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Fall, one season closer to Winter ~

Busy with fall training, and fundraising.
I (Jodi) am getting really excited for my big challenge this winter, Iditarod 2011! Thank you all for the continued encouragement and support.

As winter gets closer things are getting busier at Dew Claw. Dogs are starting fall training with the quad, this is always an exciting time. After a whole summer of rest and recovery the dogs are exploding with energy and excitement. We are always so glad to be back to running dogs again too. This past summer we were able to get a lot of work projects done around the house, but now it is time to switch over to dog mode and make sure everything is ready for the exciting winter ahead. The inside of the garage /shop is now finished (well almost...) and ready for Dan to start sled building. We were able to purchase and load up a dump truck load of quality straw for the dogs this winter, having that all taken care of is a nice feeling. And a big thanks to TJ's for the use of the dump truck.

I (Jodi) have been using the last of my time off this summer to continue to work on my fundraising goals for Iditarod 2011. Very happy have been contacted by Paw Partners who will be able to assist Dan's Mom, Meg with bootie support. The amount of booties needed for the upcoming season, racing and training will be substantial. We are also joining B.A.R.K. (buy a round of kibbles) to give friends an opportunity to buy a round for the kennel. See the B.A.R.K. logo on the right.

More Great News: PUPPIES are Here!

Guppy and Gypsy have both had their puppies and the living room is now a chorus of little puppy squeaks and squeals. Gypsy had hers Aug. 8th and Guppy the 11th. So the kids can all grow up together, and you can see that everyone is getting along great. Looks of it Dan and I will have our hands full!
-August 18 2010

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Winter Plans are Shaping up: Iditarod 2011 ~

Happy to share this exciting news with our friends.

Jodi here, and although the official sign up is not until the Volunteer Appreciation Picnic at the Iditarod Trail Committee headquarters this Sat (6/26) my entry is on its way there, via Fed Ex; speedy, track it online, guaranteed for Friday, delivery. You heard it here first, I have submitted an entry for the 2011 Iditarod. As a rookie I have also submitted my rookie paperwork, including report cards from qualifying races I participated in last year. Iditarod Trail Committee still needs to review my qualifications before my entry is official. But baring any problems with them, I will be registered as a first day entrant, which brings with it the advantage of an earlier starting number.

With it settled that I will be making my rookie attempt at the Iditarod Dan is now thinking about what he wants to focus on next race season. There are a few races he has not had the chance to run that interest him, and we will keep you posted.

More Good News ~

Puppies are planned for fall!.

Yes it is time to grow the Dew Claw family. We have planned and bred 2 litters, join us in wishing health for the moms, and big healthy litters of pups. One litter will be out of Guppy (at right), Dan's small female leader from last years Iditarod who was injured on the way to Unalakleet. X-rays showed that she had actually broken bones in her wrist when she fell in the sea ice. She is making the transition to house dog, soon to be mom quite smoothly. Although her racing days are over, she has a permanent home in the Dew Claw living room. Guppy was bred with a super friendly Iditarod finishing male, Windex.

The second litter is a sweet female named Gypsy, bred to Dan's Iditarod finishing leader Gutknecht. This will be the second litter for these two. We are hoping the second will be larger then the last, of only 2 pups, Sparrow and Ribdon; but still have all the same energy and drive. Gypsy can be seen on the left with Ribdon and Sparrow 2009 when they were young. Ribdon and Sparrow were running in harness this last winter and looked great, with wonderful energetic attitudes. We look forward to running them with next years race team.

Dew Claw Kennel : Summer ~

Summer is a time of planning and preparation.

As we get the last of this winters gear repaired, and stowed for the short summer, we can't help but think of next season :) As plans become more solid we will keep people posted here. You can be sure the Dew Claw dogs will be out and about next winter. For the summer with its long hot days the get to relax in the yard. Leaders will be doing some command training. Some free runs on rainy days, and the occasional hike. Time for Jodi to run without dogs and work on her goal of the Equinox marathon. Dan working hard, and in his spare time hopes to build new race sleds for Dew Claw. Both will be tackling the never ending 'to do' list of home and kennel projects. Come fall with cooler days everyone will start four wheeler training. Around here we already hoping for an early winter.

