October 27, 2018

Yearling Goals

October 27, 2018/ Ryne Olson

The yearlings are doing great! They’ve been running anywhere from two miles all the way up to fifteen. Once the runs started progressing over ten miles, we separated the yearlings and the adults so that the yearlings would increase their mileage at a slower pace. Ham, Fire, Niagra, Frosty, Kindi, and Belle are responsible for training with the yearlings and being good role models. While we do hope to get the yearlings miled up enough to run a race or two, our goals are very different for yearlings than for the adults.

So what are the ultimate goals when training young dogs (8 months - 2 years old)?

1- Mushing is FUN!

Alaskan Huskies instinctively love to pull and run, but they all have different personalities. We have to ensure that each training run is structured so that the youngsters feel strong, confident, and ready for more. We never want them to question their own abilities. Running must be fun and rewarding in order to set a good foundation. For example, Mario can get overwhelmed running back into the yard after a training run because all the adults like to loudly bark, welcoming the team back to the kennel. We changed up the return trail so there is more distance between the incoming team and the kennel, allowing Mario to feel more comfortable and confident without the adults barking close to him as he runs into the yard.

2- Manners, Manners, Manners

The first year in harness is crucial to starting good habits and manners. Like- don’t chew the neckline, don’t chew the gangline, don’t chew your neighbor etc. We also teach the dogs to come when called. Not only in this useful if they were to get loose in a busy area, but it also makes hook up easier when we can just call each dog to the gangline and not get drug down to the gangline by a crazy, excited super-athlete.

3- Mushing 101 (Passing, Camping etc)

It’s important to introduce the yearlings to activities that occur in training and races like passing other dogs teams, camping in straw away from home, and traveling in a dog truck. Recently, we practiced passing with our neighbors at Smokin’ Ace Kennels. Youngsters can have several different reactions when passing another dog team. They can be aggressive (a rare reaction except with uber confident dogs like Drake and the Duck litter), they can be curious, they can be fearful, or they can be totally unfazed. In the past, most of the youngsters fall somewhere between curious and hesitant, meaning they might drift towards the other team, but they have no intention of actually interacting with them. This a perfect reaction, because with a handful of practice passes with adults in front, the pups soon learn to totally ignore other teams. A couple days ago, we arranged a training run where we’d strategically pass two teams from our friends at Smokin’ Ace Kennels. The planned passing areas were wide, with enough space for the youngsters to not feel intimidated, yet also room for us to drive away from the other team in case the youngsters were too curious and we needed to steer the team off the trail. Each team had 5-6 adult dogs at the front of the team to act as role models and show the youngsters how they should behave. All the yearlings did wonderfully! Here’s a short clip of passing Amanda’s team. You can see Mario (3 up on the right) is slightly intimidated and drops back a bit. He quickly gains confidence though and charges ahead. Yoshi (in wheel on the left) is curious, straining on her neckline to sniff at the other dogs. Thresher (wheel on the right) and Dusky (one up from wheel on the right) didn’t care at all.

Once the yearlings have mastered the above three goals, then we focus on conditioning and adding miles.

A bit about each yearling:

Faff- Faff is the biggest female yearling. She has an insatiable appetite and is cuddly and affectionate. She can be a little timid around older dogs, but she’s realizing that she’s not the smallest dog in the yard. She likes to run in the middle or back of the team.

Mako- It’s amazing how well Mako moves considering his massive size. He’s happy, works hard, and is showing lots of promise. He did get tired at the end of one run and had a bouncy tug (meaning he wasn’t pulling super hard), the last 3/4 of a mile into the yard, but otherwise, Mako has been a rockstar.

Thresher- Thresher is the strongest yearling at the moment. Tyler ran him in lead, and he did wonderfully! He’s not particularly smart, but he loves to run and will yip as he’s running for the first mile or two. He looks like his dad, Goblin.

Bull- I know I just wrote that Thresher is the strongest yearling, but Bull is actually right up there with him. He’s loud, excited, and ready to rock. He has Goblin’s goofy one ear up, one ear down look. Bull is a powerhouse.

Dusky- Dusky has an exceptionally smooth trot and good attitude. At the moment, she’s probably one of the weakest yearlings for a couple minor training hiccups. At first she had trouble entering the dog yard after a run. Once she overcame that fear, she now gets too excited and would rather look around when we leave the dog yard instead of pulling. She quickly gets in the zone once we hit the treeline, but she needs to mature a bit before we start bumping up the miles.

