Once again welcome to the newsletter. I feel I owe our readers and contributors an apology. We had hoped to publish this newsletter a little sooner but I held it up. The contributors where all on time and I failed to get everything edited on time. My apologies to everyone. I would like to thank Shirley and Bill Boyd for the wonderful name suggestion “Makin' Tracks”. Not only is it very catchy but it also represents all working dogs no matter their discipline. As you can see the newsletter has really grown since the first issue. We will hear from a very accomplished musher and dog trainer, Lloyd Gilbertson. We will also meet for the first time Zoya DeNure, a young lady trying to run dogs in Alaska. We will also hear once again form Windy Creek Kennels where the weather is changing and so is breakfast. Linda Fredericksen will be heading up a section on freight dogs. We have a very interesting article on dog booties that will help clear up some questions. We will hear from Chuck Cullip and get his ideas for taking care of your sled. Thanks to all who responded to the Question of the Issue.

I would like to thank all the readers who received the newsletter. We would encourage you all to send us a note with comments, suggestions, or articles. We would like to encourage people from all working dog disciplines to join this newsletter. We could all benefit from each other’s training practices. We would also encourage you to share this newsletter with friends and family.

Take care and keep on working those dogs.

Thanks and congratulations to Shirley and Bill Boyd. They submitted the winning entry to the name this newsletter contest. We appreciated all the submitted suggestions. We felt that “Makin' Tracks” represented all working dogs and their owners. We will be sending out a couple of hats soon. Once again, many thanks to Shirley and Bill Boyd.

Answers:

From Frank Hashek
I should preface this that I have limited sled dog experience and am still learning.

Since I live in an urban setting, I will go on dog sledding/winter camping at the Voyageur Outward Bound School near Ely, MN. The dog people at the school believe hydration is as important in the winter as the summer. However, the dogs don't always agree. That is why they give a major portion of the dogs' hydration with the food. In the winter, it is hot water over the daily ration, cool to lukewarm and feed. In the summer, it is water over the kibble. Water is also available if it won't freeze.

I've adopted one of these retired dogs and she is quite content to have her food served this way. On return from exercise, she wants some petting attention before she will drink.

From Rob Lombard
First of all it is possible that the dog is too hot to drink and may just need to cool down a bit before presenting the water, the next step would be to put a small amount of food in the water to entice drinking, if this doesn’t work then baiting the water with beaver meat or even ground beef should do the trick.

As I write this, the birch and aspen trees in our yard have lost most of their leaves. Fall doesn’t last long here in Alaska. Each morning we awake to a hard frost; a cold reminder to finish up last minute building projects before winter closes down on us. With the shortening days, the northern lights have re-emerged from their summertime hibernation. We find ourselves replacing cereal and fruit for breakfast with bacon, eggs, and french toast. This is a breakfast we rarely eat in the warm summer months, but really seem to crave once the temperature starts dropping and we are outside with the dogs all day long.

For all dog mushers, this is a time of great optimism and excitement. Most of us here in Alaska are already training our teams and looking forward to this year’s racing schedule. Fall training brings new rewards every day as the dogs get faster, stronger, and more focused with every run. As usual, Gwen and I have daily discussions about which races to compete in this year, where our focus should lie for the upcoming season, and extrapolating how these decisions will affect us in the years to come. It seems to have become our favorite pastime to debate the merits of one race schedule over the next, scratching out schedules, perspective teams, and budgets for each scenario. Every year we’ve raced, despite all our scheming, it always seems to come down to a last minute decision and in the end it’s usually the dogs that make the decision for us.

We’re excited to be feeding Redpaw for the third year in a row. We’re especially looking forward to trying the new 38/25 kibble. Last year I fed primarily soaked Redpaw 32/20 on the Iditarod and feel the new 38/25 will be a great addition to the dogs’ diet. I’ve found that during long-distance races the dogs really like their food simple, without being mixed with a lot of different meats. After trying many feeding techniques on the Iditarod, the dogs seemed to prefer soaked kibble by itself, with any extra meats offered frozen after their main meal of Redpaw. The new 38/25 should give the dogs the calories they need without having to depend on them eating fatty meats or adding oils to satisfy their huge caloric needs.

