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Post by wolfwoman on Nov 21, 2005 22:53:14 GMT -5
www.alaskaspiritcrafts.com/dogs.htmlOk there's my family!!  If anyone out there has/had/uses or wants to use sled dogs for anything, I think we can get a good conversation going here. I have all these critters and no time and no knowhow on how to train them, so we're going to learn all on our own I guess!  Anyway it goes even if we screw up I'm thinking we'll have a good time doing it!! These are obviouly not your common Alaska Husky, they're about 3X the size and lots more fur. They're a MacKenzie River Husky Cross and they're wonderful dogs, I love em all. So........... who else out there  ? Wolfie
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Post by Washkeeton on Nov 22, 2005 14:33:59 GMT -5
The MacKenzie River Huskies are great sled dogs. They are big and strong. Problem is they can eat you out of house and home. I met one one time. He was the size of 4 of my pups. lol Seriously you can mush with them. I had iditarod and quest rejects and ran them. If you want a fast team then get right in there with the crew I had. If you dont mind lolly gaging around yours will do fine. I dont know what wt they can pull but they are fairly good and strong. I prefer seeing the scenery as i pass it rather than taking it out as I fly by. When I pm'd you i was talking about canadian eskimo dogs www.canadianeskimodog.com/These guys like the MacKinzie river dogs are strong and slow. They are a great bush team. They eat little but only meat. They do not do well on sack rations. They are the closest to the wolf there is with out crossing over. Dog and Driver is a book that will tell you about mushing. There is a flyer book that is also good that you can learn how to train leaders. I think it is called train your lead dog. We used a bike and taught the Gee Haw. I got some real great gee haw leaders over the years and they have been the ones to train my pups. Your leader has to be smart and very head strong. Attitude is every thing when they are leading a team through the out back of ak. They also have to listen to you. If you tell them gee and they haw you might be dead. (had a few of those too, speaking from experience{boris and sparky} worst 2 leaders I ever ran. If you can find it I think Micki and Julie Collins wrote a book on mushing. The trap line twins had a lot of information about dogs in it because they ran dogs on their miles of line. They ran the MacKinzie river huskies also. www.coldspotfeeds.com/products.asp?idShopper=106196&id1=159853950&idBasket=&idDept=88 That is the book section of Cold Spot Feeds in Fairbanks. They have both the books I mentioned above. Dog driver and training lead dogs. I am not an expert by any means but I have hung out with quest and iditarod mushers and learned from them. If you have any questions please ask I love to talk dogs and really would love to be able to run them again some day. I am keeping my sled stuff incase I get a wild hair some day and start all over. |
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Post by wolfwoman on Nov 22, 2005 18:11:49 GMT -5
I have the Macs because they are closest to wolves  Actually mine are a Mac mutt because only the largest one is about 120 pounds, somewhere in dad there is something else and we haven't quite figgered it out yet. He's about 100lbs himself, but nowhere near the weight and mass of a pure Mac. He's actually built more like a wolf, but there ya go...lol Mom (Lokie) is 1/2 yellow lab and Dakota is her dad too, so the 6 pups are inbred one generation, but no harm there if I don't go further. Lokie's mom was a purebred Yellow lab. I acutally don't go thru that much food, about 50 pounds a week, but they do get rice with their food too and it seems to work so far. I read online as much as I can, I'll have to look into the books too at some point. Gotta get some TIME first. Like now, gotta go run to the 2nd job  More later! Wolfie |
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Post by Washkeeton on Nov 22, 2005 20:48:13 GMT -5
Tell me what you would like to know and I hope i can send you to the right place for answers.
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Post by wolfwoman on Nov 23, 2005 1:16:20 GMT -5
Anything that's interesting and informative reading. I'm looking into making harnesses first, so that would be a good place to start.
