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Iditarod

Mush! You Huskies: Dick Moulton

October 27, 2010 by teamineka

On the latest edition of Mush! You Huskies we continued our Dog Sledding Legends segments. This week we profile Dick Moulton.

It would be hard to estimate the number of miles Dick Moulton has traveled by dog sled. Compared to most mushers, it would be unapproachable. Considering the mileage and the time spent watching, thinking, figuring and reading his dogs behind his running team, Moulton’s achievements follow smoothly. He has competed in races all over North America, and won each one several times. He has been honored as “Musher of the Year” and is inducted in the Dog Mushers’ Hall of Fame.  As the autumn of his career arrived, Moulton said, “even though I am getting old and slowing down, you can still find me out on the trails in the late fall, working for that ultimate dog team.”

Listen to Mush! You Huskies: Dick Moulton

Mush! You Huskies is hosted by Robert and Michele Forto. Robert is in Alaska training for his first Iditarod and running his qualifying races this year. He is racing under the Team Ineka banner. Michele is the lead trainer at Denver Dog Works and specializes in services dogs and board and train programs.

We welcome your comments suggestions and concerns. Please comment below or send them to live@dogdoctorradio.com

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Dr. Robert Forto is a canine behaviorist and the training director for Dog Works Training Centers. Dr. Forto is a musher currently in Alaska training for his first Iditarod under the Team Ineka banner and the host of the popular programs, The Dog Doctor Radio Show and Mush! You Huskies.

Filed Under: Mushing Radio Tagged With: Dog Sledding Legends, Iditarod, michele forto, mush you huskies, mushing radio, robert forto, sled dogs, team ineka

Willow Dog Mushers Association Symposium

September 17, 2010 by teamineka

The Willow (Alaska) Dog Mushers Association is holding its annual Symposium next weekend!

Two amazing days of dogs, information, history and fun! Keynote speaker: Mary Shields, first woman to run and finish the Iditarod (in 1974)! Speakers, demonstrations, hands-on workshops and activities for ALL breeds of dogs, awards, gear swap, vendors, movie, dinner, and a silent auction. The Mushing History Conference will be held in conjunction with the symposium. Come join us! Please invite your friends by sharing this event. All dog lovers are welcome!

When: Saturday, September 25 at 10:00am – September 26 at 6:30pm

Where:

Willow Community Center

MP 69.9 Parks Hwy

Willow, AK 99688

For more information please visithttp://www.willowdogmushers.com

________________

Dr. Robert Forto is the national dog sledding examiner, a musher training for his first Iditarod under the Team Ineka banner and the host of the popular, Mush! You Huskies radio show

Filed Under: Mushing, Team Ineka Tagged With: #dogs, #dogtraining, Alaska, dog sledding, Dog Sledding Examiner, Iditarod, Mushing, robert forto, sled dogs, sport racing, team ineka, The Serum Run, willow, willow dog mushers association

You are Never too Old to Run Sled Dogs

September 10, 2010 by teamineka

You Are Never To Old Too Run Sled Dogs

By Robert Forto and Mac McClanahan (Nov. 2000)

About three weeks ago, Robert “Mac” McClanahan gave us a call and said that he received a copy of The Gangline and wanted to learn how to run sled dogs.

I said, “Sure come on over!”

This is his story.

Mac McClanahan is 82 years old and full of life. He said that he has done just about everything; flew helicopters in the Korean War, forced landed three planes, paraglide, walked the Colorado trail, but nothing compares to being behind a team of dogs. Mac said it was one of the most emotional times of his life the first time he was behind a team of dogs and that was just a mere two weeks ago.

Mac was looking for a dog last year that could meet some pretty rigid requirements. After months of research and reams of paper on the internet, he and his wife Melba, decided on a Siberian Husky.  They put their plan into action and happened to find exactly what they were looking for. They found a female, open faced, gray, with blue eyes that had the build of a sled dogs, according to all of the books that Mac had read. Why a female? On Melba’s insistence, she said that you can’t get smarter than a woman and if you wanted a lead dog you needed a female.  They must have made the right choice because it just so happens that the dog that they picked is a sister to one of our sled dogs here at Team Ineka, Nixon.

For the past year, Mac had been working with his new dog and friend, Chukchi, which Mac says means “sled puller”. Mac says, “I thought I would give her a name and hope that she can live up to it. It is her destiny!”  They walked miles and miles and even walked a portion of the Colorado Trail this summer. Mac says “I was walking with friends 30 to 40 years my junior and if it wasn’t for Chukchi I might not have made it to the top of that pass.”

