Now that August is behind us, those of us involved in fall or winter activities are eagerly anticipating falling temperatures. Many in the northern climes have been training for a couple of weeks, much to the envy of those further south.

In addition to being the time to begin training, this is also the time for seminars, symposiums, and social gatherings. Nearly everyone is within driving distance of such an event, and I encourage everyone to do so. It's a good way to support local clubs and show communities that dog owners matter. It doesn't matter whether you own working dogs or not, there is usually something of interest to all, from the spectator to the owner of 50 or more dogs.

One such example is the first ever Apostle Islands Sled Dog Symposium being held October 23rd & 24th in Bayfield, Wisconsin. It's being put on by the Northern Wisconsin Dog Mushers Association and the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce, and features speakers such as Ken Anderson, Nick Vukich DVM/ISDVMA, Mary Gilbertson, Robin Beall, Robyn Smith, and Chris Evavold. I know for a fact that the mushers in Northern Wisconsin are some of the friendliest in the sport and it's a great opportunity to check out the great trails they have up there.

To learn more about it, see our Making a Difference section near the end of this newsletter.

Here's to the start of another great season!

Randy Carris

Answers:

From Ken Anderson:

• Be sure to stay on a consistent dropping schedule: we drop first thing in the morning, water the dogs, and then drop them no longer than and 1.5 hours later. Generally they need to be dropped 1.5 to 2.5 hours after that to give a second pee. Usually then they're good for several hours. We then drop them in the evening, if we're not running them, no longer than about 6 hours after their last drop, and feed them. If the feeding is fairly thick, you don't have to drop them again until bed time. The most important thing to keep in mind is their state of hydration and when you predict they have to pee. For example, if they're well-hydrated even before you water them in the morning, they may have to pee a lot sooner than 1.5 hours later. If you stay consistent, the dogs will trust you and not pee and poop in their boxes.
  
  
• Always carry extra bedding for the dogs that may have accidents or get sick while riding.
  
  
• When you chain them around the truck, be sure not to chain them too close to their neighbors. They can get tangled for one, but they also tend not to pee and poop as readily. If you can loose-drop the dogs, they poop and pee a lot sooner and more often. If you don't have adequate tie-out space for all the dogs you are carrying, you're better off dropping in shifts.
  
  
• We've seen many tie-out options, but the system that seems to work the best is for each dog to have its own drop chain. We keep this short chain on the dog while it's in the box. This gives us something to grab for the self-ejectors. We have large u-bolts mounted around the base of the truck that are easy to land a snap on with a struggling dog. Make sure you mount your u-bolts vertically, rather than horizontal, as dogs can get a toe stuck in them easier.
  
  
• The most important safety feature for your dog box is jump-boards. This is a long piece of material (usually a 1x4) that flips up and locks in place over the base of all your doors. This safety feature will save a dogs' life, as doors inevitably open on accident.
  
  
• Pack extra food for breakdowns but realize that dogs get fat easily while traveling because of the decrease in exercise and the warmth of their boxes.
  
  
• Of course, don't forget the shovel and a trash bag.
  

From Rob Lombard

Plan on stopping frequently to drop dogs on long traveling trips to let them stretch, drink some water, or eat if scheduled but most importantly to go to the bathroom. If you wait too long you will be changing bedding in the dog boxes. Before you take dogs on a long trip in the dog box get first timers used to it by taking some short trips before hand as it is a bit stressful the first few times around.

Fairbanks, Alaska

Well, it's getting to be about that time...in a normal year, anyways. Usually, we'd be headfirst into fall training, up to our kneecaps in mud puddles. This summer has been statistically as far from normal as ever. It's been the hottest summer ever recorder here in the interior, which has meant lots of wildfires. To date, over 5 million acres have burned, also toppling the old record. Fairbanks has been covered in a shroud of smoke for most of the summer. Every morning they announce the "particulates-per-million" value that's accompanied by a status level that usually reads "hazardous". With all the announcements for the young, sick, and elderly to stay in doors, this will be the first time I've heard of cabin fever in the summer. The worst fire in the state, called the "Boundary" fire, threatened the town of Fairbanks itself. Within a few days the fire traveled 30 miles, reaching the outskirts of town. Labeled as "out-of-control", the fire was sometimes moving at a rate of 7 miles per hour. Several of the outlying subdivisions were evacuated. Our subdivision was the next in line. Just as things were getting scary for Fairbanks we finally got a shift in the winds that drove the fire back, allowing for more aggressive firefighting instead of just defensive work. A month later, the fires are still burning up near Circle and the winds are just right to keep the status here in Fairbanks at the "hazardous" level.

