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Talkeetna Sundog Kennel

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stvchin
stvchin
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4 out of 5
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Mush Doggies! - A Great Attraction for Dog Lovers

  • September 9, 2009
  • Rated 4 of 5 by stvchin from Tustin, California
Mush Doggies! - A Great Attraction for Dog Lovers

When one thinks of Alaska, one usually associates it with dog sled racing. We saw a few dog sled teams carting tourists around Talkeetna and decided to ask about that. We found out that a few professional dog sled teams offer rides and demonstrations during the offseason. Locals said the Talkeetna Sundog Kennel was around the corner. We found the office on Main Street in Talkeetna. We went into the office and inquired about the dog sleds. We were told that they offer a kennel tour as well as a 15-20 minute dog sled ride for $50. We bought a ticket and hung around the office/gift shop for a few minutes until the next scheduled kennel tour.

When the next kennel tour started, we were joined by a group of about 10 other tourists. Our guide introduced herself as a professional dog sled musher. (I honestly don’t remember her name unfortunately.) She gave us a quick tour of the kennel and the dogs.

She said the dogs here at the kennel are Siberian Huskies, the most popular breeds used in sled dog racing. She mentioned that Alaskan Malamutes are used to haul heavier sleds, due to their greater strength, but are slower than Siberian Huskies, and not used much for racing. The Huskies usually have a thicker double fur coat, but they shed in the spring, and are also are trimmed in the summertime due to the heat. She said the adult dogs can often weigh as much as 60-70 pounds. There are several pens in the kennel, some of which have huge running wheels, not unlike an oversized hamster wheel. One of them had a Husky running on it. She explained that the Huskies are bred to run, and they are quite hyperactive. Some interesting facts are that the Siberian Husky is one of the oldest breed of dog, and possibly the first sled dog. The Huskies probably came over to America from Siberia on the Bering land bridge thousands of years ago when Alaska and Siberia were actually joined together. She also mentioned that Huskies howl more than they bark, mainly due to their close ancestry to the wolf. As if on cue, a few of the Huskies started howling, about 10 seconds later, they all seemed to be howling as a reaction to the other Huskies’ howling.

Jerry, a professional dog sled musher, came out and continued with the rest of the tour. He told us about the history of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, held every March from the town of Willow to Nome. The Iditarod commemorates a dog sled run back in 1925, when a diphtheria epidemic hit the northern Alaskan town of Nome. A sled dog team raced as fast as possible, carrying serum from Anchorage to Nome, thus saving the population from the disease.

Jerry said most racers, including himself, are from Alaska, although the Iditarod often has teams from other places such as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Massachusetts, California, Montana, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, and Iceland. He does the kennel tours in the offseason to help raise money and awareness of the Iditarod, much like NASCAR drivers doing promotional activities for their sponsors. Jerry said sometimes the sport of dog sledding is misunderstood, as some view it as animal cruelty. But the dogs were bred to run, and they love running, they don’t view it as a form of punishment. It’s similar to racing horses or other pack animals.

They took out the Huskies a few at a time and started hooking them up to two different wheeled carts. The sleds aren’t used due to lack of snow in the summertime. Both explained how the dogs are hooked up to the sleds in teams of 16. There is a lead dog that is able to heed the musher’s commands and guide the rest of the dogs. The lead dog is usually of higher intellect and more experienced at dog sledding than the rest of the team.

Once the dogs were hooked up, we boarded the carts and the dogs pulled us out of the kennels and onto the street. The mushers actually jogged next to the dogs, with one hand on a leash to guide the lead dog. This is because there are no musher’s reins on the carts. Normally, in a sled, the mushers would steer and command the dogs from the back of the sled. We exited Talkeetna and went around a few gravel roads just outside of town. The dogs led us into a stream, where they took a break and laid down in the cool waters. Jerry explained that the summer times are especially harsh on the dogs, as they were bred to run in temperatures as cold as -75 degrees. After a little while, we ended up back at the kennel. After unhooking the dogs, we had a chance to pet and play with the Huskies a little. The Huskies are very much a companion dog and get along well with humans and themselves.

I enjoyed the experience. While we didn’t race at high speeds nor did anything particularly wow us, it was a very good educational experience, especially for dog lovers. The Huskies didn’t seem to be tired or beat down after pulling a sled, but quite happy the entire time. I think this would be a good activity for kids as well as adults.

From journal Homecoming to Alaska

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