The Redpaw Newsletter
The newsletter for canine athletes and their trainers
(help name this newsletter)
Volume 1, Issue 1: August 2003
Editor's Desk
Welcome to the first installment of this newsletter. Over the past several years Redpaw has been contacted by hundreds of mushers and other working dog enthusiast. These contacts have included inquiries about Redpaw, canine nutrition questions, training and equipment questions, and also many stories of adventures on the trail and in the field. We have also received many great ideas and suggestions related to all aspects of canine sports.
As the number of questions, comments, ideas, and stories continues to grow we recognize that the mushing and working dog communities would benefit from a common, non-commercial, reader driven source through which to communicate. Redpaw decided to see if we could provide the platform that will encourage people to share their thoughts and ideas.
This newsletter is designed for the subscribers and readers. We want to give you the chance to share with others who receive this newsletter. This is an informal, nonscientific forum for you to express ideas and provide feedback to other subscribers.
The people who are helping to edit and design this newsletter are volunteers. Their main duties are to review, comment and select the topic for their respective department. The department heads where chosen based on their real world experience and overall attitude towards working dogs rather than any educational criteria. This reflects our commitment to you, the reader. They are just like you. We want your questions, articles, pictures, etc. for future issues.
At first the newsletter may lack a little in the overall content and design. This is a work in progress. We plan to expand both the size and scope as time allows. We are counting on the readers to provide the direction the newsletter will take to more accurately reflect the readers’ wants and needs.
We envision the newsletter to contain one or two feature articles submitted by our readers and some regular departments. All departments will have an editor to monitor the discussion and provide input and guidance. Here is a basic outline of the expected departments, including the editor.
1. Editor's Desk by Eric Morris. General comments on the newsletter and dog sports in general. May comment on a featured article or just present an idea.
2. Windy Creek from Windy Creek Kennels of Fox Alaska, Ken Anderson and Gwen Holdmann. Ken and Gwen will provide the reader with adventures and stories from the truck to the trail. They will also contribute to all other departments and will field questions from our readers.
3. Training Tips (editor to be determined). We will provide valuable training tips from an experienced trainer and will also review and post other training tips from readers. The editor will oversee the submission of questions from readers and provide a response. In every issue we hope to have tips from all disciplines and from all levels of mushers.
4. Dog Yard Tips and Traveling with dogs edited by Chuck Cullip. Chuck will provide one or more tips for a healthy dog yard and traveling with dogs; both his own and those submitted to us. If we find an intriguing question Chuck will post this and review the replies.
5. Feed Tips department will be edited by Eric Morris. Eric will provide his own insights and those of our readers on the feeding of the canine athlete. He will also field nutrition questions and encourage other people to contribute their own ideas. This department will also look into different snacks and treats.
6. Gear Tips by Rob Lombard of Frostline.com. Rob will take a look at the different and new equipment on the market. Reviews of various products can be expected as well as answers to specific questions about certain products. Reviews or questions about selected items will be directed to some of the outfitters that have expertise in that area.
7. Question of the issue edited by Chuck Cullip. In every issue of the Redpaw newsletter we will pose a question. We encourage all subscribers to reply with their answer. We will post the most helpful answers in the following issue. Every department editor will also reply to this question.
8. Editorial department edited by Randy Carris will provide a forum for you to address dog related issues that may not fit well into the other departments.
9. Classified ads will soon be available for all subscribers. These ads cannot advertise a business or commercial enterprise. We will also provide free business card size ads for all dog related non-profit groups and race governing organizations.
Name this newsletter
Since this newsletter is inspired by its readers we want you to name it. We're holding a contest to select an appropriate name. It's not necessary for the suggested name to include the words "Redpaw" or "Redpaw Feed" (in fact we discourage it). The person whose idea best reflects the goals of this newsletter will win a free Redpaw cap and see their idea at the top of each issue.