With the warm temperatures we haven't been able to hook the dogs up to the 4-wheeler. Luckily, we have lots of private trails and we've been making up for things by doing a lot of loose running. We let between 15 and 25 dogs loose and they follow us for 6-11 mile runs. The dogs really enjoy it and get great exercise. Our trails have a few large, deep water puddles that haven't quite dried up, so the dogs are able to take breaks there and cool off for the next couple of miles of running. We've been doing this a lot more this summer than in years past and hopefully it will pay dividends. However, I can't help but feel like we're slipping behind with each hot day, even though this extended loose running is probably just as good as the shorter fall training runs.

We're making sure to keep the dogs heavy, which seems to help them lay more muscle mass once we start the heavy pulling of fall training. This is something I learned from Doug Swingley that he always felt attributed to lots of stamina in long-distance racing. Gwen and I are thinking a lot about the upcoming race season and looking forward to another year of road-trip adventures, traveling down south (and possibly overseas to France) to the stage races.

This month's question is "tips for traveling with dogs". As some of you may have heard, I will be coming down to the upcoming symposium in October. In response to the high costs of flying dogs back and forth, I am going to drive down with our large trailer and transport dogs for people. This time of the year seems to be a common time for dog-deals. I will be charging $200 per dog. See our ad on SDC or send us an email if you have a dog or dogs you would like transported. Our email is ken@windycreekkennel.com.

Are you a Pro in your sport?

If you ask the vast majority of people who participate in dog-related competitions whether they are Pros or Amateurs, they will likely respond the latter. Since one of our missions with this newsletter (or Redpaw) is to help to improve the various worlds of dog sports, this question has been on my mind for a while.

When most of us think of the term "pro", we tend to think of the definition as having to do with someone who makes a living doing a certain activity. In many sports, such as mushing, there are very few who can actually make that claim. Most dog sports tend to be expensive activities and mushing is particularly so. Even the top mushers need to rely on some form of income other than prize winnings or promotional sponsorships. So for me this standard or definition doesn't really work in relation to dog sports.

The term is also used to imply that one is an expert on a given topic or skill. We tend also tend to think of the top performers as pros. So can a person only be considered a pro if they win a lot of competitions? Who sets the standards for number of wins or which events count? Most sports have an organizational body that attempts to do this. In some sports it works very well, in others it's barely recognized by the average participant. Often times the focus is again on money.

The word "professional" has other meanings beyond one's livelihood that are more appropriate. Professionalism has a lot more to do with methods, character, and standards than it has to do with status. It's how well we take care of our dogs, how we represent ourselves and our sport to others, and how we cooperate for the greater good. This is an aspect that we should all incorporate into our thinking. Being a pro is not about "what's in it for me", rather it's what I can do to better myself and my sport. Consider volunteering at a local event instead of just showing up to compete. Help your fellow competitors when they need it and when it's appropriate. Be a good sport and show sincere happiness about another's accomplishments.

Along this line is another word that the term pro can be derived from, but one that few us tend to think of: Professor. Every one of us should aim to help others learn about our sport and proper dog care. The best thing we can do to ensure our sports thrive is to help teach those who are just getting started. Every one of us has something to share, even if you're just starting out yourself. We can all contribute in helping those outside the sport learn more too. Races need spectators to help with funding and recruiting volunteers. Help reach out to those people and get them more interested and involved. Take a newcomer under your wing and take the time to anwer their questions.

So I hope the next time someone asks you if you are a Pro, the answer is a resounding "Yes!!"

The Hedlund Husky
An Historical Native Alaskan Husky Line and Those Responsible for its Return.

