Anyone who owns a dog should know that it’s quite a commitment. But imagine spending all day every day out with your dogs in the snow and sometimes sub-zero temperatures, keeping track of the calories they are burning off and consuming, training for races that take them and you through brutal weather. That is what a day in the life of an Iditarod musher is like. They and their team of at least eight dogs have spent years preparing for the chance of running in the Iditarod Trail race. These next few paragraphs will take you through the lives of sled dogs.
The average sled dog can burn up to 10,000 calories a day while training. To put that into perspective, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps burns about 12,000 calories a day on his exercise routine. But the average weight of a sled dog is 62 pounds, and Phelps is solidly built at 194 pounds. That is over 3 times the weight of an average sled dog.
Replacing those 10,000 calories is difficult. The dogs normally eat several small meals rather than being fed in one or two sittings. Not only will these meals give the dogs and their mushers some time to relax, it also helps digestion and nutrient absorption. Each handler feeds his or her dogs different foods, depending on what he or she thinks that the dogs need.
The handlers choose the food for their dogs and add it to other calorie and protein-packed foods such as hamburger, poultry, and fat trimmings from a variety of animals. Most mushers will also add vitamins to their sled dogs daily intake so that they get a balanced diet, even while on the trail.
Training a dog to be a sled dog is much more difficult than the other types of training that most people are familiar with. It is worlds apart from ‘sit’ and ‘stay’. Sled dog training requires an incredible amount of discipline and patience, from both dogs and handlers. Needless to say, deciding to train one or more dogs to become sled dogs is not something anyone should decide to do without thinking it through.
The first thing that potential sled dogs must learn is how to interact and socialize without aggression, which is a key component in one of the most important lessons in dog sledding: teamwork. When starting a dog sled team the best thing to do is to train all of the dogs at the same time, so that they can be allowed to grow up with one another. This helps avoid issues of dominance and aggression that with groups of dogs that are just thrown together.
There are many key components involved with the training of sled dogs, including but not limited to physical conditioning, where bonds of trust are established between mushers and dogs, long-distance and sprint races, weight pulling, and recreational mushing. All are necessary for dogs to build up the proper strength and endurance to run the Iditarod.
There are only a handful of dog breeds that are suited to the extreme weather and sub-zero temperatures. Alaskan Huskies, Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, and Canadian Eskimo Dogs are a few of such breeds. All of these dogs have a double coat to protect them from the cold. The first layer is of thick fur, and the second, covering the fur, is a coat of coarse hair.
Tune in tomorrow for the start of the 2015 Iditarod Trail race!
The race starts on the first Saturday in March, at the first checkpoint on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage. Shortly before the race, a ribbon-cutting ceremony is held under the flags representing the home countries and states of all competitors in the race.
The first musher to depart at 10:00 a.m. AKT is an honorary musher, selected for their contributions to dog sledding. The first competitor leaves at 10:02 and the rest follow, separated by two-minute intervals. The start order is determined during a banquet held two days prior by the mushers drawing their numbers for starting position. Selections are made in the order of musher registrations. The Ceremonial Start is one of the few portions of the race where there are spectators.
2015 Iditarod Key Dates, Start Times
Ceremonial Start Date, Time: Saturday, March 7, 10 a.m. AKT (2 p.m. EST)
Ceremonial Start Location: Downtown Anchorage, Alaska
Restart Date, Time: Monday, March 9, 10 a.m. AKT (2 p.m. EST)
Restart Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Restart Date, Time: Monday, March 9, 10 a.m. AKT (2 p.m. EST)
Restart Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
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