Summer Time at The Kennel

Summers in interior Alaska are always short and extremely busy with preparations for the up coming fall training season and the long cold winter months ahead. This summer we have been enduring some record warm temperatures which are good for the garden, but the extreme heat is rough on the sled dogs who thrive in the cold. To help make the heat more bearable for these arctic dwellers we provide all of the dogs with lots of shade, water, and bones to chew.

The dogs have been having a nice relaxed “off season” this summer spending their days relaxing in the shade and when temperatures allow running loose through the woods around the kennel playfully chasing each other. I have been taking the dogs down to play near and swim in the Chatanika river which flows lazily through the forest a few miles  north of the kennel. They enjoy these outings very much. While sled dogs aren’t usually much for swimming they enjoy splashing through the shallow parts and running on the beaches checking out new scents and feeling the freedom of just being dogs. I am attaching a couple of pictures from one of these outings below to give you a visual of  what takes place in a typical river outing for the dogs.

Even though we are into August fall training hasn’t yet begun with temperatures still in the mid to upper 80’s f in the heat of the day and not much cooler at night. I hope to begin some light four wheeler training within the next few weeks, but we will just have to wait and see what the weather allows.

Until next time, happy trails.