Continuing the theme, Healthy Dogs Are Happy Dogs.
Last week, we dealt with Nutrition.
This week, I would like to discuss Housing, Kennel Management and Hydration.
It is very important to have good housing that allows the dogs to have comfortable dry warm place to seek shelter.
The housing here are made of plywood with insulated floors, offset door way with an extended framing (to help keep out the rain or snow) and a removable roof.
The offset door way gives the dogs a section of the house to stay away from the entrance to keep out of the weather and to give privacy for sleeping.
During the Winter months fresh straw is added to the house for additional warmth. It is very important to change the straw often as needed to keep it dry. 
Warm/dry housing is important to keep the dogs comfortable and prevent weight loss due to burning extra calories to stay warm.
The removable roof makes changing the straw much easier!
Spring/Summer maintenance on the housing to keep it in good shape and can easily be repaired. 
We also, lift the dog houses with each significant snowfall to keep the houses on the top of the accumulating snow pack throughout the Winter.
This makes a big difference in the Spring when the snow melts keeping the houses above the melt and preventing water flooding the houses.
Kennel Management is a daily occurance to keep our Canine Athletes healthy.
Luckily here the ground is basically a sandy base allowing for good drainage and keeping a nice dry environment for the dogs. It is also easy to fill in the holes the dogs love to dig and keep their area level.
Another daily occurrence here is cleaning the kennel removing the daily scat (poop). Dogs love to have a clean area and enjoy it as much as feeding. 
​They also love to add fresh poop as soon as you clean!
Here, I make this task a pleasurable one, as I take the time to have some one on one time with each dog as I do the cleaning.
They look forward to this quality time!
This time is also beneficial to check on the dogs health, food absorption and with the petting to examine each dog.
I check for any abnormalities as well as observing their coats to be nice/shiny and soft.
During the non freezing months the dogs have fresh water available to them for hydration.
As I mentioned last week, I feed the dogs with a soupy mixture to ensure they are hydrated.
During the Winter months, they are watered two/three hours before training and also right after the run back at their houses. These watering is baited with meat to encourage drinking.
Feeding is done one hour after the run to ensure maximum absorption of the feed.
The kennel here is cut out of the forest giving the dogs shade, privacy and shelter from the wind. 
Half the kennel gets Sun in the morning and the other half in the afternoon.
Getting the Sun also helps in controlling parasites.
The dogs here are tethered and are close enough to have safe interaction with their neighbors.
The males are on one side of the kennel (with a central pathway) and the females on the other side.
This certainly helps with unwanted breedings!
Until next week.......

 
 

There are many aspects that make for healthy dogs; Kennel management, Housing,Exercises, Nutrition etc.
Today, I would like to discuss Nutrition.
I understand many mushers have different methods of dealing with this subject. I want to relay to you the way we deal with Nutrition here at Miortuk.
Please understand, the following is the way we deal with this subject here.
One thing, we can all agree with, nutrition is very important for health of these Canine  Athletes.
Here, we use a predominately a raw meat diet!
Due to accessibility of high quality meat at a very reasonable price raw meat (beef & chicken), our primary diet is meat based with about 10% dry food.
The reason for beef is for muscles and chicken for the fat for energy.
We have found that the beef doesn't have enough fat content to meet the training/racing requirements of our athletes and chicken fat is absorbed by the dogs more quickly.
Here we have very severe Winters with an abundance of snow and extremely cold temperatures. It is for this reason, we need to have chicken as part of our daily diet to maintain the dogs weight and energy to perform to their utmost.
Currently our meat ratio here is 60% chicken, 40% beef 10 % dry food and water for hydration. The mixture makes a thick soup.
We maintain the same mixture all year long only varying the quantity during the different seasons. Obviously more in the training periods and the Winter to meet the dogs requirements.
We try to maintain the same diet throughout the year not to upset the the dogs digestive system with changes of their diet. 
Although the dogs will put on a little more weight during the offseason, they enter the start of training carrying a little more weight which they can work off during training. It is much easier this way than to have them start the season underweight which is then very hard to put weight on them.
Mind you the meat used here is "raw" not cooked!
Cooked meat takes away some the natural properties of the meat.
Never cooked meat with bones as the bones can splinter and cause serious health hazards for the dogs.
We feed here at the same time every day to keep them on a regular schedule.
Dogs like routines!
The amount of food will vary with each dog depending on their requirements and ability to process their diet.
Here, I strive for an absorption of 75% to 80%.
This means the dogs are getting the most out of their diet.
If you are getting more stool than that, they might be fed too much or poor quality diet.
It is understandable that everybody does not have access to the quality of meat we have here so you need to adjust your diet with what is available to you locally.
If you have to use dry food as your base diet, we have found that you should be looking for a food with 30 % protein and 20% fat as minimum.
The primary ingredient in the dry food should be meat!
Read the label of ingredients, this is very important.
Cheaper priced food doesn't necessarily save money, as the dogs will need more volume of food and produce more stool. 
If you want your Canine Athletes to perform to their optimum , you must feed them good!
​Until next week......

