Welcome Winter!

As some of our readers may have experienced first hand, winter took its time getting to Alaska this year.  For example, while most Fairbanks residents have memories of trick-or-treating in 30 below and 2 feet of snow, this year's Halloween brought only a dusting on otherwise brown earth and fairly mild temperatures. 



As dog mushers and winter business owners, we were concerned.  But we needn't have feared!! November brought plenty of snowfall, including a huge storm system which blew in from the Bering Sea, bringing over a foot of snow to our area over the course of a week.  (It also brought massive power outages to hundreds of Fairbanks residents, but that's another story...)

With the happy arrival of snow finally in November, we were launched into a frenzy of excitement and activity.  Of course, we thought we were busy already with running the business, planning a wedding, building a house, and Jeff still working about 50 hours per week, but snowfall, of course, brought all sorts of new things to add to our To-Do lists. 
Here are a few of our favorites:


1 - Preparing the sleds, the dog yard and other supplies for visitors and students
2 - Grooming and maintaining "winter-only" trails on snowmachine
3 - Plowing two driveways
4 - Training Puppies (search for Black Spruce Dog Sledding on You Tube to find video!)

 

So we are as exhausted as ever, but oh-so-happy with the snow, with our mushing students, and as always, with our wonderful, amazing dogs, without whom our lives would be so different and so boring :) 

 






To see more photos from the past month find us on facebook at www.facebook.com/blacksprucedogsledding

To tour with us, start at our website www.blacksprucedogsledding.com

Fall Training

It's that happy time of year again!  Fall Training. 

And this year fall training is extra important for us, as we have guest mushers joining us next month!  The dogs are stronger, faster and have more endurance with the more miles we put under their paws.  They are also easier to work with. 

In the beginning of the season, the dogs are extremely eager to get back to work.  Even though they have enjoyed lots of free runs and/or tours on the Norris Glacier in Juneau all summer, they are still almost unmanageable in their excitement as we fire up the fourwheeler this time of year.  As the dogs continue to work throughout the fall months and into the winter, they still maintain their blissful happiness and eagerness to work, but they have better control over their emotions.  Imagine the transition we make from children to adults when we go on vacation.  Children are overcome with externalized joy.  Adults experience the same excitement, but are less likely to physically "jump up and down."  Dogs exhibit this same transition each year, and do tend to become easier to handle with age as well.






Critter.  Jeff's favorite dog.  A proven, intelligent leader and a serious athlete.  Here I will direct your attention to her posture and her focus.  Notice her straight legs and her squared shoulders; always facing forward.  Also see her hind end with flexed muscles, and slightly bent knees.  It should remind you of a runner preparing to leave the starting blocks.  Her preparedness is further indicated by her taught tug line (the rope behind her).  Critter's focus is completely straight ahead - not looking behind her at what the rest of the team is doing.



What a beautiful day!  The weather has been strange this year but we can't complain.  Here Jeff takes Ron and Judy from Ft. Collins, CO on the first snowfall run of the season! 

 

 Stay tuned for winter...



- KattiJo



www.blacksprucedogsledding.com

 

 

Pupdate

Here is a "pupdate" on what these little ones have been up to...


We are so blessed and so happy to have these puppies. They bring joy to our lives everyday and are worth all of the hard work.  Here are some of our favorite snapshots from the past couple months with them. You can find even more cuteness on our facebook page  www.facebook/blacksprucedogsledding.com

Interestingly, some dogs are born with a natural inclination to love toys, while others simply don't get it.  The Baby Dolls? LOVE. Coincidentally, their uncle, Dipper (Dolly's brother) always has something in his mouth - usually a rock or a Kong.

Rally clearly prefers a more "natural" food source...

When we go for "puppy walks" we take kibble in a coffee can.  This helps to teach the dogs to stay near us.

The Beatles and the Baby Dolls may appear vastly different in size, but they are only a few weeks apart in age.  The Beatles were born huge and lumbering, while the Baby Dolls have always been light and spry.  Happily, the two groups get along really well and we are able to do lots of activities with all 8 pups at a time.

Puppy walks with 8 pups, 2 moms and of course, Koyuk, the Wonder Pet.

Puppy Walks become Puppy Runs...

As I write this, we have begun taking the Beatles running with the 4 Wheeler and the Baby Dolls running with our bicycles.  However, I have not grabbed any good photos yet. As always, look for more to come in the future!