Last February, my husband Brian was reading the online version of the Anchorage Daily News, www.adn.com, and became intrigued with an article on a unique line of Alaskan Husky that is on the come back. We had been looking for new blood to add to our Freight Alaskan line. Could this be it?

Several phone calls later, I found myself on an adventure from Minnesota to Alaska. I would be learning more about this line and choosing the female pup that would make a home among our Minnesota pack. This pup is carrying on the legacy of two people named Rose and Nels Hedlund. She is also promoting the dream of Kim Fitzgerald, "Mush Knik" Networking, to keep this graceful line of dogs that honors their creators.

Rose Hedlund was an Athabascan Native from the Illiamna region and Nels was a Yup'ik Inuit from the Bethel area. They homesteaded in Illiamna, where they bred some of the best known racing dogs of that time, later called Hedlund Huskies.

The original Hedlund Husky would not be considered competitive in the current race scene. However, some recent breedings have introduced Redington-Mackey Iditarod lines, making them more versatile and better suited for sprint to long distance racing. Throwbacks to the original line are best suited for adventure trips that involve pulling heavy loads.

Kim Fitzgerald met up with Rose Hedlund in 1991 after a Knik historian reviewed the lines of the dogs she had rescued two years before and handed her a book that highlighted the line. She was not aware of how special the dogs she rescued would turn out to be. The book, published in 1976, was titled Racing Alaskan Sled Dogs by Bill Vaudrin. It is a compilation of articles that includes contributions from such mushing authors as Natalie and Earl Norris, Joe Redington and Nels Hedlund. Kim was elated and contacted Rose Hedlund. Touched by their meeting, Kim Fitzgerald undertook the mission to make sure the line does not die.

My first question for Kim was what is a Hedlund Husky and how does it differ from any other line or breed of sled dog? It is an historical native Alaskan Husky line that descends from pure Siberian Huskies, rangy gray dogs, sometimes called Village Dogs, from the interior of Alaska and selective "old wolf"* from the interior and Illiamna Lakes area. The line has consistently had a good work ethic, and this together with their eagerness to please, and their endurance and versatility, make them excellent partners on the trail. They have beauty, brains and the endurance of the "old wolf" line. Kim has found a higher percentage of leaders in Hedlund Husky litters than in any others.

The dogs are, typically, long legged, long backed and possess an efficient gait in their easy trot. Coats are dense and are similar to that of a Siberian Husky, Malamute or Inuit Dog. The Iditarod lines that have been introduced in recent years are bringing a variety of body and coat types, as well as a variety of racing styles to current litters without diminishing the wonderful personality traits held by the Hedlund line.

My next questions for Kim after finding out she came from Southern California to live in Alaska was why and how did she get into sled dogs. I could see moving from Minnesota to Alaska (I am thinking more and more about it since my visit!) but why from California?

Kim Fitzgerald grew up in Venice, California, where she was always outdoorsy. From the age of five, she spent all her spare time at her great uncle's rustic ranch, in the rugged area of Upper Ojai and Sesepe Mountains. This was a formative time of her life. Here she learned to hunt, fish, hike, trek and swim, and spent much time in solitary exploration, observing nature and feeling blessed that she was doing so.

In the early 1980s, Kim found herself in Alaska when she was being sent from city to city working in management and teaching aerobics. She had always wanted to go to Alaska and every time she was sent back she wanted to stay longer. In 1986, Alaska beckoned her and Kim made the final leap and moved there. Getting back to the basics and having the simple challenges of everyday life, living at a slower pace and having more time to bask in the beauty of it all seemed like sound reasons to have made the move.

Going from the hustle and bustle of her life in southern California to a small town in Alaska where many of the homes do not have running water and where the main source of heat is wood, did not seem to be such a grand transition for Kim as her childhood adventures prepared her for this and she thrived.

She had little knowledge of sled dogs until she moved to Alaska. She fell into sled dogs with her first rescue dogs in 1987. The contrast of getting away from it all and going farther along the trail brought back feelings from her wanderings as a child. When the Hedlund Husky rescues came along in 1989, she reacted to their unique energy and became involved with breeding.

