The grandaddy of all sled dog races begins tomorrow. Are you excited?
[poll id=”166″]
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Tag Archives: sled dogs
Do Sled Dogs Need Lots of Carbs Before a Race?
When we humans prepare for a marathon, we eat lots of carbs in the days before the race to increase stored muscle energy. But sled dogs have much different metabolic needs. For them, fat content is far more important, with fats making up as much as 60 – 70% of their diets.
How do I know this? Because the Iditarod has launched a new Ask an Iditarod Vet feature, answering all your questions about sled dog health.
I know there are people who think these endurance-based sled dog races are cruel, but these athletic dogs love their jobs and are probably treated better than yours and mine. And it’s not just about racing; I heard today that some of Alaska’s ballots were delivered to their election boards by sled dog!
You can send questions for Iditarod veterinarians to Krystin at [email protected]
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Iditarod 2016: Winners have crossed the finish line
Early this morning in Alaska, the top three mushers crossed the finish line in Nome. As predicted, the Seavey men took the top two spots, with Dallas taking the lead. Aliy Zirkle came in third. The video is from KTUU in Anchorage.
Here are the top five as of 3 pm Eastern today:
1 Dallas Seavey
Bib 16 IN TO Nome
AT 03-15 02:20
2 Mitch Seavey
Bib 19 IN TO Nome
AT 03-15 03:05
3 Aliy Zirkle
Bib 13 IN TO Nome
AT 03-15 09:42
4 Wade Marrs
Bib 33 OUT OF Safety
AT 03-15 08:49
5 Peter Kaiser
Bib 11 OUT OF Safety
AT 03-15 08:57
Congrats to all who finish, or even participate in this grueling competition!
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Iditarod 2016: Standings as of 3/13 @ 7:50 pm Eastern
The top five are all out of Shaktoolik, and they have all taken both of their required layovers, so it’s straight on through to Nome now.
1 Dallas Seavey
Bib 16 OUT OF Shaktoolik
AT 03-13 10:27
2 Brent Sass
Bib 32 OUT OF Shaktoolik
AT 03-13 11:25
3 Aliy Zirkle
Bib 13 OUT OF Shaktoolik
AT 03-13 12:52
4 Mitch Seavey
Bib 19 OUT OF Shaktoolik
AT 03-13 13:04
5 Wade Marrs
Bib 33 OUT OF Shaktoolik
AT 03-13 15:52
Drunk Snowmobile Driver Causes Iditarod Tragedy
KTUU has several videos and articles detailing the crash caused early Saturday when a drunk 26-year-old Nulato man drove his snowmobile into Jeff King’s team, killing 4-year old Nash and injuring at least 2 more dogs. King and Iditarod officials claim the attack was intentional and say that the man also harassed Aliy Zirkle, injuring one of her dogs. The man maintains he was blacked out and doesn’t remember a thing. He faces two counts of third degree assault, one count of reckless endangerment, one count of reckless driving and five counts of fifth degree criminal mischief.
Neither musher was hurt in the attacks, and both plan on continuing the race. In fact, Zirkle advanced from 3rd place to 2nd today.
Best wishes to both as they continue their quest, and our sympathies go out to King and his kennel family on the loss of Nash.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Saturday Survey: Iditarod 2016
I’ve been following the Iditarod fairly closely. As always, I’m pulling for the only female musher who regularly finishes in the top five: Aliy Zirkle. Who do you think will win? Listed in the survey are the five who were at the front of the pack as of this morning.
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Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
Iditarod 2016: Standings as of March 12th at 12:45 Eastern
The top five are now scattered between the Kaltag and Nulato checkpoints. From Kaltag, the next waypoint is Unalakleet, on the coast of the Bering Sea. From there, they circle the west edge of the sea, all the way to Nome.
Here are the leaders’ positions:
1 Brent Sass
Bib 32 OUT OF Kaltag
AT 03-12 08:20
2 Mitch Seavey
Bib 19 IN TO Kaltag
AT 03-12 07:41
3 Aliy Zirkle
Bib 13 OUT OF Nulato
AT 03-12 06:16
4 Dallas Seavey
Bib 16 OUT OF Nulato
AT 03-12 07:14
5 Wade Marrs
Bib 33 OUT OF Nulato
AT 03-12 07:17
Iditarod 2016: Standings as of 3/11 @ 2:00 pm Eastern
The top five have all reached the Ruby checkpoint.
1 Brent Sass
Bib 32 OUT OF Ruby
AT 03-11 01:47
2 Aliy Zirkle
Bib 13 OUT OF Ruby
AT 03-11 04:32
3 Mitch Seavey
Bib 19 OUT OF Ruby
AT 03-11 09:10
4 Jeff King
Bib 61 IN TO Ruby
AT 03-10 13:02
5 Dallas Seavey
Bib 16 IN TO Ruby
AT 03-11 03:31
Next up: Galena!
2016 Iditarod Standings: 09 March @ 3:40 pm Eastern
Dallas Seavey has taken over the lead, while his father Mitch has fallen out of the top five, lagging at Takotna checkpoint while the leaders have progressed through Ophir. Four mushers (Gatt, DeNure, Steves, and Koenig) have scratched. The five mushers at the top of the standings are:
1 Dallas Seavey
Bib 16 OUT OF Ophir
AT 03-09 02:21
2 Noah Burmeister
Bib 39 OUT OF Ophir
AT 03-09 05:52
3 John Baker
Bib 66 OUT OF Ophir
AT 03-09 06:02
4 Robert Sorlie
Bib 37 OUT OF Ophir
AT 03-09 08:24
5 Jeff King
Bib 61 OUT OF Ophir
AT 03-09 08:50
Iditarod 2016: Standings as of 8 March @ 3:30 pm Eastern
The lead mushers are all clustered around the checkpoint at Nikolai. Brent Sass has broken into the lead, and is the only one to have left the checkpoint thus far. Many people are expecting the Seaveys to go 1-2 this year; they are currently running 3rd and 4th, but it’s very early in the race.
Here’s the order for the top five as of late this morning in Alaska.
1 Brent Sass
Bib 32 OUT OF Nikolai
AT 03-08 10:57
2 Nicolas Petit
Bib 12 IN TO Nikolai
AT 03-08 08:41
3 Dallas Seavey
Bib 16 IN TO Nikolai
AT 03-08 09:05
4 Mitch Seavey
Bib 19 IN TO Nikolai
AT 03-08 09:23
5 Wade Marrs
Bib 33 IN TO Nikolai
AT 03-08 09:28