March Update

It's been a long time since I last checked into this blog.  I used to wonder why the owners of the blogs I followed updated their pages so infrequently, but now I understand: life gets in the way.  My 6 race dogs and I had a fantastic racing season and did so much better than last year.  I'll get to our race placement in a bit, but first, individual dog performances:
Zorra: A+.  Zorra was one of my first two dogs and is more bonded to me than any other dog on the team.  As such, I can always depend on her to give me everything she's got.  She ran swing most of the season, but I put her in lead during the beginning of Race to the Sky after Bessie made a bunch of mistakes.  She finished the race in lead and has led in every run since, establishing herself as a trusted leader.  I guess she is just a late bloomer so far as leading is concerned.
Sprout: A+.  Sprout joined the team in late December and has proved to be a valuable asset. He is a goofy, happy-go-lucky guy with endless enthusiasm, has an excellent build with long legs and nice paws, and pulls hard into the line just like his half-sister, Bessie does.  Sprout is a great publicity dog too since he is noisy and friendly at publicity vet checks, attracting petting and attention from spectators.  His sweet, goofy personality never fails to bring a smile to my face.  Sprout has ran everywhere except lead.
Bessie: A-. Bessie led during every single run this year.  She is an extremely driven dog and never ever lets her line slack, keeping her teammates lined out and ignoring distractions.  Bessie would have received an A+ rating, but for her behavior at the beginning of Race to the Sky, when she repeatedly took wrong turns and went off the trail randomly.  I am uncertain as to what the cause of this was, as she never leaves the trail during training runs.
Hadrian: A-.  Hadrian was my other original dog I obtained along with Zorra in 2009.  He has come a long way from the neurotic, timid creature who was terrified of me and resisted separation from Zorra with wild shrieks.  Hadrian is, along with Mango, one of the few non-Alaskans I've kept, as he performs more like an Alaskan husky than a purebred.  He ran everywhere except lead this year, and was flawless save for his unpleasant habit of chewing lines.  
Mango: B+.  Mango is other other seppala type dog I've kept.  Last year I ran him in lead a great deal, but this year he stayed mainly in team or occasionally wheel, as he has an aversion to passing (if in lead) which caused some trouble at Eagle Cap.  Otherwise Mango was a good, reliable team dog who doesn't cause trouble and works hard.
Breena: B.  Breena was another new dog this year, who joined the team in August.  She proved to be a hard worker, and initially I thought she would make a good leader to co-lead with Bessie.  However, Breena had other ideas.  Some days she would run perfectly in lead; others she'd flat refuse to run if in lead.  The last time I attempted running her there, she threw a complete fit and wouldn't run at all, anywhere.  I did not attempt running her in lead again.  She has been a good team dog and doesn't cause trouble otherwise.
Cobalt and Steele: Zorra and Hadrian's pups from their January, 2010 litter; these belong to my mother (Cobalt) and brother (Steele) but I borrowed them in January to use for the Eagle Cap Extreme.  Cobalt was flawless as always; Steele caused a little trouble during the second half of the race, but I don't fault her as Trevor had not trained as extensively during the fall as I did.

Hadrian's daughter from last year's April 30th litter (by one of trevor's alaskan females, not a planned litter), Robin, has been training and seems to have some prospect as well. She'll join the race team next fall.

Low snow levels in western America caused cancellation of many races, so my team and I only competed in three:
Darby Dog Derby (Montana), 20 miles, 4th place out of 6 (ran with six dogs, others had 8)
Eagle Cap Extreme (Oregon), 100 miles, 3rd place out of 6 (borrowed Cobalt and Steele from family)
Race to the Sky (Montana), 100 miles, 1st place out of 6 (borrowed two dogs from Aiyanna Ferraro, a friend of Trevors)

In addition to winning Race to the Sky, I received the Best Cared For Team award, which I feel is even more important than winning.  This is certainly a sign that I am doing something right with my dog's care.  I had borrowed two dogs from a friend of Trevor's, Aiyanna. One of these dogs was not very good at all, the other ok, although still not equal with my dogs.  We finished 50 minutes ahead of the 2nd place musher but I still wonder where we would have been if I'd had 8 well trained dogs instead of 6.

As for  2012 puppies: Bessie will be bred to Sprout as soon as she is ready (overdue by several weeks now).  This litter, based on Jeff King's lines and linebred on Jake Berkowitz's popular stud Solomon, will likely contribute heavily to a future Iditarod team.
 Steele has been bred to Sprout as well, and I will receive a stud fee puppy from this litter.  As a Sprout pup and a Zorra/Hadrian grandpup, I'm looking forward to getting this puppy.
Mom has leased Breena from me for the summer and bred her to one of mom's males.  Resultingly, Breena will not be accompanying myself and the other dogs to Alaska next month.

Next post: summer plans - North to Alaska!