Mac’s goal is to run with some of Team Ineka’s dogs this year in a race or two with a team of three or four dogs. He is working very hard on his training and he and his dog are doing great.  Right now they come over for a “session” twice a week and we try to teach something new each time.  He is learning quickly.  He has been dragged, had a dog fight with a dog on the trail, and even gotten lost when his team took off too fast for me to catch him with my team.

We talked about the future of the sport and what he thought about the Iditarod and he said he thinks the future is very bright. Mac said that this is a “word of mouth” sport and he will do his best to promote it.  He said that he has lived in Colorado for seven years and has seen lots of dog trucks driving around but nothing else. He said that needs to change.

There needs to be more advertising in local papers and different forms of media. Mac said that he is telling everyone that he talks to that he is running sled dogs.  When he does everyone stops, their ears perk up, and they want to know more and more.

That is what this sport needs. More ambitious people like Mac.  His spirit keeps me motivated and all I want to do is train and train.

Mac ended by saying, “I don’t know if she (Chukchi) has the ability to be a good lead dog or if she ever will, but I do know that she has a mind of her own and when she wants to listen she will do just that.”

Well, we are going to try our best to make that dream happen for Mac and Chukchi, she is a natural in harness and will be running in races this year. I have already promised him that.

Filed Under: Mushing, Team Ineka Tagged With: #dogs, #dogtraining, denver dog works, dog doctor radio, dog sledding, Dog Sledding Examiner, dog sledding history, Dog Sledding Legends, dog training denver, forto, Iditarod, Mushing, robert forto, siberian husky, sled dogs, team ineka

Sled Dog Demo at Spirit of the North Kennels

August 31, 2010 by teamineka

Sled Dog Demo at Spirit of the North Kennels

By Al Magaw

Don’t forget that next Monday, Labour Day, Spirit of the North Kennels ( 966 Airport Road, Salmo ) is having a bit of an open house for those interested in seeing the racing sleddogs in action and a celebration of the start of the 2010/2011 training/racing/tour season – we’ll start running dogs at 8am when it’s still cool out of consideration for the dogs – should be done with running teams by 10am – waffles after the runs for those interested, lots of chance to pet dogs and get to know these wonderful animals and cuddle a litter of 10 week old puppies – all are welcome – let me know so I can prepare – if you have sled dogs you’d like to run, bring them along

____________________

Al Magaw is a musher from Salmo, BC. Al keeps a medium sized kennel of 20 – 45 alaskan huskies as well as several pet dogs of various breeds. Al has been training and racing for the last 33 years. Before becoming involved with sled dogs, Al, along with his family, kept and competed with horses for many years. Al can be reached through his website athttp://www.spiritofthenorthkennels.com Al is a guest blogger for Denver Dog Works and can be reached through our website athttp://www.denverdogworks.com

Filed Under: Mushing Tagged With: #dogs, #dogtraining, Al Magaw, denver dog works, dog doctor radio, dog sledding, Dog Sledding Examiner, dog sledding history, Dog Sledding Legends, dog training denver, forto, Iditarod, Mushing, sled dogs, spirit of the north kennels

Sled Dog Songs by Al Magaw

August 29, 2010 by teamineka

Sled Dog Songs

By Al Magaw

I was interested in watching a group of musicians on TV a while ago, that were able to begin their songs without a countdown to cue the start – When asked how they were able to do that, the trio, all brothers, said they couldn’t explain it, they “just knew when to start playing”. Two or three weeks ago I was talking to a lady that had sung in a choir for years. She said the same people were in the choir year after year and how pleasant it was to share something like that with friends that she had known for so long. She also commented on how this group of singers could start their a-cappela songs with every one starting at the same time without any particular person taking the lead. It made me think of the sing-a-longs in my kennel of alaskan huskies. Somehow they know when a song is about to begin and often they will all start at once with no noticeable cue like a fire or ambulance siren. My yearling belgian shepherd must be picking up on the same cue because she will often start barking a unique bark, moments before the sing-a-long starts.

On the surface, at least, the ability to sense the beginning of the song seems to be a common feature of sled dogs and those humans so fortunate to be in the company of others who are in the same “wave length”. It’s a common happening among northern dog breeds and not very common amongst humans. I have to speculate, again, about shared abilities that humans have left in large part unused, and that the northern breeds have kept well used and fresh. How poor are we for the loss of that “community of minds” and how rich are our canine friends for their perseverance of that ability?