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OK, Now it's over with the Kobuk 440...
well for this year.

I, Jodi, had an amazing time with the dogs in the Kobuk 440. The hospitality in Kotzebue and the surrounding village checkpoints was wonderful, the trail beautiful, and it was a great opportunity for me and the dogs to get experience in conditions we do not regularly train in. I want to thank everyone who helped make it possible for Dew Claw to run the Kobuk 440. And there was a special end. Dan had flow to Kotzebue to surprise me and see me and the team cross the finish line. read more

The race season's not over yet!

The Dew Claw dogs have one more event for the season. The Kobuk 440. This will be my longest race to date, is in a part of the state I have never mushed in before, and a real challenge. But I am very much looking forward to it, and learning what I can from the trail and the competition.

I (Jodi) flew out to Kotzebue with 12 race dogs to run the Kobuk. Snow in Fairbanks is quickly disappearing, so quickly that I actually had to borrow our good friend Rick's 4 wheeler to run the dogs last week and keep them loosened up for the race, we did not have enough snow to safely run a sled with a powerful team on our trails. But here in Kotzebue it is still prime mushing weather, with good snow and lots of sunlight. Sunglasses are a must.

We have an excellent host in Kotzebue, and the dogs have a great place to camp out and relax. The dog box Dan built for flying the team has worked out wonderfully, letting the team fly in comfort, and rest in a warm cozy place while we are camping. It is designed to be either moved with a forklift or pulled by a snowmachine, so moving the team around is not a problem out here.

The Kobuk 440 has a web site:
http://www.kobuk440.com/Kobuk_440/2010_kobuk_440.html

And our Facebook friends can also find a great fan site on there that will be updated during the race:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kobuk-440/240345216909?ref=mf

End of the Iditarod Trail

Dan Kaduce (r) 64 Nome 03/17/10 15:50:00 11
SO Dan was a rookie, meaning his first time ever doing this race (r) was bib number 64 and got to Nome (the finish of the 1000 mile race) March 17th at 15:50:00 with 11 dogs. He was the first of this years rookies to finishing, which made him 'rookie of the year' . A huge Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible!
read more here

photos taken by Jan Tremer

More News from the Iditarod Trail

So much news!

• Images from the Trail at iditarodblogs.com
• Video of Dan on You Tube
• Jodi went to Ruby and said "Dan and the kids looked GREAT!! the 2 dropped dogs were Jody (ripped toenail) and Sisiter (getting a little sore) With such a big strong team he felt there was no reason to push anyone :) Team ate huge meals in Ruby, and I even get to hear them singing the after dinner howl!" See photos from Ruby
• Latest reports are theat Dan is into Unalakleet with 14 dogs and Jodi is wainting in Nome!

On the Iditarod Trail

OK y'all join me in wishing Dan, Elwood, Guetknecht, Dust, Lubbock, Guppy, Jib, Freezer, Sisiter, CC, Jody, Windex, Orchid, Casper, Ahtna, Reece, and Devil Fish; actually lets wish All The Mushers & Dogs a fun safe trip to Nome!

More pictures here Race re-start in Willow

Current standings show Dan into Nikolia at 17:23:00 still running with 16 dogs! The blip appears to be camped.

Iditarod Start!

Off we go! 10am today in downtown Anchorage, AK

Dan has bib number 64, watch for him on the webcam Starting Line coverage at Iditablog!
http://www.iditablog.com/nomecam/

Pre-race photos on Jodi's Facebook

Iditarod Coverage of Dew Claw Kennel

The race start is rapidly approaching! 10am Saturday, March 6, 2010 in downtown Anchorage, AK

Follow the Dew Claw team on the official Iditarod web site, http://www.iditarod.com/, where you can watch podcasts and subscribe to the Iditarod Insider for video on demand and more. You can also follow excellent coverage at Iditablog, http://www.iditablog.com/, or follow their Facebook posts at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iditablogcom-Iditarod-News/217444933569.

