The Fun and the Work of Mushing
November 10, 2002

Seavey's Iditarod Racing Team--Sterling, AK
By Jim Gallea

An ice fog has descended upon the kennel here in Sterling, Alaska, reducing the universe to nothing but the hose and the dog yard and the trees that surround them.  A thick frost covers everything and gives the illusion of a dusting of snow.  This year, winter has been slow in wrapping its annual white blanket around Alaska, but the daytime highs are no longer above freezing, and we know that snow can't be far away.

The dogs sense this impending change, and their attitudes reflect this perception.  Over the last few days, I have experienced some of the most amazing training runs that I can recall. 

The fog, the frost, and the cold combined into a surreal scene of dark trees and shadows contrasting with pure sparkling frost.  Beyond this rose a  featureless icy fog so impenetrable that trees at the edge of the fog appeared to be half hidden and half exposed. Through this scene ran 18 dogs, thick steam bellowing from three dozen lungs, with Harlem and Mozart fearlessly driving ahead--into the great unknown beyond the curtain of gaseous ice.  The dogs' senses were trained on the surroundings, curious to discover the surprises hidden by the frost and fog.  They ran faster and faster as they began to chase the fog, trying to reach its borders and glimpse what lay within.  They were inspired.  And I was inspired.  This was one of those runs where you become awestruck by the sheer joy that can be found in a dog team.  This is why we are mushers.

Pete is obviously excited about vaccinations.

And so, yes, training is going very well, and Tyrell and I are having many interesting discussions about the dogs in our team.  Many times we share similar opinions about individual dogs, but we have also discovered differences in our own perception of each dog, and in the attributes which we deem most important.  These are healthy discussions, and we don't need to agree on everything because we both learn by not agreeing.  Fortunately, most of our disagreements do not lead to bloodshed...yet.  Perhaps Tyrell will elaborate more on these topics in his next update.

What I really want to discuss was a much more exciting and invigorating subject:  vaccinations and de-wormings!!!

I can imagine that you are considering hitting the "Back" button on your web browser, but I promise that I will not go into a lengthy and technical discussion of this topic.  At our summer tours in Seward, we are often asked about vet care, and such questions are excellent ones.

We spend a great deal of time (and, of course, money) on caring for the dogs.  We don't have an on-site veterinarian or anything that fancy, but what we do have are 80 years of experience with sled dogs between all of us, and we do most of our own dog care, including vaccinations and de-wormings of all the dogs.  Naturally this helps to keep our costs down, but more importantly, this is another way in which we build a strong relationship and familiarity with each and every dog in the kennel.

Pete gives Zeus some of the cream-soda-like de-worming medicine.  Believe it or not, most of the dogs actually like the stuff.

A few days ago, Pete and I spent the afternoon getting the dogs current on their "shots."  While Pete gave out 70 doses of a special de-wormer that tastes suspiciously like cream soda (yes, I do know this for a fact, but not on purpose), I immunized 58 dogs against kennel cough by squirting vaccine up each dogs' nose (yes, this is how it is supposed to be done--I even read the instructions on the back of the box).  Both the wormer and the kennel cough vaccine are the same thing that a house pet would get.

Although this is not a glamorous job, such things are all part of managing a large dog kennel.  Vaccinations and de-wormings help to keep the dogs healthy and free of diseases that could potentially infect humans as well as dogs.  Furthermore, the cost of this many vaccinations is very high even when we do everything ourselves.  This type of thing is important to keep in mind before you get a single dog as a pet, not to mention a few dozen as racing sled dogs.  

Jim drawing up a dose of kennel cough vaccine.

I guess this update illustrates one point very well:  We can have a great time running dogs, but such times come at the cost of many more hours spent doing chores and dog care. 

As always, we'll keep you posted with a new update in just a few more days.  Until next time,

Jim Gallea
November 10, 2002

© 2002 Ultimate Iditarod, Snowcrest Racing Sled Dogs, Seavey's Iditarod Racing Team
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