Newsletter of the Inland Empire Sled Dog Association January 2008 Free to a Good Home Next Meeting: President’s Message: What: Spring Road Cleanup Well, here its is, time for a ‘spring’ newsletter. and Meeting Hard to believe the season has changed since Date: May 10, 2008 most of us are still looking at snow banks and I Meet: Highway 2 and Sacheen think the kids’ Easter egg hunts were held on Road south of Newport at 10:00 AM. Bring Gloves. Vests snow shoes the other weekend! The crocuses are and hard hats provided. Pot- somewhere under the ice wondering what hap- luck and meeting to follow at pened. Despite the inordinate amount of snow Vince and Brendia’s home. we received this year, I for one was disappointed Pizza provided. Please bring in the sledding or lack thereof. I spent most of side dish. my training time clearing snow and getting equip- ment un-stuck, including trying to figure out just how my truck and dog trailer wound up jack- Inside this Issue: knifed in the rock garden!?! Not once, but twice. Most embarrassing was that someone in a much From the Prez ................................ 1 smaller vehicle pulled us out. Must have been those gremlins (again) that turned a nicely sanded Kennel Management ..................... 2 and graded driveway into a solid sheet of ice Food Prices..................................... 3 passable as an Olympic luge run. I hope the rest Priest Lake Results........................ 4 of you had better experiences, although I know Conconully Results ........................ 4 there are some colorful stories of winter circulat- ing around. The cancellation of the Priest Lake Chester Results .............................. 5 races was the main casualty of the winter—who’d Frog Lake II Results...................... 5 a thunk sled dog races cancelled because of too PNC Results ................................... 6 much snow. So, its time for a meeting to re- Classifieds....................................... 7 group, put our heads together and plan for the Schedule of Events......................... 7 next year. And, hey, who knows what treasures we will find along the road during the cleanup! Sponsors ......................................... 8 Roslyn Spring Race Entry ............ 9 IESDA Scrapbook ....................... 11 Jeanne April 2008 IESDA SLEDTRACKS page 2 KENNEL MANAGEMENT will cost you, on average, $1500.00 to raise that litter for the first year of its life. By Vicky Massey And there are no guarantees that every puppy in that litter will grow up to be an We all love dogs right? After all, awesome sled dog or even a mediocre sled isn’t that the biggest reason for getting dog. involved in this sport? But how many dogs How do you know if you have too many dogs? Here are some questions to are too many? And if you have too many ask yourself. Can you afford to feed them dogs, what then? The first thing you must all a high quality food? Performance dogs do is prevent any future litters. How can you do that? By separating your males are only as good as the food you put into from your females and keeping them sepa- them. Can you provide them with shelter for summer and winter? Good dog houses rated, by whatever means necessary; even with straw or shavings? And what about if that means having two separate dog vet care? Can you afford vaccinations, yards, one for males and one for females. This is the most successful way to prevent worm medicine, an adequate first aid kit? accidental Breedings. Another alternative And what about vet visits for major illness is to have your dogs on tie-outs with intact or injuries. Have dogs long enough and eve- ryone will experience their share of these. females next to intact females or neutered Ideally we should all have a savings account males. Unfortunately there are no guaran- tees that chains will not break, snaps will set up strictly for those unexpected emer- not give way and collars will not be chewed. gency veterinarian visits. If your dog yard is open with no perimeter to the dogs you have? They all need so- cialization, exercise, affection and they fence, you are also leaving your females vul- need all these things 365 days a year. nerable to stray dogs. If an unwanted breeding occurs there is a shot that can be So you decide you have too many administered to the female to prevent dogs, what now? Make a list of the dogs pregnancy. This shot is only effective if you absolutely have to keep for your goals. Make another list of the dogs that would given with the first 24 to 48 hours post be a good addition to another mushers dog breeding. Therefore, it is much more de- sirable to prevent unwanted breeding in the yard and do your best to place them, give first place. them away if necessary. Make another list The second thing is getting your