Send your ideas to editor@redpawfeed.com
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Windy Creek
by Ken Anderson and Gwen Holdmann of Windy Creek Kennels in Fox, Alaska
www.windycreekkennel.com
ken@windycreekkennel.com
gwen@windycreekkennel.com
(Editor's note: Ken wrote this article in May but it has taken us longer to get this first issue together than we anticipated.)
Fox, Alaska- Spring thaw came fast here in the interior. The fire danger is now listed as "extreme". Although we're nearly into summer, the racing season seems like it ended just yesterday. For most kennels Iditarod finish usually marks the end of the racing season. Up here in the north country we can race until the end of April if you're willing to travel. While I was on the Iditarod trail my wife Gwen was training another team of dogs for the Canadian Championships in Yellowknife, NWT. A week after I returned home from Nome we were headed down the Alaska Highway, bound for Yellowknife 2000 miles away.
This was to be our fifth time to Yellowknife over the past seven years. Yellowknife is one of the oldest races in North America run on the Great Slave Lake. With a mass start format, this is one of the most unique races we hit along the circuit. The dog races are the highlight of a week-long party called the Caribou Carnival. There's lots of other interesting events like snowmachine races, tea boiling contests, and wood-cutting races. It's a beautiful drive, (even though 400 miles of the road is on gravel) coupled with a fun weekend of dog racing.
After Yellowknife we drove non-stop for Anchorage to put me and the team on a flight up to Kotzebue, Alaska for two more weekends of racing. I stayed the night in Kotzebue with friends then the team and I chartered a small bush plane to fly us out to the small Eskimo village of Noorvik for a sprint race. We fit 16 dogs and gear into a Cessna 206 airplane. The dogs behaved well and the hardest part about the whole flight was keeping the windows from fogging up.
The Noorvik races were part of their spring carnival like Yellowknife. Aside from dog mushing, basketball is huge out in the villages. Noorvik hosted 16 teams from surrounding villages for a weekend-long tourney. It was my first time to Noorvik and I enjoyed the friendly hospitality of one of the few inland Eskimo communities in Alaska. After the races were over I borrowed a snowmachine and a dog hauler (a big doghouse on skis) and drove the dogs via the overland trail 60 miles back to Kotzebue. It was a bumpy ride and I think the dogs would prefer we flew next time.
The next weekend was the Arctic Circle Championship sprint races in Kotzebue. It's part of a long weekend of dog races run in conjunction with the Kobuk 440- a mid-distance race many mushers feel is tougher than the Iditarod. I ran the 440 last year and was very happy to settle for the shorter sprint races, especially after doing the Iditarod this year. Many top sprint teams flew in for the race. Being an Iditarod musher, I was hoping for a blizzard to slow down all the speedsters. Fortunately spring storms are fairly common on the Bering Sea coast, and my wish was granted on the last day helping us to win the heat.
We could have actually stayed up north for two more weekends of racing but we were anxious to switch gears into springtime, so we packed up and flew the team back home to Fairbanks. It's been a long season for us this year but we can hardly wait until next year. I think daily about next years' Iditarod and what I need to do to improve upon this years' fifth place finish. Gwen is looking forward to running the stage races down south again in Oregon and Wyoming. Before we know it the snow will be flying again and we'll be back on the runners. We will be updating our website soon and invite any of you to e-mail us if you have questions about anything pertaining to dog racing. Have a safe and prosperous summer.
Ken Anderson
Gwen Holdmann
Windy Creek Kennels
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Training Tips
One of the common problems we have heard about is when we have a great gee-haw leader and a great leader who keeps a strong pace but does not follow commands well. The faster dog often interferes with the gee-haw leader causing a wrong turn or other misdirection. One potential solution is to give the gee-haw leader a heads up on his partner. Putting the gee haw leader in a position that is 2-4 inches in front of his partner will allow it to be able to pull its teammate one way and to shoulder it over when turning the opposite direction. To provide this extra couple of inches either increase the length of the loop on the back of the harness or simply add another 2 inch snap onto the back of the loop. Give this a try. It also works very well when you have a trained leader teaching a young leader the ropes. It gives the trainer a step ahead of the youngster.