 


  

 

Last week, we dealt with Bonding.
This week,I would like to discuss the power of Observation!
Through quiet times just watching your dogs, you can learn a lot.
The video above, shows a fun play time with the puppies.
However, you can observe the Lilly (the brown one) likes to be the leader of the pack and loves the other puppies chasing her. 
Lilly was the first puppy to sample here mothers food ( I like to feed the mother with her puppies so they learn about solid food and they basically wean themselves), she was the first to explore outside the whelping pen and the first to come to the door when I would go to visit them.
I could see right from the beginning that she had leader potential.
This running season she had her opportunity to run lead in the "A" Team.
Lilly was a natural! She is an enthusiastic, focused Leader loving to be upfront running with Venus.
A lot of time is spent here observing the dogs in the kennel.
As all dogs have different personalities, through observation, you can see what dogs are more comfortable with others in the kennel.
It is important match dogs with kennel mates they are most comfortable with and this can give you an idea of who they should be paired with running in the team.
Through the power of observation, you can develop your eyes to pick up any irregularities with the dogs running in the team. Some dogs are more comfortable running on the left or right. You can learn a lot about pairing, seeing what dogs give you their best performance when running with another dog, the most comfortable position in the team whether it is Lead, Point, Team or Wheel.
An example was Sam when in the team, she was always running to the outside and not right behind the dog in front of her. This was an indication that she might be a leader as she wanted to see ahead of the others. However, she was not comfortable at lead, so she was moved to Point. 
That was where she was most comfortable and performed great!
I video every run, that way I can review the runs and observe any peculiarities on the run. This way, I can make adjustments in the team make up. I also can see how the dogs handle different trail conditions. Some dogs like hard packed trails, some deeper snow, colder temperatures etc.
The more you observe your dog the more you will learn about them.
They will tell you where they should run and with whom.
​Until next week.......

In this complex World, life with Sled Dogs is really quite simple.
As humans, we try to make life more challenging.
However, with dogs it is not that complex.
First, we have to start to think like a dog for their thinking is very simple.
They like attention, food and exercise.
Let's start at the beginning "BONDING".
Here, we try to start as soon as the puppies are born.
The pups are taken right after they are cleaned by the mother, petted, blow my breath in their face and then placed next to the mothers breast.
This way the puppy gets to start their life with a relationship with you.
I learned this procedure from Susan Butcher (a four time champion of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska).
Susan had a great bonding and trust of her dogs which was one of the reasons for her success.
You have to have daily positive/caring interaction with the puppies as they are growing up.
They grow up enjoying your company and building their trust in you.
These are some of the most enjoyable moments for me and them.
When I go out to the puppy pen, I call "puppy, puppy, puppy" they come running to the to the entrance anticipating a fun interaction with me.
This interaction and observation helps you to learn about their personality and where they fit in the pack.
All this interaction should be positive and fun for them and you.
Bonding , to me is one of the most important part of Mushing!
If you are looking to add a new dog to your team, Spring is a good time to do it as you have 6 or seven months to form a relationship with your newest member to the team.
If you acquired a dog through the running season, this time now will make a big difference in the dogs performance in the upcoming season.
Remember to think like a dog!
It is coming to a new pack, new home, new surroundings, new feed and a new kennel routine.
It is your responsibility to make its life here the most comfortable in can be and assist it to fit in to its new family.
​Until next week......