idigadog

Ahh, yes, of course. What was I thinking??? I can remember the RSPCA coming out to our first ever race here in Canberra because they had been told that we 'made' the dogs run and that it was cruel and inhumane. They took one look at how happy the dogs were and never bothered us again!

Correct PF, Aussies have run teams for other mushers but usually only after living and training the team for a couple of years. PETA have been trying to ban it for quite a long time. That and every other dog-related sport It will be a sad day if it ever happens as these dogs LIVE to run. My dogs aren't even anywhere near the athletes that Iditarod dogs are but my guys live for running just as much. It wouldn't even enter the heads of PETA supporters as to what would happen to these dogs if they couldn't work! I've posted up some links in the Sibe thread so take a look if you have time

Lance needs to get a wiggle on cause Jeff's right on his back this time. Current standings page is here http://www.iditarod.com/race/race/currentstandings.html In answer to fifi's question about other Aussie's taking dogs to the Iditarod - No they haven't, and they are not likely to either! Aussie dogs are not conditioned to do the miles in a race like this or any other distance race O/S. Maybe if the Aussie dogs lived and trained over there for 3 or 4 years they would have a chance, but just taking dogs from here with little or no training and then expecting them to compete would be insane!! Meanwhile, we will just continue to dream

GSDlover - you said you like BIG dogs - well here is a picture of Dakota. We lost him in April last year just shy of the grand old age of 13. This boy was 30 inches at the whithers and was taller than me when he stood up - I'm 5'7"! Miss the big fella so much and still feel his presence in the yard

And that's exactly why so many end up dumped. What was a pretty little pup, turns into a big handful in the wrong hands. I don't find my guys frustrating but I also don't expect that they are going to heal off lead and do normal doggy things. They just aren't like that. We have so many because we love them and love to race and ultimately, that's what it's all about for these breeds

Yeah, I tend to agree with you in some respects. We got two Mals first off, littermates, without any breed experience - we all survived! The way I see it is, in rescue, all these Mals and Sibes have been surrendered for a reason, whether it be high maintenance, dog jumps the fences, dog can't be left alone and so on and they have already developed bad habits that a newbie to the breed would find extremely difficult to work with. Someone who has experience in the breeds, knows exactly what the dogs should be like and also has an understanding of what makes them tick. They can be stubborn bastards, especially Mals, and if you're not used to that it can be challenging especially if they have a problem behaviour that's hard to retrain. Does that make sense? And in so far as how much more difficult can a Mal be to a GSD - a crap load!! My grandfather bred GSD's for many years and they were so easy to work with - they aimed to please in my experience. Mals and Sibes kinda go "Meh, what's in for me?" You need to be very dominant over a Mal, not so much the Sibes, and if you're not on top of them, they will take advantage as quick as you can blink.

Oh yeah! I've had Mals for 13 years and they will always be my 'first love' but the Sibes are definately easier to live with. Mals are more demanding especially as they get older! Put it this way Esky, we have 10 entire male Sibes living together. There is no way we could do that with Mals

Can you tell us what the kennel name is on her papers?

Wow Sally! Talk about being thrown in the deep end :D Mischa is a cutie and it will be fun to play "pick the daddy" when she gets a little bigger. Make sure you come and say hello in the Sibe thread

Venom is generally harmless if ingested but toxic when it comes in contact with the underlying tissue normally protected by the skin. Venomous animals have to break the skin with body-spines, stings or teeth (includes fangs in spiders and centipedes). The only venomous reptiles found in Australia are snakes. Taken from this link Ros http://members.iinet.net.au/~bush/myth.html

We feed our guys whole fish during the training/racing season and take them to races to give them as snacks (usually frozen). I can get 4kg of fresh sardines for usually around $20-22. If I run out of fresh fish, they get tinned sardines which we also use in warm water with electrolytes to bait our guys to drink so they keep hydrated when racing It used to be our little secret until everyone sussed out what we were doing

I could be wrong but I thought that most of the dogs in Antarctica in the 80's were of Greenland Husky heritage.

It was Martin Buser. Dogs in the Iditarod these days are built for speed, not strength.

Blimey that was quick!

Some more for Siberian Huskies = TSEEKASPIRIT ARCTICSTARR NATOMAH You're doing a great job guys

added Hi Sway, mine isn't showing up on the site

Can you please add mine too. Funnily enough it's Idigadog - who'd have thunk it

Sandgrubber, has the old boy eaten anything in the last couple of days? Drinking at all?

We used to just sprinkle it on our old girl's food. I always bought her the orange flavour because it smelt nice! Unprocessed bran helps too but unfortunately, it seems that once a dog has an anal gland problem, they're always going to have that weakness. It's so gross and although I miss Aspen dearly, I don't miss blocked anal glands one bit!