting the roof the new shed. If I'm reasonably diligent I should have the shed completed before I next return to my job.
There are also some smaller project that need to be completed in the next two weeks. Although it will be months before they are needed, I need to set up at least 3 more tethers. When the pups are ready to integrate into the main yard they will need houses and tethers, and they are much easier to set up during summer than after the ground has been frozen and covered in snow. I also plan to install some floodlights over the kennel so that I can illuminate it while doing my chores and to dissuade visitors of the wildlife variety. Finally, I'll need to install a pair of picket lines on which dogs can be temporarily restrained while they are being harnessed and prepared for training runs.
I'm sure that other projects will crop up in the future, but those details should basically complete the 2008 Kennel Renovation Project, and result in an unusually secure and efficient sled dog kennel for the Stardancer Historical Freight Dogs.
Meanwhile, on Saturday Janece and I are planning to take Chinook and Amazing Grace to a practice weight pull put on by the Interior Freight Dog Association. Although Chinook has been trained for weight pulling he's never had the opportunity to do so in competition against other dogs. At the time I got him, the IFDA was inactive. Now they have been revitalized so it's time to see what the "Big Guy" can do. Grace will come pull in order to introduce her to a new experience and give her a chance to play with her owner, Janece. If they do well, I will enter them in the real deal, a weight pulling competition at the Tanana Valley State Fair on Saturday, August 2nd.
Although it may seem early to those in the Lower-48, the Fair usually occurs during a transition in the weather that marks the difference between early and late summer. It is such a reliable occurence that we jokingly call it "Fair Weather", a pattern that is marked by gloomy, overcast skies, chilly temperatures and cold drizzling rain. Most years the Fair weather pattern develops in late July and lasts through most of August, and sometimes well into September. Many of us consider "Fair weather" to be natures little warning that winter is well on its way, and we'd best be finishing up our warm weather projects in a hurry.
So, that's what's happening here, that's the plan. We'll have to see how well it is executed.
Swanny
My friend Janece will be flying up from Kentucky for the first week of my R&R. She is recovering from injuries suffered in a bad automobile collision and is under solemn doctor's orders to take time away from her work to REST and REHABILITATE. The only way for a business owner to get away from working is to get as far away from that business as possible, hence she will arriving late Tuesday night. The very easy-going agenda for this visit includes several trips to Chena Hot Springs to soak in the mineral hot springs.
Our informal "Red Lantern Club" is planning a pot-luck picnic and afternoon of fun with dogs for Thursday afternoon. Our "club" is really just a group of friends who train our sled dogs together, and who frequently quality for the traditional last-place consolation prize in most of the races in which we compete.
Friday morning my venerable and brilliant lead dog, Torus, will be going to the vet for the Big Snip. Having confirmed that Lucky is pregnant, Torus will be sterilized to reduce the risk of unintended breedings in my kennel. Frequent readers of this blog know that Torus is a truly exceptional leader, and he was bred to Lucky, an equally exceptional bitch belonging to musher Kyle Belleque of Dillingham. Kyle and I will be dividing the litter between us.
Lucky is due to whelp in the middle of August, and will probably do so while boarding with my training partner. Nonetheless I need to finish some details of her whelping pen, where she will raise the wee-ones during my time off from employment. Having finished converting a good shelter into an excellent whelping house with a removable roof, all the remains is to cover the pen with fencing wire to thwart the intentions of owls, hawks and other airborne predators with fresh puppy on the menu. To integrate that project with an enclosed storage barn for the straw used for bedding during the cold seasons, I'll need to remove some fence posts and replace them with taller posts, which will serve double duty in supporting the roof the new shed. If I'm reasonably diligent I should have the shed completed before I next return to my job.
There are also some smaller project that need to be completed in the next two weeks. Although it will be months before they are needed, I need to set up at least 3 more tethers. When the pups are ready to integrate into the main yard they will need houses and tethers, and they are much easier to set up during summer than after the ground has been frozen and covered in snow. I also plan to install some floodlights over the kennel so that I can illuminate it while doing my chores and to dissuade visitors of the wildlife variety. Finally, I'll need to install a pair of picket lines on which dogs can be temporarily restrained while they are being harnessed and prepared for training runs.