This year, I’m adjusting my training plan to focus more specifically on the Iditarod. In years past, our dogs were conditioned for the much faster stage races, with the Iditarod basically being an afterthought. In order to help improve our team performance in Iditarod, we want to start by focusing on developing muscle mass. Gwen and I noticed that our dogs gained muscle mass when we first switched to Redpaw 3 years ago. With regular loose training providing some exercise over the summer months, the dogs have maintained most of their muscle mass and conditioning from last year. I think this helps to give the dogs the bottom end stamina and resiliency they’ll need for our demanding race schedule. Fall training has been refreshing, as we’re training the dogs a little slower and a little longer than previously. Some dogs that used to struggle with speed at this time of year look much better this fall. We’ve also seen a reduction in minor injuries the dogs sometimes develop due to our rough trails. Training differently and looking at the dogs from a new perspective has been very rewarding for us.

Whenever I’m outside, I catch myself stealing glances at the sky and thinking of snow. Snow has been forecast twice this week, but it didn’t materialize and admittedly it’s a bit early in the season yet. But I’m certainly not taking snow for granted this year, and I think every musher in Alaska (and the Midwest as well, I imagine) is holding their collective breath in the hopes we don’t have a repeat of last year’s drought. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for early snow, lots of snow, and no rain!

The nice thing about dogs is they do what you train them to do.

The bad thing about dogs is they do what you train them to do.

The implications of these statements are obvious and they apply to conditioning as well.

It puts the responsibility for a team’s performance squarely in the lap of the musher.

It would be nice if you could sit down with your dogs early in the season and have a little chalk talk. You could describe for them your goals for the season and show them the plan you had for training and conditioning that would get them there. The reality is you have to prepare them by simulating in training what they will experience during the coming season. If your lead dogs are expected to hold a line tight during hookup and know gee and haw you have to train them to do that. If you will be racing where dogs are expected to eat in harness you have to expose them to that.

For many top musher’s in distance racing most training occurs in the off season and early season. Many believe that as you increase mileage as the season progresses a dog should already be trained in the basic commands you expect from it. The physical stresses of long, fast runs may make it more difficult for dogs to learn new things. The combined stresses of trying to make both happen simultaneously can be too much for a dog and they simply “duck out”

There are many good books on dog training and there are people more than willing to share their techniques. Read them. I recall one musher’s story about early season hookups where his young dogs were chewing necklines faster than he could get out of the yard. His solution was to leave the worst offenders behind so that they would learn that they did not get to run when they chewed. Another long time dog trainer after hearing this solution said if his dogs were that smart they should drive the truck to the races.

The bottom line is don’t expect your dogs to do something you haven’t prepared them for. In this series of articles we will try to answer the most common questions that come up as well as specific questions you, the reader may have.

Freight dogs: Inuit Sled Dogs, Malamutes, Mackenzie River Huskies, Polar Huskies, Big Alaskan Huskies(with proper coats), Siberians(more versatile breed – racing/freight)

I married into sled dogs three years ago. I came from the world of eager-to-please Australian Shepherds. Training went something like: “I see you are thinking about asking me to do something. Well, I’ll bring those sheep to you, shear them for you, bring you a cup of coffee and a lawn chair and then massage your feet.” I met Brian’s Inuit Sled Dogs and training went something like: “I may or may not see that you are asking me to do something because I am way too busy testing you to notice. I am, however, going to come over and pee on your leg and then do what I want”. After I learned to gain the respect of the latter, training has been more like: “OK, I guess I can do that for you but not for very long, unless you are able to keep my respect…..” and the learning continues.

Over the past three years I have managed to put together my own team of three (fourth on the way!) Inuit Sled Dogs and four Freight Alaskans. In the first year, Brian suggested I have an all Inuit Sled Dog team. I made an attempt and I think the response was “No @!#$! Way”. I am somewhat conservative and not one to swear but I thought it was necessary as a response to the impossible that first year!