of the dogs you think would make good pets, definitely give them away, but do so dogs spayed and/or neutered. Too expen- responsibly. By that I mean providing hon- sive you say? There are many programs available for low-cost spay and neuter. est information to the new owners so they Each spring there is an organization, Con- are fully aware of what they are getting cerned People For Animals, that make funds into. The last list is definitely the hardest, this is the euthanasia list. If you have available to several animal clinics in North- older dogs that are having difficulty get- ern Idaho. They usually advertise in the ting around, dogs that need regular medica- pet section of the Nickels Worth and through that program you can get your tion, are ill, deformed, have behavioral is- dogs neutered for around $30. You could sues making them unsuitable pets or have a also talk with your personal vet and ask general failure to thrive, have them put down. This may be hard but will be the about a reduced rate. There are a number best thing for you and the dog. of health benefits from spaying and neu- tering. Think your dog will slow down, lose If you would like further informa- his/her drive? That is just not true. tion on kennel management, go to The question has been raised on www.mushwithpride.org. If you are in a SDC Talk regarding the cost of raising one situation where you are feeling over- puppy for a year and it seems the average whelmed and need help, please ask. The was $250.00 per puppy (providing you have largest dog yard is not necessarily the healthy puppies, do your own vaccinations, best dog yard with the best dogs. dew claws and deworming yourself). Basi- cally if you have a litter of six puppies it April 2008 IESDA SLEDTRACKS page 3 Dog Food Prices, Why are they Going up Up UP? Food prices for both ourselves and our ca- led to terrible harvests from Australia to the Carib- nine companions are on the rise, precipitous in bean and the United Kingdom. This is one of the some cases. We see this every time we go to the factors that has led to increasing price for grain. feed store, call our distributor or go to the grocery The third factor is the massive rise in the store. The factors involved are complex and global price of staple food commodities: wheat, corn and in nature. The following is from an article by soy. This has been driven by speculation in the Alex Renton from “The Guardian” a UK publica- markets, partly by the demand for crops to turn tion. into fuel. In the US vast tracts of farmland now are The first factor affecting food price is the in corn for ethanol production. price of oil. In January 2008, oil prices hit $100.00 The fourth factor is the economic boom in a barrel. That means that food is four times as ex- China and India. Around the world and through pensive to plant, irrigate, harvest and transport as it history people have eaten more meat as they have was six years ago. While meat is a key ingredient become richer. This is called the nutrition transi- in dog food, grains are as well, and cattle, chicken, tion and its now happening very quickly, in the two poultry etc eat grain. most populous nations on the planet. Hundreds of The second factor is climate. Drought, millions of people are now rich enough to eat meat hurricanes and floods around the world last year compared to 10 years ago. ... The Ed.... Inland Empire Sled Dog Association **************************************************************** INLAND EMPIRE SLED DOG ASSOCIATION OFFICERS: 2007-2008 PRESIDENT JEANNE ARNOLD 208-773-7707 VICE-PRESIDENT VICKY MASSEY 208-623-6242 SECRETARY/TREASURER BRENDIA HEINTZELMAN 509-447-5744 NEWSLETTER EDITORS JILL and BOB WILSON 208-683-2387 TRAIL CHAIR WENDY BOOTH 208-443-2938 **************************************************************** The purpose of the INLAND EMPIRE SLED DOG ASSOCIATION Newsletter is to provide an open forum for communication and information about sled dog related sports in the Northwest and neighboring areas. Advertising of up to one inch of space is free to members, with an additional cost of $2.00 per inch over the first inch. Articles published in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the INLAND EMPIRE SLED DOG ASSOCIATION. Permission to reprint or use articles from this newsletter must be given by the editors of the INLAND EMPIRE SLED DOG ASSOCIATION (208-683 2387). Website: http://www.inlandempiresleddogassociation.itgo.com/ **************************************************************** April 2008 IESDA SLEDTRACKS page 4 Priest Lake Fun Race Snow Dog Super Mush Priest Lake, Idaho Conconully, Washington January 26-27, 2008 January 26-27, 2008 Conditions: Saturday: Trail well Conditions: Trail Condition: well groomed, fast trails, partly packed and fast.