I'm sure that other projects will crop up in the future, but those details should basically complete the 2008 Kennel Renovation Project, and result in an unusually secure and efficient sled dog kennel for the Stardancer Historical Freight Dogs.
Meanwhile, on Saturday Janece and I are planning to take Chinook and Amazing Grace to a practice weight pull put on by the Interior Freight Dog Association. Although Chinook has been trained for weight pulling he's never had the opportunity to do so in competition against other dogs. At the time I got him, the IFDA was inactive. Now they have been revitalized so it's time to see what the "Big Guy" can do. Grace will come pull in order to introduce her to a new experience and give her a chance to play with her owner, Janece. If they do well, I will enter them in the real deal, a weight pulling competition at the Tanana Valley State Fair on Saturday, August 2nd.
Although it may seem early to those in the Lower-48, the Fair usually occurs during a transition in the weather that marks the difference between early and late summer. It is such a reliable occurence that we jokingly call it "Fair Weather", a pattern that is marked by gloomy, overcast skies, chilly temperatures and cold drizzling rain. Most years the Fair weather pattern develops in late July and lasts through most of August, and sometimes well into September. Many of us consider "Fair weather" to be natures little warning that winter is well on its way, and we'd best be finishing up our warm weather projects in a hurry.
So, that's what's happening here, that's the plan. We'll have to see how well it is executed.
Swanny
Monday, June 2, 2008
A Good Day's Work
I started the day with a trip to town to buy fencing materials and grass seed for the expanded dog yard. Today was very warm, so upon my return I placed 15 gallon galvanized tubs in the dog yard so every dog has access to at least one. By filling each about half way every dog can play in the tub whenever s/he wishes to cool off a bit.
I spent the remainder of the day planting fence posts, and I'm very pleased that ALL the posts are in. I can start off tomorrow hanging fencing, and if the project continues half as smoothly as it went today I may even get some grass seed down and watered.
I received the bill for yesterday's dirt work, and couldn't be more delighted. The actual cost came in considerably under the original estimate. The savings is significant enough to buy a LOT of dog food.
Today was the warmest day thus far this spring, with a high of 73 degrees F here at the house. Maybe we'll finally start getting some seasonally appropriate weather.
I spent the remainder of the day planting fence posts, and I'm very pleased that ALL the posts are in. I can start off tomorrow hanging fencing, and if the project continues half as smoothly as it went today I may even get some grass seed down and watered.
I received the bill for yesterday's dirt work, and couldn't be more delighted. The actual cost came in considerably under the original estimate. The savings is significant enough to buy a LOT of dog food.
Today was the warmest day thus far this spring, with a high of 73 degrees F here at the house. Maybe we'll finally start getting some seasonally appropriate weather.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Dirt Work Done
It's been an exciting day as Terry Snow did the dirt work needed to expand the dog yard. Here are some "before and after" images showing what was accomplished today. These are views of two different areas of the yard, shot from the same location:
Housing Area Before Dirt Work
Housing area after dirt work
Play area before dirt work
Play area after dirt work
Through the course of my employment I’ve witnessed some pretty amazing feats of civil engineering and skilled machinery operation. I’ve marveled at the power of the “yellow iron” and the ability of skilled operators to apply that power efficiently and effectively to “git ‘er done”. Alaska offers some of the most challenging problems on earth and Alaska’s operators who cope with those challenges each and every day are among the most skilled operators on the planet.
To a large extent Terry was working in very close quarters, bound by the presence of one of my free run pens on one side, and the housing yard on another. Although I moved the two dogs closest to where he was working, the others needed to stay in place if possible.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Ready for the Dozer and Dumper
It's only a bit after noon, but I've finished the prep work needed so that Terry Snow of Cooterbear Enterprises can bring in his dozer and dump truck to do the dirt work for the kennel renovation. When it comes to making the earth move in Two Rivers, Alaska - Terry is The Man.