People always ask, the second they find out we have sled dogs, if we race. No, we don’t race. We have freight dogs and do adventure trips. (Oooh, mysterious!) People seem to have forgotten that, before there were racing dogs, there were true northern, big, burly, heavy coated freight dogs that pull for a living, in arctic conditions. Granted, our dogs don’t exactly pull for a living, they do enjoy a plush life. Unlike the original Inuit Sled Dogs that were dropped off on islands to fend for themselves, until the survivors were picked up, in time for winter.

Our dogs do get a pretty good dose of their traditional use. My team and I have gone on numerous trips with my husband and his team of predominantly Inuit Sled Dogs. Some of these include: Lake Nipigon, Crane Lake, The Boundary Waters, private trails in Manitoba, Upper Michigan and the Moquah Barrens in Northern Wisconsin. My husband has taken 300+ mile trips to Hudson Bay and the Northwest Territories. Conditions range from hard wind packed snow with 40 below wind chills to four feet of snow, 20+ degrees and slushy. All welcome conditions to the determined freight dog.

With the Freight Dog section of this newsletter, I would like to attempt to provide useful information and stories from beginner to experienced freight dog owners, feature articles from experts and include my personal opinion and experiences. Each issue will include a Freight Dog of the Issue section, so please send photos of your best freight dog(s) with a paragraph describing the dog(s), or you will get to know our dogs real well! I would enjoy receiving input from readers with freight dogs to include in this section, as well. Questions and comments from our racing friends are also appreciated.

Amy Cooper asks:
For those people that feed meat with their dry food, what is the correct way to calculate the percentage of meat vs. dry food, since you're dealing with "wet weight" and "dry weight"?

Eric Morris answers:
Thanks Amy for sending in this excellent question!

The easiest and most efficient way to correctly calculate the percentage of meat versus dry food is to consider them equivalent and ignore moisture content. You can weigh the amount of dry food and the amount of wet meat. Take the total of these two and then divide by their respective weights and you will have the percent.

It is interesting to note that a premium dog food can support up to 20% wet meat supplementation and a lesser quality feed can support about 10% wet meat supplementation.

This being my first entry into this newsletter, I figured that I should pick some gear that we all seem to have encounters with this time of year as we try to get our team in condition for snow covered trails. One of the things I have learned while training sled dogs is, TAKE CARE OF THOSE FEET! No feet no team sums it up.

The information and tips compiled in this section have been obtained through manufacturers of dog booties, research and personal use

Thanks to Fidogear, Dogbooties.com and Ah-Regah Kennel & Equipment for sharing tips and suggestions used in this article!

Tips to reduce the need for booties:

• Try to train your team to run on the grass shoulders of roads.
• I have heard people say they like to have gravel in the dog areas to “toughen the feet” (not sure if this works/helps?)
• If you have the option try not to train on trails with a lot of gravel and especially if frozen in and while dogs are “digging in”
• When breaking the team to cool down stop where the ground is less likely to be tough on their feet as they get excited to go again and really dig those paws into the ground.

How to use Booties:

• A trick to putting the dog booties on is to make a small funnel cut from a milk carton or other plastic container that expands the opening of the bootie and guides the dogs’ feet into the bootie with ease. (Thanks Richard Louks)
• When putting booties on, make sure the dogs’ feet are free of snow, sand, ice, etc. and are relatively dry.
• Color code your booties by size so that you know by color the different sizes and can easily tell which booties to put on which dogs, most suppliers will make them any colors you want.
• Keeping your dogs nails trimmed will increase the life of the dog bootie considerably.

What Materials Are Better for What Situations:

Oh my goodness are there a lot of different materials used by various manufacturers in the makeup of dog booties. Some booties are made out of a combination of these materials. I have broken this into two subsections, bootie material and fastener material.

