Thursday, March 29, 2007

Puppies, puppies, puppies!




Keela finally had her puppies on Tuesday, 3/27/07. She had a total of 5, (2) blk/wht (females,) (2) gry/wht (1 male/1 female,) and (1) pure white (male.) Here is a picture of the pups at 1 day old. Check back often as I will be adding more pictures to the puppy photo gallery as they get a little older.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

More Dog Sled Teams


A tougher way to travel.......

A Dogs Life!

This is how a sled dog team travels in style!

Look at them doggies go!


These tired puppies came in with their tongues hanging out sideways.

I'm putting my money on this guy!


This guys dogs hauled a.......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Priest Lake Dog Sled Races

I have been trying to post a couple of pictures that we took when we went to the Dog Sled Fun races at Priest Lake. I was going to go back to the actual race the following weekend, but the weather was so foul I decided to stay inside and build a warm fire. Ok, so I am a wimp, but don't forget.... I moved from California. I am not used to all of this sub-zero temperature stuff. And the snow? Who would have guessed there would be snow on the ground from Thanksgiving until now? Yes, it is still there, but finally melting because it has stopped snowing so the rains could move in. Ok so what did I expect when I moved to Idaho? Ask my Son. He told me that it didn't really get that cold here. Yeah, right. Wait til I catch up to that kid! On the up side, people here are saying that the winters get severe about once every 10 years, and this was one of them. I am thinking this is a good thing.

Now on to the Dog Sled races. We arrived at the races just before noon and several teams had already left. We actually went to watch the skijoring which was to start at 1:00, but only one person showed up for it. I guess we know who won that race.

There were mushers of all levels from beginning to very experienced. I put my money on the man in the photo. This team of dogs ran like there was no tomorrow. I swear I could see smoke coming from that sled, melting the snow beneath it and blazing the trail. Ok, so maybe not quit that fast, well? Yeah, they were..... they were really fast! I am not sure what I was expecting. My guess is there were 20 teams or so who showed up for the fun race. One gal summed it up. If there was no money in it most would rather stay home and prepare for the "real" race the following weekend. The dogs don't tear up their feet and wear themselfs out that way either. Makes perfect sense to me.

Not all of the dogs were Siberian Huskies. As a matter of fact, most weren't. Some mushers had a mix of huskies and other breeds. Two teams had Malamutes and huskies. It really didn't matter because all of the dogs were awesome and let me tell you, what athletes. The race lasted two weekends. Eliminations were on Saturday and the final race and winner was announced on Sunday.

This was the first sled race I ever attended and I plan on going back again next year. It is a annual National event and I have to tell you, it is really something to see. If you are a husky lover this is one of those once in a lifetime things you just have to go watch. I have the link to the NDSRA (National Dog Sled Racing Assn.) on my website. It lists all of the upcoming dog sled race dates.

I am posting a couple of pictures that I took on the race course, and a couple of the teams back at their trucks, resting. This will give you an idea what a mushing team's life is like on the actual day of the races.

Mush on little doggies........