So far today I've made a quick trip into town where I ate breakfast cooked by someone else, picked up the spare tire for the trailer that replaces a tire that blew out on Wednesday, and but dog food on the last day of a sale. I bought 10 bags, and received the 11th bag free. I feed a premium dog food that is formulated specifically for athletic dogs and even though it is rather expensive, I feel it is well worth the cost. My dogs do exceptionally well on this particular brand of dog food. Should the manufacturer or local distributor decide to sponsor the Stardancer Historical Freight Dogs Team with a healthy, on-going discount I'll be happy to name the brand. If your curious contact me through whatever means you may and I'll share the name.
One I returned home from town I finished removing fencing and fence posts, moved a couple of small vehicles out of the way, and am now ready for tomorrow's big event. I'm planning to shoot lots of photographs so I can share the transformation with you.
So far today I've made a quick trip into town where I ate breakfast cooked by someone else, picked up the spare tire for the trailer that replaces a tire that blew out on Wednesday, and but dog food on the last day of a sale. I bought 10 bags, and received the 11th bag free. I feed a premium dog food that is formulated specifically for athletic dogs and even though it is rather expensive, I feel it is well worth the cost. My dogs do exceptionally well on this particular brand of dog food. Should the manufacturer or local distributor decide to sponsor the Stardancer Historical Freight Dogs Team with a healthy, on-going discount I'll be happy to name the brand. If your curious contact me through whatever means you may and I'll share the name.
One I returned home from town I finished removing fencing and fence posts, moved a couple of small vehicles out of the way, and am now ready for tomorrow's big event. I'm planning to shoot lots of photographs so I can share the transformation with you.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Saving a Few Bucks on Dog Houses
I spent most of yesterday building three new dog houses. One will be to replace a house that is in poor condition, and the other two are to make room for expected additions to the team. I still need to build some more, but that will happen in due time.
This isn't a complicated project by any means. For small dogs a simple house like this can be made from a single sheet of plywood. My larger dogs require a bit more room to stretch out so they require a bit more material. I forgot to take that into account while I was buying materials in town the other day.
Here is a photo of the houses.
This style of dog house is very popular among dog mushers in my region. The legs allow the house to sit up above a moderate accumulation of snow. The raised threshold of the doorway helps keep bedding material contained within the house rather than scattered about the yard. The frame around the door discourages chewing and helps protect the interior when male dogs life a leg against the house. The flat roof of the house provides a platform on which the dog can sun itself and an elevated surface on which the dog can stand for husbandry and veterinary procedures. Although not evident in the photos, the floor sits on braces and is not fastened down. This allows the floor to be removed when changing bedding or other maintenance tasks.
The sheathing for these houses was left-over T-111 siding that has been leaning up against my house for at the least the last three years. I figure if it's going to weather away it might as well do so by keeping some dogs warm and comfortable. Purchased materials included plywood for the floors and roofs, 2 x 4 and 2X2 boards for the legs and framing, and a big box of sheet rock screws.
These types of doghouses in this size are sold by a local mushing supply company for a bit more than $85.00, plus the cost of fuel to drive the 50 mile round trip. My cost for these houses, not including the salvaged sheathing, was about $32.00 each, and of course some of my time.
Now, if the weather will settle down a bit I'll give each of them a coat of paint, and they should last at least a decade or more.
Today's project is to take down fencing in preparation for Sunday's dirt work.
Swanny
This isn't a complicated project by any means. For small dogs a simple house like this can be made from a single sheet of plywood. My larger dogs require a bit more room to stretch out so they require a bit more material. I forgot to take that into account while I was buying materials in town the other day.
Here is a photo of the houses.
