"STRETCHING IT OUT IN THE NORTHERN FOREST!" 

Here you can see the length of stretch of Willy which is indicative of the athletic form of these dogs.
It was a crazy week here with the rain received last weekend and a minimal amount of new snow since. The trails are very hard & fast. Training has been suspended until the trail conditions improve.
We did get in two training runs last week that were used to try dogs in different positions. They were used to try out new leader prospects for next season. We were pleased with the performances of Teal, Cobalt, Vickie and Annie. Sophie also ran upfront, but she is still too immature to assess her for the lead position and will get another opportunity next Fall. She did fine as far as staying in front of the team; however, her tug line wasn't always tight as she liked to look around and not totally concentrate on the job at hand. But, if all goes well, we will have six dogs that can run lead in the Sprint Team for next season.
Until next week.......

" WEEK OF REST FOR THE DOGS IN THE NORTHERN FOREST!"

It was a scheduled rest week here for the dogs after a long busy training schedule. Even if these dogs are just training, they are running almost always full out on their own volition. In this photo you see Cobalt & Willy at the forefront followed by Nickie & Katie and with Vickie & Blackie at Wheel. 

This week I also took time to reflect on what our goals were at the beginning of the season and our accomplishments to-date.
   1- To develop a new leader for the Sprint Team
   2- To train & give experience to the Yearlings
   3- To form a basis for a race team for the 2011/12 season
   4- To give team some race experience ( head on passing, exposure to   crowds of spectators, travelling in the truck, etc.
   5- To assess the dogs ability and desire to make an Open Class Sprint Team
   6- To form a bonding & a trust with all the sprint dogs
That was a big objective for the season and I am pleased to have accomplished everything. It is very special when you look at the team of 14 dogs being made up of 9 Yearlings, one new Leader to the team, one first year Leader & three experienced dogs that have never raced for me before.
I couldn't be more happy with the results!
The weather here this week was a mixed bag that included very mild temperatures, rain and then a deep freeze. The results are very fast, hard trails with little fresh snow cover.
Until next week......
   

"WEEK TO EXPERIMENT HERE IN THE NORTHERN FOREST!"

This week was a good week for running, evaluating & experimenting with the Sprint Dogs. 
We got in 4 days of running and were planning on going today. However, the temperatures here this morning was - 30C, to cold for running this type of dog. On Saturday, we cut the team size back to 12 dogs. Two of the young dogs are not yet mature enough to handle the the speed & size of an Open Class Team, so they will be run in smaller teams and reevaluated next Fall. 
We also started switching dogs around in the team and some with different partners with the goal of fine tunning the team to maximize performance. We now have Lizzy & Vickie running together as they both have a similar gait & speed. We have also moved them up closer to the front of team with hopes of running them at Point. Yesterday, we moved Teal to Lead to run with Max hoping to increase the speed of the front end. Teal is seen in the photo running at right Point. Cosmos, yesterday, was moved to point. However, he will probably be moved back to Wheel , for a try , as his size, strength & speed will be a great asset there. He will still be used at Lead at times & has exceeded my expectations at that position. The Wheel position is one the three most important positions in the team. Teal has been showing signs of wanting to run Lead, especially while running in the Point position. She did a great job at Lead for her first time and exceeded my hopes. She loves being up there and running with Max. Size & speed wise they are well suited to run together. At full speed through the run Teal reached over and gave Max a kiss urging him to go faster! This is a sign of a potentially great pairing!
 Over the balance of the season, we will be experimenting with other dogs & pairings as well as other potential leaders getting an opportunity in that position. 
The weather has been a little snowier here this week and a wide range of temperatures from extreme cold to quite mild for this time of year.
Until next week........

"COSMOS & MAX LEADING A 14 DOG TEAM IN THE NORTHERN FOREST!"

It was a great week here running the Sprint Team three times & the Distance Dogs twice.
The temperatures at the beginning of the week was in the low -20's C range and by Friday around -5 C. We got about 8" of snow on Wednesday making for slower trails on Thursday & Friday.
Monday, Tuesday & Friday, we ran all the Sprint Dogs and that was the reason for running a 14 dog string. The dogs did great on both Monday & Tuesday turning some of the fastest speeds we have run all year. Friday was a little slower with the fresh snow and warm temperatures, but still faster than our runs earlier in the season.
On Thursday & Sunday, Kara ran the Distance Dogs on a 5.2 mile loop on the lake. She did a great job for her first & second time solo.
Saturday the Yukon Quest started & my friend Denis Tremblay started in second position on his 1000 mile adventure. We all wish Denis good luck. You can follow his progress on the Yukon Quest website (live tracking).
Until next week.......