Bowser- He’s a smaller guy (like all the boys in his litter), but he’s focused and works hard. I’d like to try him in lead one of these days because he hardly looks around at all when he’s running.

Mario- Mario is about the size of Cartel! Even though he’s tiny, he has a lot of drive and is the best hugger of the bunch. He struggles the most when running back into the yard, but we’re working on it. It’s not due to lack of drive, more lack of confidence.

Toad- Toad’s name is very fitting because he weighs the least of all the yearlings. He doesn’t weigh much more than Katy! He loves attention, though is one of the more timid yearlings around strangers. He’s been going on most tours in order to get more socialization with new people. Once he feels comfortable with a new person, he won’t leave you alone! He demands attention.

Yoshi- Yoshi is leggy and athletic. Early on, she lacked confidence and would get nervous entering the dog yard. She has been improving with every run! She’s a little more immature than the other yearlings, so she has been running less miles.

October 21, 2018

Dogs, First Snow, and Reindeer

October 21, 2018/ Ryne Olson

We’re having an unseasonably warm October (which the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer called a “thumbs up.” Mushers consider it a “thumbs down.”) We broke a record for the latest snowfall ever recorded in Fairbanks. The previous record was from 1920! Silver lining- the rain is creating some spectacular rainbows!

On this day in 2017 we were putting in our well. And I vividly recall that the ground was frozen and snow covered, I was wearing bunny boots, and the water quickly froze after being blasted out of the well by the air hose. It was poor weather for pounding a well, but fantastic weather for dog running. Currently the weather is 50F and sunny. Luckily, the dogs don’t mind too much as long as we run at the coolest hours of the day and take lots of breaks in the Chena River or enormous puddles, hence why they’re so happy in this video! Can you pick out your favorite dog?

Rain in October—- at least there’s a rainbow accompanying it!

Puppies soon to join RK! Photos compliments of Aliy.

First snow!- Although it all melted by the afternoon.

As a little girl, I always wanted a horse. I had wonderful friends who let me spend time with their horses, and I joined the Pony Club for a short time. But as with many kids, I also loved soccer, x-country running, nordic skiing, downhill skiing, hiking, backpacking, dogs (the list goes on), and you have to pick your activities. Well, it’s not exactly a horse, but tomorrow the Mushing Co-op is bringing home THREE REINDEER!! They’re not the reindeer in the photos below (these were from my recent visit to the Running Reindeer Ranch), but in no time at all, I hope our reindeer will be as social and personable as the reindeer I met on the tour. I’ll be sure to take photos and write a more informative blog about reindeer shortly after they arrive.

October 14, 2018

Puppies in a Basket!

October 14, 2018/ Ryne Olson

Last night I went over to SP Kennel to visit with the Izzy x Supai offspring. They’re almost five weeks old now and are motoring all over the place! They go by names like “the Big Fat Boy” or “Tiny Black Girl” or “Shy Brown Girl” or… you get the picture. Aliy and Allen will make their first two picks, and then I’ll have a chance to select two puppies. I know a lot of breeders and mushers have specific personality traits or conformation that they’re looking for (and I should probably do the same), but my 5-year-old inner child comes out and says, “Oooo that puppy is cute!” And there you have it. While good conformation is important, I think it’s the heart of a sled dog that matters more, and there’s no way you can tell that at such a young age.

While I don’t have photos of Scarpa and Petzl, they’re sassy as ever. They’ve mastered the “sit” command, which I’ve found very useful. I had never taught sled dogs “sit,” but one day, my friend Mari at ATAO Kennel said she had taught every single one of her sled dogs how to sit. While sitting in a race isn’t particularly important, knowing “sit” is just one more way you can connect with a dog, and it’s a perfect way to get puppies to focus. At least for half a second. So thanks for the inspiration Mari- I now want every puppy to learn to sit! And Scarpa and Petzl are masters at it. Well, at least for five seconds :)