This style of dog house is very popular among dog mushers in my region. The legs allow the house to sit up above a moderate accumulation of snow. The raised threshold of the doorway helps keep bedding material contained within the house rather than scattered about the yard. The frame around the door discourages chewing and helps protect the interior when male dogs life a leg against the house. The flat roof of the house provides a platform on which the dog can sun itself and an elevated surface on which the dog can stand for husbandry and veterinary procedures. Although not evident in the photos, the floor sits on braces and is not fastened down. This allows the floor to be removed when changing bedding or other maintenance tasks.
The sheathing for these houses was left-over T-111 siding that has been leaning up against my house for at the least the last three years. I figure if it's going to weather away it might as well do so by keeping some dogs warm and comfortable. Purchased materials included plywood for the floors and roofs, 2 x 4 and 2X2 boards for the legs and framing, and a big box of sheet rock screws.
These types of doghouses in this size are sold by a local mushing supply company for a bit more than $85.00, plus the cost of fuel to drive the 50 mile round trip. My cost for these houses, not including the salvaged sheathing, was about $32.00 each, and of course some of my time.
Now, if the weather will settle down a bit I'll give each of them a coat of paint, and they should last at least a decade or more.
Today's project is to take down fencing in preparation for Sunday's dirt work.
Swanny
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Kennel Renovation Progress
I made pretty good progress in the kennel renovation project today in spite of an early morning challenge. After watering the dogs I hitched up my little utility trailer and headed for town to purchase materials. That progressed well enough for 11 mile, when I blew a tire on the trailer. Since I didn't have a spare I had to park the trailer at a nearby friend's house and make a trip to the tire store.
My favorite tire shop had one in stock, but are way behind in work so won't be able to mount it for me for a day or two. I left the tire and wheel there and drove over to a nearby truck accessory store where I was able to purchase another wheel and tire for a barely reasonable sum. The total delay was a couple of hours.
Once the trailer was back up and running a quick albeit expensive trip to Home Despot netted all the materials I should need for the project.
When I returned home the sky was turning gray and threatening rain showers. I was nonetheless able to add a fence panels to one of my free-run pens, doubling the size of the pen. That gives me two different pens, one of 500 square feet and the second of 200 square feet, in which I can confine compatible dogs. This particular pen will hopefully be serving as a whelping pen later this summer.
My favorite tire shop had one in stock, but are way behind in work so won't be able to mount it for me for a day or two. I left the tire and wheel there and drove over to a nearby truck accessory store where I was able to purchase another wheel and tire for a barely reasonable sum. The total delay was a couple of hours.
Once the trailer was back up and running a quick albeit expensive trip to Home Despot netted all the materials I should need for the project.
When I returned home the sky was turning gray and threatening rain showers. I was nonetheless able to add a fence panels to one of my free-run pens, doubling the size of the pen. That gives me two different pens, one of 500 square feet and the second of 200 square feet, in which I can confine compatible dogs. This particular pen will hopefully be serving as a whelping pen later this summer.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Kennel Renovation Plans for R&R
I've been at my place of employment for the past 2 weeks, and it is time to start planning projects for my 2-week "R&R", which starts Tuesday morning. Since I'm working night shift, Tuesday is pretty much a wash. I'll do my grocery shopping on the way home in the morning, sleep for a few hours, check my mail, pick up my dogs, and that will pretty much be it for the day. Wednesday I'll start preparing for the "BIG EVENT".
The BIG event will be kennel renovations. Since I plan on having puppies before winter, I need to expand the dog yard to accommodate my share of the pups, and also to provide housing for visiting foster dogs, &c. This is going to require some expensive dump-truck and bulldozer work, so I need to make sure I get all the work that will be needed in one fell swoop.
First, I'll need some more dog houses. I have several sheets of T-111 siding I can use to build some of these, and a an oversized house once used to house goats that I can modify to make a very nice whelping house for Lucky and her litter. I'm calculating that I'll need at least 4 new dog houses, and I actually think that 6 will be better, just in case housing is needed for borrowed 'guests' or to provide a temporary place for foster dogs from one of the area rescue groups.