Her current mushing business, "Mush Knik" Networking, developed naturally after she began giving sled rides to friends and their friends. Soon after the Anchorage Daily News did a story on her, people began offering her money for sled rides.

A wide array of clients comes to Kim for her mini mushing adventures. Living right off the Iditarod Trail in Knik, Alaska, makes for an educational and historical adventure. Her business stems from tourists, local folks, military bases and community groups. Mushing lessons and lectures are also part of her repertoire of which the Hedlund Huskies are the perfect ambassadors. There are fewer than fifty of this line alive today and she spreads the word among all who visit, just how special these dogs are to her.

"I feel honored," says Kim Fitzgerald, "to be with these dogs. Once their trust is earned, their loyalty is unending. They have a stateliness that speaks volumes...they offer me a glimpse of our dog's wild ancestors, the wolf, yet in a domesticated blend that allows me to respectfully work with them and love them."

Sadly, within days of my return from Alaskan, I was informed of Rose's recent death. Her husband, Nels had passed away several years before. Rose and Nels Hedlund started this line in the 1940s with a dream for the future. And Kim Fitzgerald is making sure their dream remains alive.

Rose Hedlund. April 12, 1917 - August 17, 2004.

If you would like to contact Kim Fitzgerald for more information on the Hedlund Husky you can do so at (907) 373-5126 or kimf@gci.net .

* We do not support the development of wolf hybrids and do not recommend a wolf hybrid as a companion or working dog. The Hedlund Husky is not considered a wolf hybrid due to the time elapsed since the initial introduction of wolf dog in this line and due to the minimal display of primitive wolf-like behavior.

Streeper kennels summer activities keep us busy maintaining the dog yard. Feeding, scooping, filling in holes, straightening barrels, and putting on bug stuff to protect their ears.

We also have mega contact with our new born puppies. Chloe' is president in charge of pups and has them usually named before they are born. By six weeks the healthy, good eating little cuties begin their running careers; first with short walks in their puppy pens then out side to the big world. By 8-9 weeks they are doing 1/2 mile following our golf cart, and soon after the 4-wheeler is needed to stay in front of them as they get more into running fast.

Our bigger dogs are all taking some turns in the 'dog pool'; it's 6000 gallons of cool freshness for them. This pool is a fiberglass fish raising tank measuring 16 1/2 ft across and 7 feet deep that can hold 8000 gallons when full. We keep it down a little so the dogs can't grab the edge and pull them selves out. We use it as a way to exercise the dogs when too hot for anything else.

One minute of swimming for a dog is close to 4 minutes running. When the dogs come out of the pool their heart rates are between 180-210 strokes per minute. The same dogs are at 160 strokes per minute when running

Here's hoping everyone and their dogs stay cool,

Eddy

As the years have progressed I have been trying to find better ways to keep accurate track of training runs. What is most interesting to me is the different metrics that I have come to want to know and use to base ongoing training decisions on. The very first year that I decided to take on this sport of mushing there was very little for me to use as a starting point to determine how I was doing as far as what is the standard for being a "good musher". Trying to reflect back a bit I was very stubborn about seeking out help and doing the research ahead of time to get a good start into this adventure. After all I was a dog person already. I knew dogs, as I had been around them my entire life. Not just pet dogs but working dogs. My father is the one who created this dog loving person by subjecting me to his love of working with dogs, training them to do what he wanted and becoming very successful in the areas that he chose to pursue. Back then it was coon hunting, followed shortly after with bear hunting. The things I learned back then dealt with the personality of a dog and how to use dog psychology to get them to become the best hunting hounds they could be.

What I didn't learn was what a dog is truly capable of in physical terms. So that first year I figured these Huskies have it all in their blood; they want to run, and all I had to do is figure out how to hang on and control where they went. Parts of that are true, but dog psychology would come in very handy. Yes, the dogs do love to run, but learning to do that together as a team with all the new gear on that they had never encountered before wound up being a trick in itself. Ok, so the first year was a bumpy ride. All I can say is I should have worked with an existing veteran of the sport and started as a handler. Now as the years have rolled past I still deal with the basics of bringing up young dogs and teaching them about teamwork and dealing with controlled running. But now I have the great pleasure of having senior dogs that teach them much faster than I ever could. The next thing I found myself trying to keep track of was day-to-day training to prepare for a specific format of race. That started out with doing research this time and I got my hands on a couple of reading materials that would give me a baseline to start with, including Joe Runyans Winning Strategies for Distance Mushers and a publication by Rick Swenson detailing his training log for the iditarod.