October 09, 2018

Cabin Construction Continued

October 09, 2018/ Ryne Olson

We’ve had a few chilly nights (4F yesterday morning!), so it’s kicked our cabin construction into overdrive! When temperatures start to drop that low, it means the ground is freezing, and any projects that involve dirt work better be about finished. Luckily, Derek finished connecting our water just in time! If you recall from last fall, we pounded a well next to the cabin. The well has supplied us with water all summer and fall, but it hasn’t been connected to the cabin itself. A submersible pump propelled water out of a hose at the top of the well casing, which meant that when temperatures drop below freezing, the hose was pretty much guaranteed to freeze. To connect the cabin to the well, we dug a three-foot trench, cut a hole in well casing, and connected the pump to a pipe going to the cabin. We then insulated the pipe to keep it from freezing in the winter. And truthfully, when I say “we,” I mostly mean Derek. I occasionally gave a hand, but most the time, I was busy running dogs or doing kennel work! I’m continually impressed by Derek’s can-do attitude and patience when tackling these projects with which we have zero prior experience!

Yesterday’s focus was installing our wood stove. We purchased a super efficient, 12-14 hour burn-time wood stove. The stove even has a filter to make the smoke “cleaner!” Air pollution in the winter is a major problem for the Fairbanks North Pole region because many homes heat with wood or coal, and the smoke sits in the valley. Two Rivers doesn’t have the same issue, but we figured we might as well get as fuel efficient of a stove as possible. Plus, it’s nice to sleep through the whole night and not have to wake up to restock the stove :)

The stove is located on the first floor of the cabin, so it was a bit nerve-wracking cutting through our second floor and then the roof to install the stove pipe! After several hours, Derek and I got to enjoy the warm and comforting glow of a fire in our new wood stove!

I promise to write a dog update here soon! The adults have been training 4-5 days a week and are LOVING the cooler weather. The yearlings are doing shorter miles and learning the routine. They, too, are looking strong! Thank you to all of this year’s dog sponsors. Our new dog sponsor gear has just arrived, so stay tuned for the latest Ryno gear!

Insulating the pipe from the house to the well.

October 05, 2018

Eagle Visit

October 05, 2018/ Ryne Olson

Over the past few days, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Eagle and boat seven miles down the Yukon River to visit with Matt Hall’s parents, Wayne and Scarlett, in their beautiful, remote home. Wayne and Scarlett live a truly subsistence lifestyle. Their property can only be accessed by bush plane (there is a large gravel bar near their house), dog team in the winter, or boat in the summer. Every summer, they put a fish wheel into the Yukon to catch anywhere from 4,000-5,000 Chum salmon to feed their sled dogs. Several years ago, Wayne ran the Yukon Quest; however, now Scarlett and Wayne own and operate Bush Alaska Expeditions, a remote dog touring business that offers the real deal.

Tyler, Matt, and I drove to Eagle (about an 8-10 hour drive depending on road conditions). We combined it with a trip to Delta to grab our winter’s supply of straw for our kennels. Once we arrived in the small community of Eagle (population 65ish), Wayne and their handler, Greg, picked us, and we took their boat downriver to their homestead. You might recognize the city of Eagle, Alaska as a checkpoint in the Yukon Quest. While the Taylor Highway does go to Eagle, it isn’t maintained during the winter months, so a section of the Yukon Quest trail travels on the Taylor Highway, up and over American Summit, and down into Eagle. From there, the Quest trail goes up the Yukon River to Circle, where it once again gets on the road system. Even though I’ve been to Eagle before, I had never seen it in the summertime. American Summit was known for blizzards, wind drifts, and terrifying conditions, and Eagle was a sleepy little community right on the banks of the frozen Yukon River. It was incredible to see all that country in a different season. The town of Eagle was still quiet and easy-going, but wow- American Summit and the Yukon River are TOTALLY different! It’s hard to believe so much water is rushing under our feet as we mush along the frozen Yukon. Or that American Summit actually has a graded road winding up its summit instead of side-hilling wind drifts and sloping glaciers.

While at Scarlett and Wayne’s house, we helped them move their fish wheel across the Yukon River and stage it in preparation for it to be hauled up the bank and stored for the winter. Moving the fish wheel across the Yukon can be a challenging task. If the fish wheel starts to drift too far with the current or turn crosswise to the current, it can result in disaster. Luckily, Wayne expertly pushed the fish wheel across the river and landed it perfectly in an eddy where it would sit until they haul it on land. After that, Matt showed us around the cabin, taking us grayling fishing, up a cliff to a falcon nest, and around the slough. He shared with us stories from his childhood and growing up in bush Alaska. What an incredible way of life! A big thank you to the Halls for letting me sleep on your floor for a couple nights and giving me a little glimpse into your world!