These are easy to build, as they are nothing more than a plywood boxes with a door, placed on elevated legs made of 2X4 boards. With a thick bed of straw for bedding, these simple plywood houses provide a comfortable accommodate for the dog, a platform on which the dog can perch in the sun or to view its surroundings, and they are inexpensive yet very durable.
I'll need to plant some posts to temporarily tether some of my dogs while we are doing the dirt work. That way I can be confident the dogs are well out of the way of the equipment we'll be using for the project.
Next, I'll need to remove a lot of the fences I put up just last year. With the dozer working around the area they will come down on way or the other, and if I carefully take them down I'll be able to reuse them once the dirt project is completed.
Next, my friend Terry Snow is going to make the earth move. Terry owns Cootbear Enterprises, and when it comes to making the earth move, he's the man. He's a very experienced operator and has the equipment needed to make short work of this project. We will need to fill in a large hole, which will require about 10 truck loads of fill dirt, and then clear out some black spruce trees and undergrowth before grading and compacting the dog yard.
Once the dirt work is done I can install the tether swivels and houses in their permanent locations, rebuild the fence, and it should be good to go.
The end result is intended to be a considerably larger dog yard with more conveniently usable space for housing while conserving the play yard space I worked so hard to create last year.
Of course I will also be tending to the dogs during this R&R, focusing on husbandry and behavior training. All of the young dogs, and some of the older ones, need to work on "line out" and on walking with a loose leash. My up and coming young leaders can also start working on some advanced cues, such as those to turn the team around when we find ourselves at the dead-end of a trail. By laying out the ground work for those behaviors during the off-season we can establish a foundation on which to train the finished behavior once we have snow on the ground.
The BIG event will be kennel renovations. Since I plan on having puppies before winter, I need to expand the dog yard to accommodate my share of the pups, and also to provide housing for visiting foster dogs, &c. This is going to require some expensive dump-truck and bulldozer work, so I need to make sure I get all the work that will be needed in one fell swoop.
First, I'll need some more dog houses. I have several sheets of T-111 siding I can use to build some of these, and a an oversized house once used to house goats that I can modify to make a very nice whelping house for Lucky and her litter. I'm calculating that I'll need at least 4 new dog houses, and I actually think that 6 will be better, just in case housing is needed for borrowed 'guests' or to provide a temporary place for foster dogs from one of the area rescue groups.
These are easy to build, as they are nothing more than a plywood boxes with a door, placed on elevated legs made of 2X4 boards. With a thick bed of straw for bedding, these simple plywood houses provide a comfortable accommodate for the dog, a platform on which the dog can perch in the sun or to view its surroundings, and they are inexpensive yet very durable.
I'll need to plant some posts to temporarily tether some of my dogs while we are doing the dirt work. That way I can be confident the dogs are well out of the way of the equipment we'll be using for the project.
Next, I'll need to remove a lot of the fences I put up just last year. With the dozer working around the area they will come down on way or the other, and if I carefully take them down I'll be able to reuse them once the dirt project is completed.
Next, my friend Terry Snow is going to make the earth move. Terry owns Cootbear Enterprises, and when it comes to making the earth move, he's the man. He's a very experienced operator and has the equipment needed to make short work of this project. We will need to fill in a large hole, which will require about 10 truck loads of fill dirt, and then clear out some black spruce trees and undergrowth before grading and compacting the dog yard.
Once the dirt work is done I can install the tether swivels and houses in their permanent locations, rebuild the fence, and it should be good to go.
The end result is intended to be a considerably larger dog yard with more conveniently usable space for housing while conserving the play yard space I worked so hard to create last year.
Of course I will also be tending to the dogs during this R&R, focusing on husbandry and behavior training. All of the young dogs, and some of the older ones, need to work on "line out" and on walking with a loose leash. My up and coming young leaders can also start working on some advanced cues, such as those to turn the team around when we find ourselves at the dead-end of a trail. By laying out the ground work for those behaviors during the off-season we can establish a foundation on which to train the finished behavior once we have snow on the ground.
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