This will be a short synopsis of the dogs during Iditarod 2010, my 27th Iditarod, in no particular order since the dogs find themselves in various positions during the race. I feel it is important to move the athletes around especially the wheel dog and lead dog spots. In the training months we teach the dogs to perform in just about every place in the team. When the leaders work their way around an obstacle such as a tree or a boulder to the right, the wheel dogs learn to avoid said obstacles by pulling away from the hazard to the left.
For photos and report go to: Team Report
Roy had such a marvelous training season. He is a new and much improved “man”. Last year he ran almost 2500 miles in races and it really showed. He had a low tolerance for demodectic mange and by the end of the year he was almost naked and truly sad looking. He had to go see Dr.Beatsle and was neutered and then put on a several month long medical regiment. Now Roy is shiny, bright and stronger than ever. He led in several important sections of the race, performed flawlessly and was happy all the way to Nome.
Caribou found himself at the starting line in lead yet once again. He is such a reliable leader and has seen the commotion of the first day several times, racing through thousands of people from Willow practically all the way to Yentna station. Flag waving, hot dog cooking, yelling fans giving high fives can be somewhat intimidating to a lead dog, so it is nice to be steered by a veteran. The second day into the race Caribou focused his attention mostly on one of his co leaders Goose. Even though he was mistaken, he decided that she was in season and he made all the other boys feel the same way. Good thing we have several “altered” males such as Herakles, Angel and Roy to be perfectly unaffected by those sort of things anymore. In McGrath Caribou developed a sore forearm and was examined by the chief veterinarian and about twenty miles later I decided to send my buddy home for convalescence.
Collar is another old battle-ax in the team and has seen the race trail many years in a row. If he were a student, he would be the sort of kid never noticed by the teachers. He never gets in trouble, needs no special attention, is best left alone, gets along with everybody and can run in any position in the team while finishing what he starts. What more could any musher want. Fast, durable and elegant are all attributes fitting to this great performer. No wonder he has pups in the kennel. His offspring will run to Nome in the yearling team next season.
Herakles is one of the Greek gods that has been with me for a long time. He has had a similar racing season as Roy last year and was always on the thin side, especially after the races. It is quite remarkable how the lack of testicles can improve a dog. Herakles was so plump this Iditarod that he developed a hind leg tendonitis and needed some special tender care. I would take him in the sled on several runs and massage and pamper him whenever the trail allowed. At first he did not like the routine of going in the sled but after a few massaging sessions, he got the hang of it and by the time we hit the Yukon river, he made a deal that from now on he would run in the team exclusively. We both held up our end of the bargain until we met one of the keenest vets on the trail in Koyuk on the coast. Dr.Carolyn Griffin heard a light problem on Herakles’ left lung and was worried there might be a possible pneumonia in the making. We put him on antibiotics but by Elim, about 50 miles later, I had talked myself into leaving Herakles behind, not wanting to take any chances, after all, I was still driving 14 dogs by then.
Orion is so full of himself, he even growls at me sometimes! When he does, he has a twinkle in his eye and a wagging tail, knowing full well he is not supposed to do that, kind of like some star athlete not following all the social norms excused by superior performance. This light-footed star runs from lead to wheel in any position, next to anybody readily and flawlessly, except Goose this year.
Man O’War was the last dog picked for the Iditarod this year. In the last training run, I put him in lead and took many unusual turns, parked off the trail and asked him to perform up to his potential. He delivered and promptly found himself on the roster for my 27th trip to Nome. When the race finally started, he pretty much told me that this was not going to be his year. From Willow to Nikolai he might have accidently pulled for a minute or two but that was about it. Of course we give our dogs the benefit of the doubt and even though the vets could not find anything wrong with him, I chose to send him home. He might be one of the best again next year, like he has been in the past.
Goose is known as the Kusko queen in the kennel. She won that race and finished second twice in Bethel. This little black leader pretty much spent Iditarod 38 in the lead sharing that position with various team members. Once Caribou marked her a “fair game”, I kept all the intact males away from her and she spent time with Celine, Angel and Herakles. One of Goose’ qualities, besides performing as a hard worker, is to maintain and maybe even gain weight while the race is going. Good eaters are a must for this race and she certainly has that in her DNA but unfortunately has not been able to pass on her qualities. We have tried to let her have pups but so far have been denied that pleasure. We’ll keep on trying.