So away I went keeping a daily log of the dogs that I ran, the positions they were in, what dogs did well on that run, the mileage, the average speed that the 4-wheeler speedometer showed during the run times. Later I added how many breaks we took, how long the breaks took, the overall time of the run, and then tried to figure out the average mph using the total time from leaving the kennel to coming back. Of course when you set your sights on racing you try to figure out what speed the top ten racers are averaging. As you begin to check race results you realize that the results are very hard to follow and even worse as you start to actually run the various races you notice that the mileages that are listed are not generally true to the race.

This year I have decided to take a more accurate approach and in doing so have found out that many others are doing the same thing. Today technology is leaps and bounds ahead of the first Iditarod or North American Open. The particular technology I am playing with this year is GPS, or global positioning satellites. Most people have heard of it but few have actually used it. This is generally due to the cost of the GPS units themselves, the fact that they are hard to use, and lastly how do you apply the thing to be useful for anything other than guiding you to a buoy or landmark out on Lake Superior or other large body of water. I have borrowed a relatively new unit made by Garmin called the e-trex Legend and have found that it is not only useful once learned, it is a tool that should be standard gear for the professional musher as well as a recreational musher that is running new trails.

GPS units come in a couple different types: there are plotters and mappers. First there is some terminology that one has to learn, maybe call it GPS jargon.

Basic GPS Terminology:

• Waypoint - a latitude and longitude point anywhere in the world that is remembered by the GPS unit. Once the user marks it, you can name it and even give it fancy icons to be displayed on mapping GPS units.
  
  
• Tracks - many of the newer GPS units come with a tracking feature that once the GPS locks on at least three satellites it keeps a log of your "tracks" as you move about. Great feature for logging real mileage, turn the GPS on and let it lock on the satellites, now just do your run, when you get home your tracks will be traced.
  
  
• Modes - each GPS can function in different modes.
  

1. Satellite mode shows how many satellites it is currently tracking
   
2. Navigation mode can be used like a compass; however, you need to be moving for it to remain accurate. You can also use navigational mode to have the GPS guide you to a previously entered waypoint. As an example you could mark your dog truck as a waypoint prior to going on a run in unfamiliar territory, and then you can shut off the GPS. Once you are ready to head back go to the navigational screen and it will show an arrow pointing to the dog truck and will tell you how far you are away as the crow flies, as you continue to move the arrow moves and the distance is updated real time.
3. Map mode is available on mapping units only. You can download different types of maps including campgrounds, topo, street maps etc. This mode has a little arrow with "a you are here" style of display and updates real time as you move about the country.
4. Trip computer displays facts relevant to the track you are currently logging providing you detailed information like trip odometer, time moving, time stopped, speed, max speed, moving average, overall average. Talk about metrics that I would like to keep track of; there they all are real-time!

The tracking feature along with the trip computer is the method that I am going to try to use to log training runs, and races that allow the use of GPS devices. It takes all the guesswork and math equations out of the picture and provide a detailed and accurate look at a training run. It will be very interested to note the moving and rest times separately on training runs as the year progresses and rest times become shorter and in effect the overall average speeds increase. I plan on driving or running race routes prior to races to get a more accurate race mileage picture including elevation changes. I suggest each race organization finds one of these units to better document their mileages so that mushers can come to rely on the mileages listed.

How much for one of these fancy new products? Well you can expect to start out around $150 for the basic plotting types. These may not give you the features you need like the trip computer and ability to track and save tracks. Top end units allow you to save many more waypoints and tracks, allow you to download many different maps right into the unit, and will be more efficient in tracking satellites quickly saving precious battery time. You could spend up to $500 on a very good model. A mid-model will suit just fine so expect to pay around $200-300 for a good model. There is even a watch made by Timex that has speed and distance metrics built in that people are using today. You wear the watch that is attached to a GPS antenna that is attached to the musher via a shoulder harness and it will report your speed, average speed and distance traveled. This is a nice unit to start with but doesn't break down in great detail like the trip computer on a hand held unit.

