Off and running :)

Another season has begun here at the Sun Dog Express Kennels. We have enough snow on the ground to do very short tours. The long trails are too treacherous to attempt with more than an empty sled. Lot's of big holes to "bridge" and overflow on the trail. Once we get more snow the trails should smooth out and open for all tours. We are busily planning our racing calendar for the upcoming season. We'll keep you posted. Don't forget to check out the first post on how to dress for a dog sled ride - very important to stay warm!!! Happy Trails. Head back to our website http://www.mosquitonet.com/~sleddog/

Fall Training Time

The first snow has arrived. With those initial white flakes of winter comes the anticipation of a whole new dog mushing season. The first wild runs of the fall have taken place in front of the 4-wheeler and the dogs are settling in to their "base" training time. Still a little hot to ask too much of these furry athletes but they are happy to get out for a run.

2008 Race Season Update - GEAR CHANGE!!!

We've had a few hick-ups with our race season this year. Not with dogs, or equipment or training but with the actual races themselves. The two races we had planned on doing BOTH got cancelled. The Interior Stage Race a three day event of 25 miles, 45 miles and 35 miles was cancelled due to .....we don't know what. Our second choice the Chatanika 100 (100 mile race) was cancelled due to lack of volunteers.

Three weeks ago we were looking at the prospect of not doing any races at all this season. We took a look at what was available in the Fairbanks area and decided that this years races would have to be sprint races or nothing at all. Sprint it is then!!!

For distance dogs to change gears and go from a long distance trot to a short distance lope can be a difficult, but the Sun Dog Express crew seems to be up for the challenge. We will only be doing the six dog class in the Alaska Dog Mushing Associations Challenge and Limited races. Some of our tour dogs are too big to be asked to run that fast and it frustrates them to do so. We have a few rescue dogs that have some sprint dog blood in them. We are going to see what they are made of.

So far the dogs really seem to be enjoying the high energy of sprint racing. In Challenge Race #4 we finished 4th and finished "in the money". Not bad for a bunch of distance/tour dogs out of their element. As always our main focus is to have fun because that is what we do best.