The first week of the new year was back to training on some new snow.
We got about 8' of fresh snow early in the week enabling us get in three days in a row training. One run of 10.5 miles, one run of 7.5 miles and the final run of 4.5 miles. The last days run of 4.5 miles was broken up into three teams with the "A" Team running as a 10 dog unit. We broke up the balance with two Two Dog Teams giving Chloe & Leo an opportunity to experience running dogs. 
The temperatures were crazy again this week with a low of -32c to a high of +4c.
The puppies are walking around without any problem now and having playtime with each other.
A puppies life: play, eat & sleep.
Sorry no video this week as having a problem with my web page provider.
​Until next week.......

Another year is coming to a close  and three months of training to finish the year has resulted in just under 200 miles of running on both teams.
Here we have taken advantage of the every opportunity of running possible.
The weather here has been very unstable with the arrival of early snow, rain/freezing rain in late December causing a 7 day layoff. This month, we have had temperatures in the -20's and highs of +4.
We had the chance to run on Friday with some fresh snow and plus degree temperatures and Friday night into Saturday morning rain & freezing rain shutting down the training until some more snow to cover the hard/icy trails. 
The dogs are doing great, but are anxious to run.
You have to be patience and wait for good conditions not to injure the dogs.
The puppies are growing fast and are now walking, playing and looking to explore. 
It is a fun stage in their lives watching them develop!
We here at Miortuk wish all a Happy New Year and all the best for 2019.
Until next year......

Yes, age is a state of mind, in the video above, Indigo the Leader on the right is 9 years old and still a top performer. It is just an example that dogs well looked after and not raced too young can perform well into their later years.
This is team "B" and they are starting to come together. Olive is the Leader running left and although she is behind in total miles run as compared to the others, she doing great and feeling very comfortable in her new surroundings.
We were able to run only three days this week due to rain on Friday and an emergency shopping trip to the village on Monday (needed a new stove).
This week, week ran three days in a row with the "A" Team running a 10.5/7.5/4.4 mile runs.
The "B" Team  running 2x7.5 and one 4.5 mile runs as Olive has not enough miles on her yet for the 10.5  yet.
The puppies are growing big with their eyes open and have started to get up on their feet to walk.
They are eating/sleeping and eating again. Poor Flaire is getting little rest.
​Until next week........

From -30 C to +2 C overnight this week!
Another busy week here with 4 days of training and looking after the puppies.
The training here was very good with great trails and an opportunity on Thursday to increase the speed for Team A on the 7.5 mile run. They finished strong and showed no signs of fatigue after the run. 
Team B also done well with a little slower run due the lack of training miles on Olive. Olive has of the last run 100 miles of training this year as compared to the balance of the dogs with 150 miles accumulative.
We also did some more leader training with Lilly, Lance and Libby.
Lilly will now be running half the training runs with Venus at the lead position. She is doing great and will make a supper leader.
Lance ran for 1/3 of the 4.5 mile run with Kira and was much more comfortable at lead. He has a good potential for lead and was a good complement to Kira. 
Libby ran for half the 4.5 mile run with Kira and did a great job. She is showing the ability to be a very good leader. She sometimes gets a little distracted by objects on the side of the trail. But, she is driving hard up front the same as at the Point position.
The puppies are growing and getting more active. Their eyes opened the later part of this week and are trying to walk. They are eating a lot and growing quickly.
Fun times here with lots of activity.
​Until next week.......

Another adventurous week here at Miortuk with Faire, the female being boarded here to have her puppies' delivered them a week premature. Of the six puppies born only three survived. However, the three (two males and one female)that survived look healthy and have already doubled in size. Due to the fact that it was a premature birth Flaire didn't have enough milk to nourish all of them and had only 4 teats that developed with milk.
Unfortunately the loss of the three puppies is Nature's way of ensuring the survival of the fittest. 
It is always hard to suffer the loss although we did everything possible to assist in their survival.
Flaire and her puppies are doing good and eating well. Mother and puppies are inside the chalet to monitor their development and keep them warm.
This week, we also got in three training runs with both teams (2 at 7.5 miles and one at 4.5 miles).
We have discovered that Venus runs much better at lead with Lilly.
Although Lilly is just a beginner at Lead, she is showing that she is a Natural Leader and enjoys the opportunity to be up front.
Libby had a short run at Lead with her sister Lilly and showed good portntial for becoming a Leader.
Part of mushing is learning to pair dogs that helps bring out their best. It is like fine tuning a race car!
The weather here has turned very cold last night with the night time low of -30 Celcius.
These low temperatures are to stay until next Wednesday.
​Until next week........

This week was an exciting week with working with a new Leader, increased mileage with training and awaiting a delivery of some new puppies.
Last weekend a decision was made to assist another musher with the birthing of a litter of puppies from Flair in exchange for obtaining a 3 year old race Leader Olive.
This week, we had Olive run on 4 training runs with our second team. First run in the team to get used to her new team mates and then up at Lead. 
She did very well and showed more confidence on the 4th day of training in the lead position. 
This week, we increased the mileage on the runs to 71/2 miles. The teams handled it well and were not tired from the longer run.
For the next couple of weeks, we will alternate the distances run with a longer run the first day after a day off and then a shorter run on the second day.
The longer runs will be at a slower speed and the short runs will be a speed run.
The trails here are perfect with nice packed snow.
Daily the trails are groomed.
Both Olive and Flair arrived here last Sunday and had a week in the kennel with the other dogs to get socialized.
We moved Flair into the whelping pen on Saturday and are now awaiting the arrival of her puppies. All indications are the puppies will be delivered soon.
Now is the waiting period and making the mother to be comfortable as she goes through her labor.
The video above is with Olive/Yoda turning the team into the extension loop.
​Until next week.......

It was another fun week here at Miortuk!
We had a great week of training with the help of Mother Nature giving us a nice blanket of snow ever day making the trails pristine.
We have now switched from using the ATV to the Snow Machine for training the dogs.
The dogs are really enjoying the nice trails and now are upping their speed to 30 km/hr.
This week, we also introduced Libby and Sam to Lead. The two show
​ed real potential for the lead position.
The video below shows Sam being introduced to the lead position.
Also this week Lilly had two runs at Lead and did an excellent job. She looks like she will be a real dynamic Leader.
With the good snow conditions, we will soon up the number of miles during the runs.
​Until next week........

This was the week to start some new Leaders.
This week Lilly, Lance and Hok'ee were given opportunities to run up at lead.
Lilly did a great job up there with her first run, she started 1/3 way through the run. On her second run this week started at Lead and displayed a true talent for this position driving hard right from the start. She was very focused throughout.
Lilly is a natural leader and displayed this leader mentality as a puppy being the first to walk, eat solid food and always free running in front of her siblings.
Hok'ee had a couple of short experiences at Lead last season, running a couple of miles towards the end of the runs just to get exposure. On Friday, he started at lead was very focused and hard driving doing an excellent job.
Lance ran good up front but had distractions due to females in the team being in heat. He definitely shows potential and will get more opportunity to be upfront when there is less distractions and is more mature mentally.
Training new leaders is very important to give all the dogs a chance in the lead position.
There are several other dogs that will have the opportunity at lead over the next several weeks.
The Winter weather has now settled in here with snow and freezing temperatures making the trails here pristine and with hard packed base.
​Until next week......