____________________

Al Magaw is a musher from Salmo, BC. Al keeps a medium sized kennel of 20 – 45 alaskan huskies as well as several pet dogs of various breeds. Al has been training and racing for the last 33 years. Before becoming involved with sled dogs, Al, along with his family, kept and competed with horses for many years. Al can be reached through his website athttp://www.spiritofthenorthkennels.com Al is a guest blogger for Denver Dog Works and can be reached through our website athttp://www.denverdogworks.com

Filed Under: Mushing Tagged With: #dogs, #dogtraining, Al Magaw, denver dog works, dog doctor radio, dog sledding, Dog Sledding Examiner, dog training denver, Iditarod, Mushing, sled dogs, spirit of the north kennels, team ineka

Feeding Dogs the Best Possible Diet

August 15, 2010 by teamineka

Feeding Dogs the Best Possible Diet

By Al Magaw

Feeding dogs the best diet possible is always a subject that creates controversy. Some people swear by a holistic approach to feeding, more or less paralleling a good human diet, others are as adamant about a raw meat diet. A recent book by Lew Olson, Phd Natural Health, is an interesting read. In an excerpt from his book, he writes –

“We always want our dogs to look great and to perform at their very best. We want our working dogs to have steady endurance and drive. We want our tracking and search and rescue dogs to hold the scent and stay on the trail. We want our agility dogs to have the energy and balance to make the jumps, go through the weaves smoothly and effortlessly, and to handle each obstacle with precision. We need our obedience dogs to stay focused and our Schutzhund dogs to have stamina, courage, and stay on task. We want our conformation dogs to have ground covering side movement and to be happy and confident in the ring. And we all want our dogs to have lean, muscular and fit bodies.

A good diet provides the energy, strength, lean muscle mass and mental focus that is needed to achieve these performance goals. Let’s take a look at the different diet components and how they help with each of these performance goals.”

He goes on to say –

“It takes a lot of energy to digest food, so it is very important to feed foods that are easy to digest, provide the most nutrients, and use the least amounts of energy. For dogs, that food would be fats and protein. The foods to stay away from are carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are found in plant based foods, which include vegetables, grains and fruit. The two main components in plant based foods are sugar and fiber. Dogs have short and simple digestive tracts which are not designed to ferment high fiber foods and cannot break down the cell walls which are composed of cellulose. The dog’s digestive system struggles to digest these foods which takes greater energy, creates more gas and produces large stools of undigested food matter.”

“Fat and proteins are much easier for the dog to digest and produce smaller stools. Harder to digest foods mean a full colon, which Dr. Kronfeld, DVM equated to an extra 20 pound handicap on a race horse:” “Fat is the most important energy source for dogs. Fats are dense in calories which are needed when dogs are working hard and are burning large amounts of calories. Fat also helps to protect their cells from damage. The fat a dogs needs is animal fat. These fats are found in meat, eggs and dairy. High fat diets have been the secret for successful sled dog racing teams for years:

Another important fat is Omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids not only help provide energy, they also help the immune system, fight inflammation, help keep the skin and coat healthy and are heart, liver and renal protective. This essential fatty acid is hard to find in foods and breaks down easily when exposed to heat, light or air. I would recommend using fish oil capsules and give one 1000 mg capsule per 10-20 lbs of body weight daily.

Proteins

The second most important energy source for dogs is animal protein. Animal proteins contain amino acids, which when fed in high quality and quantity, produce glucose in dogs. This keeps their energy level on a stable plane. There no energy crash and it will keep the dog focused without mood swings. Feeding a good variety of animal proteins such as beef, lamb, pork, chicken, eggs, dairy and fish provides a wide swath of amino acids and offers better balance to the diet. Each protein varies somewhat in amino acids so providing a good variety of proteins insures the dog will get all the amino acids needed. Amino acids help repair tissue, keep the organs healthy and help build muscle mass. When your dog is on a diet rich in protein sources, and fresh sources offer better quality, there is no need to ever add synthetic amino acids to its diet.

____________________

Al Magaw is a musher from Salmo, BC. Al keeps a medium sized kennel of 20 – 45 alaskan huskies as well as several pet dogs of various breeds. Al has been training and racing for the last 33 years. Before becoming involved with sled dogs, Al, along with his family, kept and competed with horses for many years. Al can be reached through his website athttp://www.spiritofthenorthkennels.com Al is a guest blogger for Denver Dog Works and can be reached through our website athttp://www.denverdogworks.com

Filed Under: Mushing Tagged With: #dogs, #dogtraining, Al Magaw, denver dog works, dog doctor radio, dog doctor radio show, dog training denver, Iditarod, ineka, Mushing, nutrition, spirit of the north kennels

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