November 4, 2009

Hello Everyone!

Training is going extremely well this year at MCK! The warmest temps we saw all summer were in late August and September so we rose well before dawn during that time to have the dogs run long before the sun came up and temp increased to husky sweltering levels. Things have cooled off though and we have had several snowstorms giving a nice cushion of snow for the dogs feet as we covered many miles of trail. Unfortunately, the temps are back into the 40's and nearly all the snow has left us. We are certainly not suffering from a drought! While last year these runs were dry and dusty, we are dealing with the opposite extreme. Our gear in covered with mud and soaked every day, and while the harnesses and lines get washed and rinsed to prevent any rubs or discomfort to the dogs, well, our carhartts and rain gear are long overdue for some washing!

We are much further advanced in our training than any other season... a full month ahead of where we were with our training for the 2008 Iditarod! We are right on track with our schedule and the dogs are looking great. I will be running an all Siberian team in this years Iditarod. Currently, my team consists of Jodi, Altoid, Muski, Mac, Atilla, Ghengis, Peso, Kracker, Einstein, Rocket, Nic, Steer, Tuuli, Roland, Watt, Tagish, Kahru, Domita, Mothra, Baldy, Trekkie, Trouble, and Kyat. Its a nice looking group and I have big ambitions for this years Iditarod if all works out.

Phil is focusing on training our impressive crew of yearlings for the Beargrease Marathon. They are very focused and hard working youngsters with lots of potential. A couple real stand-outs are Racket and Woody. They are training with Jen's crew of race dogs and show all the potential of heading to Nome this year. We won't likely let them go that far this year, but are very pleased with their natural abilities.

As many of you have heard, Jen's race plans have been put on hold this winter as we are expecting a new addition to our family next May! We are delighted, excited, and naturally a bit anxious about this new chapter of our lives... Parenthood! :) She has moved her Beargrease entry to the mid-distance race, and Alice will likely be running a team of yearlings in the event.

Our 2009 pups are turning into wild little dogs! While still very cute, they are also developing impressive voices (Kimber/Frog pups) and attitudes (Domtita/Punto boys). The Karhu/Baldy pups are pretty sweet, and not overly noisy or fiesty, at least not yet! :) All the pups love going on walks and having play time in the large exercise pen. We've actually taken all 20 on walks through the woods together, and they stick with us very well. It is really nice however just to head to the big pen and not have to worry about anyone wondering away!

The big exercise pen has been awesome. The dogs get hours to play out there on their days off. We often take them out for a "walk" out there after the runs as well. It gives us time to play with them and evaluate their gaits as they stretch out and play. We also will let the 7 month old "orphans" out there to play for several hours in the afternoon, and it is fun to watch them come back into the kennel all tuckered out and ready to sleep! Alice, Kim, and Jen had a great time starting them in harness a couple weeks ago... they did awesome and could hardly contain their excitement to finally run in a team. We really love our Bodo babies!

That's most of the news from MCK!