Bootie Materials

• Polypropylene: doesn’t soak up water, lightweight, stretchable, compact, medium durability, keep an eye on them on extremely hot roads as it is a plastic.
• Ballistic Nylon: very tough, waterproof, excellent protection in extreme conditions. Gravel or rocky terrain, extended walking on pavement or hunting in harsh conditions. Commonly used in tracking and Search & Rescue
• Polar fleece: thicker protection in cold powdery snow situations, too light for rough surfaces, soaks up water in warm conditions, great for medicating sore feet, NOT abrasion resistant
  
• 1000 denier Cordura: check the denier of the cordura as there are many different thicknesses out there, the higher the denier the more durable but also more abrasive on the foot, the lower the denier reduces durability more but more favorable in snow. Great for wet, ice, snow, rough conditions and medium heat situations (if the ground is too hot for you to walk on it barefoot it is too hot for your dog) Water resistant. NOT slip resistant.
• 330 denier Cordura: Same as 1000 denier cordura but is lighter and slightly less durable, not suggested for high heat conditions. Not slip resistant.
• Spandura: long life, excellent abrasion resistance. Comprised of a combination of Cordura, Supplex and Lycra Spandex, Spandura is lightweight, tough and flexible.
• Toughtek: Toughtek can be found on mitten and glove palms as the gripper fabric. Very resistant to abrasion.
• Polartec® 300: a soft, quick drying synthetic fabric, good durability.

Fastener Material

• Velcro: can have the hook part of the Velcro be the wrap or the loop (fuzzy) side of the Velcro is the wrap. Quick to use, unlikely to cause constriction if strips are wide. This is the most widely used fastener.
• Elastic: easy to slip bootie off, can cause constriction if too tight !
• VELSTRETCH WRAP: The loop or fuzzy side of the Velcro is the wrap plus it stretches. Great for staying on the dog, can be hard to get them on just right to make sure they don’t fall off yet are not too tight that they cause constriction.
• Vet Wrap: used by some to help keep booties on dogs that seem to always loose them, can also be used if dog eats the Velcro wrap.

When to Use Booties:

• Abrasive snow conditions- indicated by sugar type snow or when you see Jack Frost crystals glistening on the trail and snow banks.
• On Roads to protect from Salt, Chemicals, Gravel, Trash
• Icy Trails
• When snow balls are collecting in the toes of the dogs
• To protect your tent floor from nail holes
• To protect an injured paw or pad
• It is always a good idea to carry dog boots whenever you are out with your dogs, Conditions change so have a couple different bootie materials to cover frozen ground versus wet ground or hot trail situations.
• A small act of prevention is much less work than carrying out or loading your dog into the sled !

Fitting:

When sizing booties, put the bootie on, have dog put their weight on that foot. The bootie should not interfere with the expansion of the toes , however it should not be so loose that it flops like a half worn sock. If too loose they will flip off while running and if too tight they will cause sores on the toes usually on the upper side of the web portion.

Most suppliers have you measure the width of the paw with weight on the paw at the widest point including the nails for proper fitting.

What to be aware of:

Don’t put on too tight! Can cause swelling, cracks, frostbite, and even infection

Dogs eat them! Keep a close eye on your dogs when resting. If ingested the booties can fill with food and cause internal blockages.

Stop and inspect booties often on rough trail, when a bootie wears through it will fill with snow, sand , ice or other debris causing the dog to be in a more abrasive situation than just running the trail

Remove dewclaws if possible , most booties will secure around the dewclaw area causing trouble putting the bootie on, keeping it on and at times chaffing from having the dewclaw secured under the fastener.

The gear tips section is driven by you the reader so any gear that you would like me to review and provide tips and comparisons on feel free to let me know and I will make every attempt to get it in the next edition of “Makin'’ Tracks”, also I welcome any additional tips, corrections or comments about dog booties and/or any other gear that you wish to share just send an email to gear@redpawfeed.com.

Most all sleds look great when new, but with-in a few months or a few hundred miles on top of the truck most all sleds lose that show room appearance. How do we keep them looking good or bring one back from years of neglect?

A good place to start is after the season ends, remove the runner plastic and take your sled to the car wash along with a stiff brush and give it a good once over. If you find the plastic tough to get off, consider removing the rails that the plastic slides onto. After refinishing, replace the rails and place small washers between the rails and wood runners. Allow your sled to completely dry before you start. Lightly sand to remove any old finish and smooth any wood grain. Be careful not to damage the lashing while sanding. I have found a good marine grade, Tonge Oil, seems to hold up better than any thing else I’ve tried. Apply as directed and allow plenty of time to dry completely.