We would love to be able to update this blog more often, but we are so busy! As some of you probably know, we started building a house/cabin this summer, and Jeff is working nearly 80 hours a week at a gold mine located about 40 minutes away from our home.  The days are long and there is lots to do, but again, we are so blessed. We thank all of you for your love and support. Come see us this winter! :)



KattiJo


www.blacksprucedogsledding.com

The Beatles

There are so many great things about dog mushing...  One of the most remarkable aspects of the sport is the comradery that exists between mushers.  The mushing community is actually relatively small, and word travels fast within it.  (This can be good or bad, depending on the circumstances!)  In our case, lately, it's been good.  When our buddy, Dave Dalton, found out Jeff and I were looking to expand our kennel, he contacted us with a proposition.  Jeff and Dave have formed a good friendship over years of working together for Alaska Heli-Mush in Juneau. A few months ago Dave was beginning to prepare himself for another summer of work in Juneau, and Jeff was gearing up for his first summer in 8 years of not being there.  As you can imagine, there is a lot of preparation that goes into splitting your year between two places that are hundreds of miles apart.  One of the biggest considerations for mushers is deciding which dogs you can bring with you where you're going and which ones will have to stay back with your invaluable friends and family members.  This year Dave was able to bring every dog in his kennel except one - a pregnant female named Yahoo.  For safety reasons, puppies are not permitted at Alaska Heli-Mush's glacier operations.  So Dave called Jeff.  In exchange for taking care of Yahoo and her puppies for the summer, we get to split the litter with Dave.  This works well for Dave, knowing that his dogs are being well cared for and raised by competent hands during this super important and formative time of life.  And it works well for us because we get two great dogs out of the deal.  Yahoo finished the Yukon Quest as a yearling with Dave in 2012.

These guys were born on April 25th.  They are now just over a month old.

It's amazing how much a puppy can sleep during its first few weeks of life.  We had a lot of fun bringing them inside for some quality cuddling.  This was especially nice with the super long winter we had this year.  (We were still mushing during the first week of May!)  But the weather has finally turned hot now, and these guys are not doing so much sleeping and cuddling anymore!  These days we are taking them for a lot of "puppy walks."  This is fun for them, but also an important step in teaching a dog to come when you call.

They kind of look like little guinea pigs, don't they?

This was taken on their first day outside of the puppy pen, playing in the grass.

 

The pups love kibble but it doesn't seem to hold their attention for too long. 
You can see here John is attempting to nurse while standing... Yahoo is a great mom; nursing has not slowed down, even with the recent development of their sharp little teeth!

       




www.blacksprucedogsledding.com

Dolly Puppies Born!

Dolly finally had her puppies on the day after Mother's Day!  (We were hoping for exact timing on the holiday, but we got pretty close!)  That means as we write this they are two weeks old. 

Here are some photos from their first few days of life:






A natural mother, Dolly diligently tends to her newborns. 

This is her first litter and she has done an amazing job!





Checking for sex... 3 girls and 1 boy



Taking care of the umbilical cord. 
Moms must clean up all puppy waste in order to protect their babies from bacteria and predators.  




Day 3: Bringing the puppies inside our house for the first time.  Dolly is not so sure about this!  Despite our encouragement for her to join us, she insists on staying outside to protect her den.



Precious!

www.blacksprucedogsledding.com

The Future in Puppy Form

Originally Composed on Thursday, March 7th, 2013


With the GRE firmly behind me as of 4 pm today, Jeff and I set our sights on other things. Mainly: puppies.

We are casting multiple lines in the water as we move forward into our futures - both as individuals and as a couple. As much as we day dream and talk and hope for a future in dog sledding -  one that would allow us to do what we love, share what we love, be our own bosses and work from home - we are both realistic enough to understand that we need to create other possible options for ourselves as well (we still have to eat!). With this in mind, I have spent the last couple months studying for the GRE (Graduate Record Exam - the test required for admittance into graduate school) which I finally took today (sigh!) and Jeff spent the day on the "career" hunt (notice I say "career" and not "job") with the primary focus being on land surveying and carpentry.

Overall it was a productive day in town; with my test behind me and a summer job lined up for Jeff (we think) it was time to get home tonight and focus on what we would really rather be doing: working with our dogs.

Dolly is a small yet ebullient female. She and her littermates were given to Jeff by his mentor, Frank Sihler, in 2006. In 2008 Dolly finished Iditarod with Jeff. When choosing the dogs who will form the foundational bloodlines for your kennel, there are many things that can be considered, and different mushers have different traits or qualitites that they value over others. We are choosing to breed Dolly for her great attitude, tough body and mind, and unbelieveable cuteness :) (Actually, I know that doesn't matter at all to Jeff, but it is worth noting!)

Garbanzo, at first glance, seems much different than Dolly. Where Dolly is wiggly, small and exuberant, Garbanzo is more reserved, large and serious. He is also our best leader (although you can never let him know that or he will take full advantage of you) and an extremely hard worker. He is also very healthy; still super motivated to work and in good shape for running in the team at his mature age of 10. Garbanzo has had a more typical sled dog life - moving between several accomplished mushers as their needs change and/or their kennels get downsized. Some of his littermates ran with Jeff in the 2008 Iditarod and Garbanzo has been with Jeff since 2009.


Dolly and Garbanzo have always naturally gotten along great, and tonight was no exception. The breeding went well and we plan to repeat for the next two nights. With any luck, we will be posting pictures of some beautiful puppies in about 2 months time. And with greater luck, this will also be the start to a beautiful future in the business and the life of Dogs.


- KattiJo

www.blacksprucedogsledding.com