Winter is here!

Winter is here! Dog training is in full swing, there is snow on the ground, and temps are often dipping down below 0f at night. We don't have enough snow yet to run the dogs on the sleds so we are still on the four wheeler. We have to use chains now on the front tires to help with traction in the snow, mainly to keep the dogs from just pulling the four wheeler where ever they feel.

The dogs are currently running about 16+ miles a day. And are very happy. We are running them on a 2-3 days on and 1-2 day off schedule. This gives them the milage they need for the up coming race season while still getting some time off to keep things exciting and to ensure they get enough rest in between runs. We have been running a lot with our friends at Dome Creek Kennels, working on skills like passing, running from the truck, and running past the truck during training runs. All very good skills the dogs will need while racing this winter.

We have 7 yearlings in the team this year and they are all doing fantastic. They are starting to blend in seamlessly with the more experienced members on the team and it is getting harder to tell the young dogs from the older race dogs. I have been working with a couple of the youngsters in lead, mainly  Matrix and Drift. They are doing an excellent job and seem to be naturals. We are also working with some of the slightly older dogs such as Chupa and Pip up in front of the team, and they are also doing great. Showing improvement every day.

All in all the team is doing awesome and we are looking forward to the upcoming race season. We are currently planing on running the following races: the Solstice 100 and the Top of the world 350 in december and the Two Rivers 200 in March with hopefully some other races in between.

Below I am posting a few recent training pictures.

And until next time Happy trails!