The next thing with these units that I find extremely useful is the ability to interface with Topo software. I just got done ordering a CD topo software set from Delourme. This software has the entire U.S. on CD containing USGS detail scaled topo maps allowing you to view them in 3D. This allows you to actually see the elevation changes instead of trying to visualize using the topo elevation rings. But the big reason I ordered that software is because you can upload the tracks from a GPS to the software and overlay the tracks right onto the topo map. So picture this: you go out on a run with your GPS in hand or strapped to your sled with tracking turned on. You get done with the run and have the track saved in your GPS. You take it home and plug it into your computer, open your topo software, pull the track off the GPS and overlay it onto your topo map software. Then you can print it out for precise mapping of a race trail that you can take with you on your next run or give to the handler to have a meet spot somewhere. Race coordinators could do this same thing and provide the detailed maps to the racers in their race packets. Ah technology!

I would like to get some feedback from the readers this time around. I think it would be very interesting to get a bunch of training logs/schedules, past or present year plans, from as many people as I can. I would in turn share those training logs as the next piece of equipment that I review for the next article. So if you could share that information with everyone I am sure others would benefit immensely from it. Please send your logs to gear@redpawfeed.com and let's see if I can get an article submitted with a nice broad variety of training schedules for others to look at. Till next time, stay on the trail!

Hello friends and readers,

It's that time year again here in Alaska and my favorite season is on the backside of the turning leaf.

If you are a musher, you're probably getting out the headlamps and other training gear. The temperatures are dropping slightly and our daylight is disappearing into a silver shimmer dance of seasonal change. We're almost into full swing for our fall training here on the Denali Hwy near Paxson, Alaska. This is where the snow flies first and keeps the longest in comparison to other areas around the state. It's a popular location for long distance and Iditarod mushers to train each year; offering longer trail runs and having exceptional opportunities for winter camping. The Denali Hwy is closed to road traffic Oct-May each year making this prime time for dog teams and snowmobile traffic. The Denali Hwy is known for its rolling hills, steady climbs and magnificent views of the Alaska Range.

The vivid summer greens are changing quickly to brilliant hues of gold and rusty shades of red and already we've experienced our first frost here at Maclaren.

We've had an incredible summer here at Crazy Dog Kennels, keeping busy with kennel tours and sled dog demonstrations. Our summer was met and greeted by hundreds of unique and interesting individuals from around the world visiting Alaska for their summer holiday travel. Having the opportunity to work for myself from home with our sled dogs has been the greatest gift of all. I've been able to share with these folks my passion and dedication to the sport of sled dog mushing, as well as the lifestyle I've come to know and love. When we aren't talking to folks in one of our informative tours, we're hiking in the high country with our dogs, biking, canoeing or working hard to make our kennel a better place for our dogs and memorable destination for our guests.

What was just a dream of a summer business has turned into a ripening reality!

Our dogs have had constant interaction this summer with John and I working at the kennel. Our dog yard is the center of attention here with our house cabin at one end and the gift shop at the other. I think it's important to maintain a relationship to the yard- personality and know the dog yard dynamics on a level where you can change things. We're physically working with our dogs on a daily basis and five days out of seven we're hooking up different teams as part of my sled dog talk and demonstration for our guests; running the mix teams across the Maclaren River and back. This is terrific fun for our old retired dogs that still enjoy running, and excellent stimulation training for the young dogs and new additions from the Alaska animal shelter. We've seen a difference in our dog-yard personality and exciting changes in their individual level of confidence.

Our dog training takes place every day from talking, walking and touring. We have puppies of 3 days old to 6 months old and 20 some dogs from the animal shelter.

It all starts with building a relationship with the dog and establishing trust and working out such issues if need be. The more I know about my dog physically and mentally, the better I am able to train in conjunction with my expectations.

