It was another easy week here giving the dogs a break from the normal regimentation of training. This is a time when we can continue to work with young leaders and change positions of the dogs in the teams to give them a break and a different perspective.
Bergen has come into heat and it is planned to bred her with Blue. This should produce a super litter of puppies. Both dogs have excellent pedigrees and both are supper runners.
The above video is a change of pace showing Sam doing some Skijoring. Cecile has been working with Sam, Cosmos and Sophie at Skijoring. This exercise has been especially beneficial for Sam as she was a little unsure of running with the racing dogs in training. Since Skijoring, she has gained confidence and ran her first race at Saint Luc in Cecile's 6 Dog Team.
The Open Team is running 8 mile and 10 mile runs this week and the Six Dog Team ran 4.5 mile and 8 mile runs. The next race we plan on attending, the Open Team will be racing 15 miles and the 6 Dog Team will be running 8 miles.
It was another cold week here with temperatures dipping into the -30's at night.
The day time temperatures warmed up by the end of the week. 
The skies were clear being a nice blue during the day and clear star filed at night. 
Absolutely beautiful!
Hinto was adopted this week by Bruno Raymond and went to his new home on Thursday. We were notified that he has fit right in to his new home. Thank you Bruno for providing Hinto with a good home.
Sophie, Lizzy and Tanya are available for adoption as pets or for recreational teams.
There has been a few emails this week requesting to make donations to the kennel for the dogs. Due to Spam, I don't reply to emails from unknown sources.
If anyone who  wish to donate can do so by going to the "B.A.R.K. Page" on the website and use the Paypal Link. I will receive notification of the Supporters and I will reply personally and acknowledge them on the website. Thank you.
Until next week....... 

It was an easy week here after last weekends race at Nicolet.
We got Cecile's 6 Dog Team and the remaining dogs that didn't race out training for 4.5 miles on Wednesday and Thursday. The Open Team trained for 8 miles on Thursday and Friday.
We are doing some extra work on trying some new and young leaders in preparation for next season. Kira and Tepeu are rotating in the 6 dog racing team and Lena is getting some first time exposure in a 8 dog team. Kira and Tepeu are doing excellent and Lena is a work in progress.
We received information this week that Halona has been adopted into a loving family thanks to the effort of the CAACQ (http://www.caacq.ca)
They put a lot of work into finding good homes for loving pets.
Below are a couple of photos of Cosmos and Tiasa skijour racing at Valcartier.
Until next week.......

It was race weekend for the Miortuk Teams at Nicolet, Quebec.
It was a challenging week here and the weekend race was no exception. Brutally cold temperatures and strong winds causing white outs, drifting snow on the trail combined with a wind chills in the -30's.
The trail on the Saturday was extremely challenging with wind blown trails and the team following the tracks of another team that went off the trail. I set the snow hook (anchor) to secure the team to get them back onto the correct trail and then the 12 dog team lunging to go, set the hook so deep I was unabel to release it. Luckily for me Cathy Rivet ran out to me ( 100 yards plus) to help dig out the hook to release the team. The whole time lost here was at least 4 minutes. The trail on the fields were difficult to navigate the driving of the sled in the open  as you could not see the turns until almost on top of them. The trail made a turn west and then we ran on the side of the Saint Lawrence River (called the gateway to Canada, as this was the route the first Europeans explored the New World).
This part of the trail was blown in with drifting snow both days. Along this section it was not racing but survival of managing the sled and preventing injuries to the dogs by slowing the team down to navigate this 2 mile section.
The trail then headed south on a river that entered the Saint Lawrence. This part of the trail was hard and fast with one section of 1 mile that was also wind blown with some slushy (water coming up between the frozen ice and the surface) sections. The last 2 miles of the 12 mile trail was very bad and was eliminated from the race for Sundays race as it was too dangerous for the teams.
Sunday was again frigid with sever winds. Due to the difficulies of the trail and the sharp narrow, wind blown trail, we ran only a 10 dog team dropping two of the bigger dogs from Saturdays team.  Larger dogs are more pron too injuries on this type of soft trails. 
Sundays run, although difficult, we made up three positions for the day with a clean run and the dogs really opening up on the river. 
Cecile also had a challenging run on both days and did a great job managing the team in only her third race and by far the most difficult. In her team, we ran Yoda in her first race and she did a great job. She looks real good for the future. All the young dogs are doing great.
It was a good weekend racing and all the dogs are in good shape and with no injuries. 
Tough dogs!
This race was dedicated to Teal in her memory!
Miss you!
Until next week......

It is a sad day here with the unexpected passing of Teal!
She showed no signs of illness and passed away this morning after the morning watering and before today's run.
There is a testimonial to her on the "Reflections Page".
She was the sweetheart of the kennel and a great Sled Dog.
Teal will be sorely missed.
Here is a video of her last run, Teal is on left Wheel.
RIP Sweetheart!
........

This week was time to give the dogs some relaxation and rest. We are trying to keep the Open Team in a race week type preparation. We rested them until Wednesday where we ran them for 8 miles. The Open Team will be run again on Saturday and Sunday for 10 miles each day. This way it simulates a race week.
Next week, training on Wednesday and race on Saturday and Sunday.
We also ran the 6 Dog Racing Team and also the balance of the dogs in the kennel. Above is a video of training some of the other dogs in the kennel. The leader on the left is Kira getting some training at lead. Kira is being groomed for this position for next season.
It was another frigid week here with the temperatures dipping to -30's at night.
It has been another very cold winter here. 
So much for Global Warming!
Here are also a few photos from last week's race at Saint Luc de Vincennes.
Until next week........

It was a busy, but satisfying week here with preparing for and attending the race at St. Luc.
Training on Monday and Wednesday, packing the truck on Thursday, travelling to and from the race Friday and Sunday. Racing two teams (1-6 Dog Team and 1- Open Team) on Saturday & Sunday.
It was a very satisfying weekend with Cecile racing in her second race in the 6 Dog Class and with a great performance. She ran Tepeu at lead with Max, giving Tepeu her first experience at lead in a race. Cecile's team consisted of Tepeu (second race) and Max at Lead, Cobalt and Sam (first race) at Point and Lizzy and Annie at Wheel.
The Open team consisted of Bergen (second race at lead) and Roxy at Lead, Perle and Indigo at Point, Merry (second race) and Yaluk (second race and first race in the Open Team) at first Team, Hok'ee and Fille at second Team, Blue and Frodo (second race) at third Team finishing with Willy and Lena at Wheel. The team averaged just over 18 mph over the 15 miles and ran a minute faster on the Sunday run.
The weather was bitterly cold with temperatures in the low 20's Celsius and add to this 15 mph winds. The trail was in excellent condition with an even harder packed trail on Sunday. A great job by the Race Organization for such a great weekend of racing. The groomers worked through the night on Friday for trail perpetration due to snow drifting caused by the high winds.
We are very pleased with the performance of our dogs!
Dogs resting in the truck tonight with temperatures here in the -30's.
A big thanks to Cecile for her race in the 6 dog class and all her work in the preparation/organization to go to the race and her assistance at the race. 
Until next week........