With Dan on the trail and Jodi on the road and at checkpoints, updates on this site will be random and sparse. We'll let you know what we can when we can....and when we cross the finish line!

Denali Doubles wrap-up::

Dan and I had a great time with the kids on the Denali Doubles Sled Dog Race (2010). The weather was beautiful, and the race organizers, volunteers, checkers, and checkpoints could not have been better! We want to take a minute and thank Jeff King, the race committee and all the volunteers for their efforts.

Our team finished 2nd, and the full results can be viewed in spreadsheet form here: Denali Doubles results
and considering how competitive the field was we could not be happier with our performance. (read more and see pictures...)

For your Viewing Pleasure:
here is video of Dan and I running tandem sleds with 23 dogs on the Tanana River

Learning and Happy Feet; a win win situation!

Once again this Year Dew Claw Kennel has some special friends making up the foot ointment we use for the dogs. Ms Thompson's first and second graders at Bridges Community School are participating for a second year. And this year they are joined by Ms. Koble's third graders at Roosevelt Neighborhood School. Both schools are located in Mankato, Mn. Students in Ms. Thompson's and Ms. Koble's class will be mixing up our recipe for foot ointment. Students in these classes will also be following Dan in the Iditarod and using the race as a opportunity for additional educational activities. We are real excited to have this opportunity to introduce the students to the wonderful sport of mushing. And we are super thankful for their foot ointment. Our favorite part of this project is the kids will decorate the individual ointment containers. The bright cheerful artwork makes them easy to see and keep track of while you are working on the dogs. That is a huge help when you are tiered.

And this project is very important to the dogs as well. The ointment is used to help condition the feet and keep them healthy. It also has antibiotics just in case there are any small injuries on the dogs feet. We use it regularly as part of maintaining optimum health for the Dew Claw Dogs. Thank you so much to Ms. Thompson's and Ms. Koble's students for all your help!

-photos of last years student art work on the ointment containers, and Dan using the ointment to care for the dogs feet in Pelly during last years Yukon Quest-

Taking a minute to say "Thank You" before drop bags.

As we get ready to do drop bags for the Denali Doubles the Iditarod I can't help but think back on all the wonderful people who have helped to make all this possible. We have updated Our Sponsors page to thank them all. So much goes into the preparations for a big event, it may be hard to imagine the amount of food and gear that will be packed up and sent out to checkpoints for a 300 mile event like the Denali Doubles. Let alone a 1000 mile event like the Iditarod. But Dan's experience racing the Quest has prepared him to tackle the tack of Iditarod drop bags.

We are still actively looking for a few more items to be sponsored this winter: Airline kennels for 16 dogs, and funds to cover flying the team to Kotzebue for the Kobuk 440 in April. Please feel free to email us or see our Sponsorship page for more information.

Also wanted to take time to talk about a relatively recent trend I have noticed; mushers putting on races. Now we mushers have been extremely lucky to have a whole slew of volunteers and fans that have over the year been the driving force behind the races in Alaska. And we love our volunteer race organizers and volunteers, they work very hard so that we can go out and have a great time at the events they run. But when your addicted to mushing you can never have enough of a good thing.

New races have been springing up around the state. First there was the Sheep Mountain, put on by Zack and Anjanette Steer at their Sheep Mountain Lodge. the John Shandelmier and Zoya Denure added the Gin GIn 200 and the Taiga 300 to the Alaska race scene. The Cadzow family of Fort Yukon was very instrumental in starting the Yukon Flats 300 race. And Now Jeff King is hosting the Denali Doubles. It is fun and exciting to see new events being offered. And we are very appreciative of these mushers and what they are doing for all of us.

Well just in case things were not busy enough...

...we decided to go ahead and sign up for the Denali Doubles Invitational Sled Dog Race; for official race web site click here.