The entire kennel makeup has been a busy body this summer, already experiencing a variety of situations from daily interaction with groups of people to the outdoor group exercise (hiking, swimming, and walking) and free-range activity within the yard off the chain.

Our kennel consists of 40 plus sled dogs and half of these dogs at one time were unwanted reject-dogs from the animal shelter. Lack of experience, knowledge, and patience sends many great dogs to the shelter weekly.

Unique to other competitive kennels in AK, we evaluate and retrain these dogs for competitive racing. We realize we can't save them all otherwise we would have hundreds of dogs in our yard waiting for an adoption. We don't have the time, space, or money to rehabilitate all the dogs that need our help; however, we are able to make a difference one step at a time by choosing a select number of dogs that show potential.

We see a lot of dogs coming in that were either mistreated or just not handled enough. Some of these dogs turn out to be exceptionally fast and driven dogs; bringing these dogs back emotionally, nutritionally and physically is greatly rewarding.

Other dogs make great team dogs for the recreational musher and the newly popular sport of Skijoring.

You'll see that some of these dogs have quirky personalities due to genetic makeup or lack of socialization. These dogs need more time, care and training before they come around mentally and emotionally. It's a great reward to track their progress and a little miracle each time we have a dog make a life changing turn in his/her career of racing. All of these dogs are capable of running and doing well on a team.

If you have any interest in learning more about these dogs, and or supporting the goals of our efforts with Alaska Shelter Dogs please visit us on the web at www.akshelterteam.com.

Other news...

On the home front we are building new doghouses and re-modeling an old cabin that will soon be our Whale & Dog Gift Shop. The old cabin has been part of the Maclaren River Lodge for over 40 years. Whale & Dog will be open for the month of September only and re-opening next year when we return for the summer. We'll offer unique hand crafted gifts, one of a kind art-works, pictures from the ocean (our Valdez-Halibut commercial fishing trips) and sled dog items.

John and I are expanding on the land and summer kennel campsites, adding in 6 commercial campsites overlooking Maclaren Glacier in a quiet and quaint area behind the kennel with a shower house and brand new men's and women's outhouse bath for next summer. Email me with your suggestions on outhouse interior decorating or a favorite theme.

Any other suggestions, comments, and talk, please email me at zdenure@yaho.com

Cheers to you,
Zoya DeNure & the Crazy Dogs

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.

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Mark your calendars for October 23 & 24th to attend a great event in Bayfield, Wisconsin. This symposium features talks on physical exams for dogs, women in mushing, a workshop for beginners, skijoring, and maximizing the potential of your kennel. Ken Anderson will also be giving his entertaining presentation on running in the Iditarod.

Bayfield is a very scenic community and this is sure to be a memorable event. Save $15 by pre-registering. Details can be found on the registration form. You can also Janet Cismoski at 715-372-4765 for more information on the event, or visit http://www.bayfield.org for information on lodging etc.

It's the middle of the summer in interior Alaska, and many of the Two Rivers sled dog teams are melting in the summer heat and smoke from the many forest fires this year. The Two Rivers Dog Mushing Association (TRDMA) has set their 2004-2005 race schedule.

The first race of the season will be the Two Rivers Tune Up on November 20th. If there is not enough snow on the 20th the make-up date will be December 4th.

December 18th will be the 2nd Annual Solstice 100, a tough 100 miler that goes from Valley Center to Angel Creek Lodge, layover at Angel Creek, and then returns to Valley Center.

On January 22 will be the local favorite run, the Hamburger Run to Angel Creek from Valley Center; each musher will receive a mouth watering cheeseburger prize at Angel Creek Lodge.

March will be a busy Race month for TRDMA members, beginning with the 3rd annual Two Rivers 200 Chatanika Challenge, the crown jewel of the TRDMA racing season on March 10th. The 2nd Annual Junior 100 race will start on March 19th. The month and season will end with the 25th Annual Valley Funale on March 26th.

Here's to keeping your dogs happy, hydrated, and looking to the sky for that first snowflake of the season.

Editor's note: If your club would like to annouce events here, send your submission to editor@redpawfeed.com.

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