I would be interested to hear of any other products that have performed well for you. Any questions regarding sled or dog box care or repair can be referred to me at dogyard@redpawfeed.com.

September time is training time & we’re excited to be back on the trail!

The fall time is one of my favorite seasons. All the trees are changing colors, beautiful hues of pink, red, orange & gold lining the horizon.

It’s a time of reflection reminding me of good times spent with friends and family back in Wisconsin, pot luck dinners, my favorite wool sweaters, James Taylor and tea in the evening, long walks with my dogs, & the celebration of Thanksgiving.

My name is Zoya DeNure.

I decided two years after running sprint dogs in Wisconsin to go for it! I had to run distance & I had to follow a dream. I ran my dogs along a cornfield outside of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin in training for the sprint races. That first year in mushing would teach me a thing or two about dogs and give me a taste of what was to come. Mind you, I said taste!

I would spend countless evenings in the cushy comforts of home reading about Alaskan adventures and sled dog races. I would love to make big dinners over a night of Iditarod videos in my TV//VCR a few nights a week was a thrill for myself & friends and I experienced great joy and adventure in tracking my favorite distance mushers while they were on the Iditarod trail each year.

I was driven by a dream that would fill my heart & soul with intense passion, unlimited determination, anxious energy that wouldn’t let me “sleep on it”, realized self- motivation and the confidence to (chance or to risk) everything I’ve ever known in my world for a dream in the far north, Alaska and sled dogs.

I had faith in my dream to just pick up and move to Alaska, on my own.

If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would be living in Alaska mushing huskies across some of the most beautiful, dangerous and challenging country, experiencing moose on the trail, wind storms, temperatures as low as -40, living in a cabin home with no electricity, no running water, a pretty sad looking outhouse, 50 miles from the nearest shopping center, friends, theatres, coffeehouses, special boutiques, chopping firewood and hauling water from the creek for my dogs every morning.

I would have told you to Get OUTTA TOWN!

All this so I can experience the dream of running sled dogs in the far north and racing with some of the greatest mushers of all time!

This sounds crazy, like out of the books, right? Well it just gets better and better every day. From the every day to-do lists, the challenges from the trail, training to racing, the culture shock from one lifestyle to another. Being a young, attractive single woman forging her way in Alaska, the work, the rewards, the sense of freedom, the sense of isolation and all the things that challenge our thinking and doing from one day to another.

I still love my girlie magazines, town and home books, long lash mascara, facials and time with friends. I’m still me with a little touch of Alaska.

My first year here was magical. I was fortunate to meet Iditarod musher Bill Cotter and from there I would be even more fortunate to train and rac out of Cotters kennel to now owning my own dogs.

Previously in my life I was an International Model, living and working in Europe, seeing the runways from China to Italy. VIP everything. Life was different then; I was worried about my skin not how many hours of daylight I have to get all this work done. I never once thought that back then I would be here doing what I am doing. I loved the city, the culture, the people and the diversity. I still do and somehow I still make time to travel once a year.

The love for animals is nothing new, working on a dairy farm as a young girl I would take in everything from stray cats, birds, and dogs (Thank you mom). I would sneak off to the farm every chance I got. I loved the countryside, all the animals and all the smells in the country air. So maybe I’m getting back to my roots.

Thank you for getting to know me a little. I look forward to hearing from you readers also. You can write me a zdenure@yahoo.com. I will soon have a website you can visit also.

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

Makin' Tracks accepts advertising from non-profit groups that benefit dogs and dog sports. Please show your support by visiting the organizations below. If you would like to see your organization listed here, please contact editor@redpawfeed.com.

What is Mush with P.R.I.D.E.?

P.R.I.D.E. stands for Providing Responsible Information on a Dog's Environment. The relationship between sled dogs and humans is one of the oldest bonds of its kind. Modern sled dog owners are proud of their dogs as canine athletes that are bred and trained to do what they love: run as part of a team. Mush with P.R.I.D.E. supports the responsible care and humane treatment of all dogs and is dedicated to enhancing the care and treatment of sled dogs in their traditional and modern uses.