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Dog Yard Tips
Keeping the dog yard clean is one of the most critical factors in maintaining overall kennel health and happiness. Scooping poop is very important and so is transporting the waste away from the yard to a safe disposal sight. One way to transport the poop is to use a small plastic sled. The long kind we all see for 5$ at the local hardware store designed for children to use on a hill works well. When stringing the rope it is suggested you drill a series of holes around the perimeter of the sled. Then you can weave your rope from the back of the sled to the front. This will distribute the pulling force around the sled and it will not fall apart as quickly. We have found this sled holds a large amount of waste, contains it well, is difficult to tip, allows waste to dry easily, and is very easy to pull around the yard both in summer and winter. It is also a very easy conveyance to the dump site.
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Tips for Traveling with Dogs
A common problem in many dog boxes is the wear and tear the insides of the dog boxes take and the amount of debris and waste that can work its way beneath the straw. A very good idea presented by Bianca Seay, She places a thin piece of plywood or similar material in the bottom of each dog box then adds straw. When she cleans the box she simply removes the piece of wood and can hose off any debris. If the wood is soaked with urine or water it is discarded and replaced.
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Feed Tips
One of the most common questions we receive in regards to feeding dogs is about water. Should I feed wet or dry, and if I feed wet should I soak? Based on experience and current data your dog is better off if they are fed water with their meal. This can be either soaked feed or water added just prior to placing it in front of the dog. The addition of water to the feeding scheme not only helps with general overall hydration but it also aids in digestion and the feeling of fullness. One advantage of adding water directly to the feed dish with the feed is that if a time comes when you need to place the dog on a restricted calorie intake (diet) it will still be receiving approximately the same volume and therefore feel full, making a less cranky dog.
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Gear Tips
As you all know mushers are a very resourceful bunch. As one old musher said to me one day "if he could do it himself and save a dollar then he would than have an extra dollar to spend on things he cannot do for himself". Today's equipment tip is a method for making a very simple, cheap and useful feed/water scoop. You will need the following materials: a small coffee can (11oz), a 3 inch muffler clamp and two bolts the same size as those for the muffler clamp. Using the muffler clamp as your guide drill two holes in the side of the coffee can. Place a bolt on the threaded end of the muffler clamp and thread about ½ inch down. Place the open end of the muffler clamp through the holes drilled in the can. Place the remaining nuts on the clamp and thread until the end of the nut is flush with the clamp end. Tighten the outside nuts snug and you now have a scoop. A small coffee can will hold approximately 4 cups of feed and one quart of water. The indentations that encircle the can provide very good reference marks that make it easy to measure your scoop.
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Question of the Issue
During hard exercise and training I have a dog that does not drink well. What can I do to encourage a dog to drink?
We invite everyone to contribute their ideas and tips. Send them to QOTI@redpawfeed.com
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Editorial
Commentary for this issue is provided by Eric Morris
The United States Forest Service is in the planning stages of changing the rules governing OHV use in Chequomegon and Nicolet national forest in Wisconsin. The proposed changes would restrict musher use to only marked trails. We would have to train on trails that are shared with normal OHV traffic. This will be very detrimental to all mushers who rely on our National Forests for training as we suspect these rules will soon follow in areas that they do not already exist. Many mushers in Wisconsin are lobbying the USFS to allow a special permitting process that would allow mushers training dogs utilizing OHVs to use all trails except those posted for OHV use. You are encouraged to contact your local USFS office and inquire as to the status of OHV use in your area.
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Remember, this newsletter was created for you. We encourage your input on any sporting dog related topic. If you have tips, questions, or suggestions, please send them to us.
Training Tips: training@redpawfeed.com
Dog Health or Yard Maintenance: dogyard@redpawfeed.com
Traveling with Dogs: traveling@redpawfeed.com
Feeding Strategies: feed@redpawfeed.com
Gear Reviews or Suggestions: gear@redpawfeed.com
Question of the Issue, Either your answers to the current question or to pose a question: QOTI@redpawfeed.com
Any other topics: editor@redpawfeed.com
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