Learn more about how we are handling the cold temperatures at Dew Claw Kennel

Howdy all, Jodi here. With temps between -20 and -30 we have not hit the bone chilling -40 needed for a real cold snap, but it definitely qualifies as a little nippy by Alaskan standards. I had taken my camera out with me today in the hopes of taking some photos to show you all how beautiful the light is this time of year. But alas the camera had no intention of working at these temps. And while taking care of my 12 dog team on a run, I had no time or energy to fight with electronics. So it is an update without photos I am afraid. But I can take this time to answers your questions about caring for our four legged kids at these temperatures. We have been fortunate with great snow conditions this year, and have lots of miles on the dogs. So we have the luxury of taking shorter runs during these cold temps, without jeopardizing our overall training goals for the year. And that is exactly what we are doing. We are also feeding more often; lots of good kibble along with quality meats from Bailey Farms.

Shorter runs along with more frequent warm meals help the dogs keep good body weight and a happy attitude at colder temperatures. Shorter runs serve two important goals. They let the dogs get out and have fun, and give us the opportunity to test our cold weather gear. As we prepare for our 1000 mile races we need to be sure our gear is adequate to keep us warm and safe, and testing it on shorter runs allows us to fine tune not only our clothing, but the dogs gear as well. Yup, our dogs have their own cold weather gear. We use jackets, special bands to protect the male dogs private parts, and one item that Dan has been working on; dog leg gaiters. These gaiters protect the delicate skin on the back of the dogs legs from a condition mushers refer to as chicken skins. Chicken skins are what happens when the hair on the back of the leg gets frosted over, and in bad trail conditions can get worn. But with gaiters the dogs are protected and never get chicken skins. This year gaiters are being sewn for us by my good friend, fellow Equinox marathon runner, and co-worker Sarah McConnell. We are making them with a windproof fleece from Seattle Fabrics, and are using a pattern Dan has developed over the past few years. I must say after a few days of cold weather testing I am pleased to report the gaiters are working wonderfully! And I am so glad that we will have plenty of sets for this years raced season, and the dogs will be traveling comfortably on the trail no matter what the conditions.

Also at these cold temperatures every foot on every dog has a bootie on it for protection. Right now we are using wonderful booties made with love by Dan’s mom Meg Thornton. Booties are critical to caring for our team on the trail. She makes thousands of booties for us every year, and we can not thank her and her friends in the ‘Bootie Brigade’ enough. Also at these temps we can bring the dogs into our heated dog barn / garage. This is Dan’s workshop, where he is currently building our new sleds. But it is also designed to house the entire team, with a row of large kennels under the workbench, and a stake out chain running the entire length. We spread out fresh straw for the kids, and have water available. After a run we can bring the team up there to get warmed up and have snacks. Plus it lets us check all the dog’s feet while they relax in a well lit comfortable place.

We are testing our own gear as well. One piece of clothing I can not live without is wrist gaiters. And thanks to Joy Davis and her students I will have new ones to use for the race season. You would not think that a simple tube of polar fleece worn from above the thumb to below your wrist would make a huge difference in how warm you are; but let me tell you it does! I am not a biologist, so please excuse my very basic explanation of why. First turn over your hand and look at your wrist, the veins travel very close to the surface there. These veins bring the blood into your hand, and if the blood traveling so close to the surface gets cooled then you are circulating cold blood into your hands, instead of nice warm blood. By keeping your wrists nice and warm you prevent this. Wrist gaiters also seal any gaps at the cuff of your parka, preventing warm air from escaping and cold air from getting in. A simple wrist gaiter performs pretty important tasks that help ensure I am warm, so thank you to Joy Davis and her students. See photos of the students working on the gaiters.

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