Frodo the fair weather dog. During an extremely cold and windy race last year he sustained some frostbite on his private parts. This obviously makes Frodo susceptible to future damage and we will only race him during “warm” races. Ha. He was the main reason I asked several friends to give me the long range forecast and based on the supposed warm weather, no wind and certainly no extreme temperatures, Frodo got to go. Well the forecast was about as off as it could get and I spent the entire Iditarod worrying, working and protecting the dog from the elements! He got to the finish line wagging his tail; never knowing how much effort was spent on him getting there. Thanks weather man. I should have taken Lear Jet.
Neil Young, not just a great name, but a superb performer as well. Neil lead the team in many a key section of the Iditarod. This famous Canadian, brother of Patrick Roy and Celine Dion is not the smoothest dogs but his heart is what counts and he gave it his all. If a dog is not totally gifted athletically, he will never be used in the breeding program, his sister had eight pups last year and we are looking forward to seeing the next generation on the race trail next year.
Otter is just one of the three mustelidae, a family that includes about 65 species world wide that includes Weasel and Badger. This was his second competitive Iditarod and again he performed all the way to Nome in exemplary fashion. The only thing he still needs to learn a little better, is to become an assertive leader. Yes, you can teach an old dog a new trick
Weasel missed a bunch of training this year with a damaged bicep. That is a sports injury that takes a long time to heal. We put a “wedge” on his house, basically a pyramid that keeps him from jumping up and down his doghouse to speed up recovery. He made the team but in White Mountain I noticed some reoccurring soreness and since a friend was there with an airplane, I let him have a plane ride to Nome.
Badger is the third of the brothers out of the same litter. He was probably the least mature of the three and after two thirds of the race started to question my leadership. He thought that the race should be over before it was and I spent some considerable time giving him extra love, pats and reassurance that there will be an end to the race. I told him that the ultimate pride is only gained by sticking it out all the way! Looking at him now in the dog lot, he is the ultimate picture of confidence and self-assuredness; he will be truly awesome in the future!
Patrick Roy was probably the biggest dog in the team. One of the famous Canadians, he has a beautiful body but has a difficult time with one skill that needs to be mastered by all sled dogs. A bit delicate subject to write about, but needless to say, we can not stop every time one of the sixteen dogs goes number one or two. After a couple of days on the trail, the dogs pretty much metabolize everything they eat so it becomes less of an issue the farther we go. Patrick got to fly out of White Mountain with Weasel and was waiting for me in Nome.
Jefferson is probably one of the smoothest, light-footed athletes in the team. He is a very gifted runner, superb leader and all round pleasant dog to be with. His cross eyes make it a bit hard to know what he is looking at but that does not seem to impede his performance. He and Orion make a fine matched pair of leaders and when Goose was not up front, Jefferson took the responsibility to implement the commands given by the two-legged leader.
Angel is often mistaken for a girl, in part because of his name and also for his fine features but the Spanish pronunciation gives him no complex. He was born to Daisy, one of my all time biggest girls, he was a very hard keeper as a young dog and because of that, became one of my neutered boys. That also lets me run him in any position. He pays no attention to the girls, yet he is very assertive towards other guys and keeps them in line. In the dog barn he defends his private box like a moray eel sticking his head out and snapping at anybody getting close.
Celine was the number two girl in the team. Only her and Goose happened to be females. If I had sixteen Celines I would have no complaints. She is such a joy at home and on the trail. Loving, happy and a talented runner she can perform anywhere in the team …… as long as she gets the right side. Several of our dogs are either left or right handed. In training we teach them to run on either side of course but the natural propensity to run somewhere is as strong to some as my left-handedness was when they unsuccessfully tried to teach me to write with my right hand. Last year Celine whelped eight Collar pups that are looking really promising.
One of the reasons there is no end in sight for me running the Iditarod is that the young dogs we get are out of the best dogs we ever had!
Love and Happy Trails
Martin