The race is unique in that it has 2 mushers working together to run a team of up to 20 dogs.
(continued on 09-10 Race Season Page)

Dan cutting up blocks of meat to make the trail snacks we use for training and races

Nice article about Dan and team Dew Claw

This was from the Anchorage Daily News: http://www.adn.com/outdoors/story/1099285.html

"Dan Kaduce has finished the Yukon Quest a couple of times -- and also scratched. His eighth-place finish in last year's race drew little notice in the press, but much of the mushing community followed his progress closely.
His times from checkpoint to checkpoint, rest to rest, were consistently the fastest in the race. His race style was distinctly old-school -- stop for as long as you move...." read the complete article

Copper Basin wrap up

Thanks to all who sent congratulations and words of encouragement. Now that we are home and the dogs are comfortably relaxing I (Jodi) have a few minutes to reflect on the race. First and foremost we are so very pleased to have had both teams place so well in such a competitive field. A few dogs were dropped from our race teams, but this was done as a precaution; none were seriously injured or ill.

Both Dan and I drew late bib numbers, which meant we went out later and had to deal with trail that was more beat up and passing lots of teams. In spite of that our early runs went very smoothly. Read more here...

News from the Copper Basin 300

The race is done and the teams are happy and fed. Dan came in at #5 and Jodi at #13. More news when Jodi gets home. Congratulations to all the mushers and dogs!

Dew Claw is heading to the Copper Basin 300 -

Dew Claw is planning on bringing 2 teams to the Copper Basin 300 sled dog race. It begins in Jan 9th in Glennallen. This race will give Dan a chance to test out his main race team, while Jodi takes the rest of the dogs in the race squad. They have all trained together all season, and now will be a chance to see which new dogs are going to rise to the challenge of this year’s race season.

Visit the Copper Basin web for more information and updates.

Full Moon Runs

Despite cooler temperatures in Fairbanks an inversion has meant that the temps out in the hills where we train have been much warmer. That, in addition to the amazing moonlight has made for some wonderful night runs.
With the light reflecting off the snow it is bright enough that you do not even need your headlamp to travel down the trail. This saves batteries, and is just plain fun both for us and the dogs. The moon rising in the White Mountains has been beautiful beyond words! On my (Jodi’s) first run of the New Year the moon rose so big and red it literally looked like something was exploding in the distance. The dogs caught sight of this big fiery ball cresting the hills ahead of us and took off for it like they might catch it if they tried hard enough. Then again last night (1/3/10) the moon came up bright red, but this time framed with wisps of Aurora in greens and yellows.
Being out there with the dogs on a night like that, well it just makes you glad to be alive!

Its official, Dan is signed up to run the 2010 Iditarod -

The fall training began in August, and the team is looking happy and strong. Dan will be in Anchorage the weekend of December 5th for the Iditarod Rookie meeting. The wheels are in motion for Dan and the Dew Claw dogs to make the trip to Nome this March. We are still actively seeking sponsorship to help defray the massive expense of participating in the Iditarod. Dew Claw kennel would also like to have Jodi run the dogs in the 2010 Kobuk 400 in Kotzebue, and we are seeking sponsors to help with the cost of flying the team out for the race.

Fall Training has begun! meet the team

This year we are training 26 race dogs. A small crew of athletes that we refer to as 'the kids'. All but one of this years race dogs was born at Dew Claw. For us it has been especially rewarding to be working with dogs that we have bred, raised, and trained for their entire lives. The one exception is a little workhorse named Jody. No we didn't name her; Curtis and Shannon Erhart did when she was a pup. Later they felt she would work better in our distance kennel instead of their open class sprint kennel. They were right. Jody came to us and has been a part of our race team ever since. (Jody at Left)

A big core of our race team is one exceptional litter of dogs born the summer of '03. We purchased the female, Bristol, from Joee Redington of Manley who bred and ran her. The male was also a Redington dog named Tyrol. That litter includes: Loben and Xtra (the boot sisters) Jake and Elwood (the Blues Brothers) and Gutknecht. As yearlings they ran in the Annamaet race series, 8 dog class (Fairbanks AK) finishing the year as points champions. They have gone on to run in multiple distance events; including Jodi's back to back Gin Gin 200 wins, and Dan's first place Taiga 300, Knik 200, and Yukon Flats 300, as well as his '08 and '09 top 10 Yukon Quest finishes.
(Guetknecht and Jake at the start of the Yukon Quest, Jake and Jodi after the Gin Gin)