Wolfie
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Post by wolfwoman on Dec 10, 2005 20:22:48 GMT -5
Well I actually got all of them out and measured for harnesses last week. Had hubby buy ONE harness at the store so I could have a 'hands on' pattern to work with, so we're getting there. Have been bringing out one pup (GEEZ they're DOGS NOW...lol) everyday and working on his 'paying attention' skills. Slowly, slowly, we will get there |
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Post by Washkeeton on Dec 10, 2005 23:24:49 GMT -5
Again if you want to make harnesses that is fine. You did good by buying one them first to see how they are made. have never seen anything on how to make them but i am sure you can google and find stuff. Cold spot feeds in fairbanks carries all the materials. I use to get my back up supply stuff there and repair my harnesses, make my lines and put together drop chains. most of what i have i made. I need to sell my dog boxes with the trailer and put a set on my pickup truck. i also need to put bolts on my fenders of the pickup so i can hook my drop chains to them have places to hook up eleven dogs. when i have them. www.coldspotfeeds.com/I cant find the stuff listed here to make them but i know that they have it cause i looked at doing my own collers and harnesses as well as have some to repair the ones i have. |
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Post by wolfwoman on Dec 14, 2005 16:54:07 GMT -5
Yup, did find several patterns on google, and of course I'll have to modify for each pup because they are so different. The one that hubby bought is too small for my largest, so will have to definately make him one.
You have boxes on a trailer that you want to get rid of? What are you asking for it? We've often mulled over how we could transport these guys as they're WAY to heavy to life into pickup boxes, but something lower (like on a trailer) would be great!
Cool website! It shows another way to measure and make a harness!
Oh and I had another harness before, but my silly yellow lab mix chewed thru it when she'd had enough of being outsdie... it was like a whole 10 minutes!
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Post by Washkeeton on Dec 14, 2005 20:59:30 GMT -5
unfortunately the dogs do that, eat the harrnesses i mean. Dont know on cost yet cause they have been sitting and i need to look at them. There are six boxes three on each side. fairly good sized. bought new tires for the trailer when i moved from fairbanks and have never but once used it again. have a new spare also but they have been sitting and weathering. Painted the dog boxes a couple of years ago to prevent the weather from killing them. I will try to send you pics of them
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Post by wolfwoman on Dec 14, 2005 23:13:23 GMT -5
Well, I took turns with the rest of my dogs tieing them out on the harness to get them used to it and she was the ONLY one that chewed! It actually really surprised me that she was the only one I've had 2 purebred labs that I absolutely loved to pieces (they are both buried at the cabin now) and Lokie. She's 1/2 lab and just a silly girl...lol She's the mother of all the rest of the pups, so the team (once they ARE a team) will consist of MacKenzie River Mutts that are 1/4 yellow lab!! I don't care I'm only here to have fun with them, and maybe someday run a trapline with them. That would be my ultimate goal, but all in good time. With us being where we are and the pups just under 2 years old we have nothing BUT time. Do let me know about that dog box, and I'll talk to hubby about it too, it's something that we are eventually going to need anyways. I'm sure that I could easily add two more boxes, as right now I have eight dogs. Believe it or not I'm going to get the silly lab mom into a harness too eventually, whether she likes it or not!! She needs the excercise!!! |
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Post by Washkeeton on Jan 17, 2006 12:45:23 GMT -5
Did you ever call on the dog boxes i gave you the number for. I tossed the ad cause i figured you woud have. Did you go see them? How did they look if you did? Did you buy them?? just curious. lol
I love your links on the greenland and canadian eskimo dogs. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
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Post by wolfwoman on Jan 17, 2006 13:20:58 GMT -5
Called and got no answer a couple of times so I gave up. Guess I'll have to make my own Welcome, was bored last nite so did a bit of itnernet research, there's absolutely nothing out there on Macs, which is what I'm looking for, other than the couple of links I already have. |
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Post by wolfwoman on Jan 25, 2006 20:31:38 GMT -5
Whoo hoo! Got my first copy of Mushing magazine today and have already read it cover to cover I'm sure I'll read it again and visit some of the sponsors. Awesome mag! Now maybe I can bestow some of the info I've learned from the magazine into our dog forums here! Wolfie |
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If anyone out there has/had/uses or wants to use sled dogs for anything, I think we can get a good conversation going here. 
Anyway it goes even if we screw up I'm thinking we'll have a good time doing it!! 
Actually mine are a Mac mutt because only the largest one is about 120 pounds, somewhere in dad there is something else and we haven't quite figgered it out yet. He's about 100lbs himself, but nowhere near the weight and mass of a pure Mac. He's actually built more like a wolf, but there ya go...lol Mom (Lokie) is 1/2 yellow lab and Dakota is her dad too, so the 6 pups are inbred one generation, but no harm there if I don't go further. Lokie's mom was a purebred Yellow lab. I acutally don't go thru that much food, about 50 pounds a week, but they do get rice with their food too and it seems to work so far. 
More later!