From the RSH Archives
Winter 1990 Issue
An Interview with Jim Welch [ Top ]
Musher & Author of The Speed Mushing Manual
We
are proud to present several segments of an interview between RSH's racing editor Rick
Petura and Jim Welch, the successful Alaskan musher and author of The Speed Mushing
Manual. This valuable book, which has received high praise from some of the world's
top mushers, was published in 1989 by Sirius Publishing.
CLICK HERE FOR PART ONE
CLICK HERE FOR PART TWO
CLICK HERE FOR PART THREE
ONLINE ISSUE No. 5 -- Winter 1999
A Musher's Discovery about Sled Dogs
Don't Run Those Dogs, Train Them! [ Top ]
Though I’ve been running dogs a number of years now, I’m certainly not
an expert when it comes to training dogs. However, I have learned a few things. Like most
new mushers, I thought training dogs meant hooking them to the gangline and putting on the
miles. I read all the books and articles I could get my hands on about training and tried
to apply what I read, but it still seemed as though I was just along for the ride.
Over the years I spent hours listening to and
watching other experienced mushers. I began to visualize what they described and
incorporated what I could into my training runs. At one point I finally realized that
"running" a team and "training" a team are two different things.
Training a dog team is more than taking the dogs for a run. Training means having a
strategy and identifying specific objectives for each run.
CLICK HERE FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE
ONLINE ISSUE No. 4 -- Early Fall 1998
A Risk for Top-performing Sled Dogs
Heat Build-up during Intensive Exercise [ Top ]
PART ONE
Heat
build-up occurs during exercise. Muscles are able to convert on the order of 20-30 percent
of the chemical energy they use into mechanical work. [1] Thus, 80-70 percent of the energy production of an intensively working
dog ends up creating body heat. During intensive pulling, or even high-speed
"going along," there is, therefore, a large quantity of heat generated by sled
dog muscles that must be dissipated.
When muscles get too warm, they function less
efficiently. When a dog's body warms too much, its non-muscular body functions not
only work less efficiently, but actually may fail entirely, thus presenting a
life-threatening situation to the dog. [2]
CLICK HERE FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE
ONLINE ISSUE No. 3 -- Late Summer 1998
"Heart" has physical basis
New Discovery Made in Top Racers [ Top ]
Every
sled dog driver quickly learns about the term "heart" as it applies to his or
her dogs and their individual performance. Some dogs clearly demonstrate they have
something "extra" that allows them to excel on the trail. When other dogs are
flagging, tired and ready to slow down, dogs with "heart" are enduring, able to
keep pushing the team onward. They demonstrate this spirit in vivid ways, and often become
known as the sparkplug of the team. Some racers equate "heart’ with courage or
guts.
Most mushers attribute this quality to a general
combination of good physiological traits -- or simply to a dog’s personality --
without thinking much more about it. Few if any mushers consider it a trait they could
breed for in any specific or concrete way. Or measure.
Remarkably, however, the concept of "heart"
has now been linked in top race horses to the exact physical organ from which the term is
derived. An article in the April 25, 1997 issue of Newsday describes an important
new book, The X Factor, which explores a critical link between genetics and
performance.
CLICK
HERE FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE
ONLINE ISSUE No. 2 -- Summer
1998
Link between Gene, Physical Endurance
Proven In Research by British Scientists
[ Top ]
If you have ever advocated breeding Siberians
specifically for working and racing traits -- but lacked hard evidence to support your
argument -- you’ll be glad to know your chances of winning those arguments just
improved dramatically. You can now demolish anyone's argument that Siberian Huskies,
just by being purebred Siberians, will be great athletic sled dogs.
This May, British scientists published a paper in the May
21 edition of the influential journal, Nature, making a clear link between a specific gene
and both muscular strength and endurance at high altitudes. The gene was found in human
males. While similar work would have to be conducted in canines to be conclusive,
parallels are likely.
CLICK
HERE FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE
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training books!
ONLINE ISSUE No. 1 -- Winter 1998
Mushers: Pozarnsky, Sidelinger
TWO SIBERIAN TEAMS RAN 1998 IDITAROD [ Top ]
Two experienced
mushers headed out of Anchorage March 7 in the world famous distance race, the Iditarod,
driving racing strain Siberian Huskies. The 1,200-mile race is an extraordinary test for
Siberian Huskies, the breed that earned a reputation for endurance in the All Alaska
Sweepstakes races near Nome at the start of the 20th century.
As this is written March 21, Shawn Sidelinger and the Norris Anadyr
Siberians had reached Nome, placing 34th of the 63 teams that started the race.
[NOTE: His total time was 12 days, 0 hours, 8 minutes, 4 seconds. ]
Brad Pozarnsky of North Dakota, running his Seppala strain
Siberians, is in White Mountain, having arrived from Elim at 2:44 p.m. on March 21. [NOTE:
Brad finished 51st, with the best time for any team earning the Red Lantern -- 14 days, 5
hours, 42 minutes, 4 seconds. A total of 12 teams scratched.
CLICK
HERE FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE
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