Gearing up for training season....

It looks like the mild summer is going to make training season come a little earlier this year. Allan has already hit 5 mile runs with his Alaskan team. Several stops and a big drink of water the dogs come home feeling good and ready for more, although he is having to wait until almost dark. I wouldn't be surprised to see him jump to 10 miles by mid September. Usually unheard of in our fall climate.

I think this weekend, I will give the Seppalas a run on the three mile and see how it goes. If I go after dark, with a breeze, we should be OK with several breaks and lots of water. I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised as Allan was by how his dogs took off in the warmer temps (60 degrees F) with no issues. Of course, my dogs have are much heavier coated than his. I can't really think of one of his that has a heavy coat right now. The Sepps have had an odd summer in terms of shedding, by now we are usually on our second round of brushing coats out. I think the cooler summer and a TON of rain, made it hard for them to really shed. I still have 4 that are almost done and 1 that is really just getting started. But it seems to be working itself out.

I am excited to get started though. I had some really promising yearlings last year that I can't wait to see what they will do this year. The attitude of the entire kennel is good and it is obvious the dogs are *feeling* the imminent season looming over them. In the early cool mornings the kennel has become a consistant alarm clock even before the sun rises. I love their morning welcome!

Dearly Missed

Picture taken 7-02-09
This is the GREATEST Man I have ever had the privilege of knowing and dearly loving.
Allan T. Berge, Sr.
RIP: 7-03-2009

Still remembering 8-21-09
Allan Sr. is still very much missed in our home. Looking out the window of our home, across the hay fields just a short distance from the house is a constant reminder of what we miss. I am very greatful to have had him as my father-in-law as well as the rest of his family. I miss hearing him talk about his Norweign ways, and I will miss seeing the big smile on his face when lufsa was served at a family meal. Although, I will always be greatful he never made me eat lutifisk, even though he talked alot about it.

I am happy to have certain memories of him that I will always carry with me...like the time he came to run his own team of sleddogs in his cowboy boots with the rubber covers on them dressed in his bright green and yellow John Deer snow suit; how he always liked it be 90 degrees all the time (I am sure an indulgence after growing up in North Dakota); the pure joy he got from giving me the ride of my life at 90 mph on the snow machine to catch my sleddog team as I whipped like a flag in the wind, hanging on to him with every bit of fear I possessed (it didn't matter to him that the dogs were probably only running about 14 mph); how consistant he was about showing up the day elk tags were due to make sure Allan Jr. mailed his in; and most importantly seeing him be the best role model my son could ever hope for.

Allan was 100% Norweign and his strong work ethic and love of family proved it. No matter how he felt, I never heard this man speak ill of a single person. To me those three traits is what defined him as a man and made him of one of the few great ones left. I will always miss you.

Summer days at Deer Creek

The dogs seem to passing summer with a sort of nastolgia. This picture is reminds me of two old ladies enjoying a cool summer evening.

Renewed life...

Spring is my absolute favorite time of year. We finally get to go outside without an extra 15lbs of clothing, the dog yard always seems to get a facelift, the evenings are SO much longer, and new puppies seem to be everywhere!

While it is all work, it is also quality time spent in the kennel. Grooming is my favorite. All that under-coat is exahuasting, but I love doing it...especially on a cool, breezy, evening. There always seems to be a handful of houses to replace or repair (and this year I think I may actually get to paint all the houses). We also use the spring to evaluate the tie-outs, collars, snaps, and anything else that wears over time and breaks when you least expect it...


My MOST fav is the puppies. Although we take great care in maintaining the kennel in such away to avoid accidental breedings, they do *occasionally* happen but the culprit is always caught in the act! We had one due to training-run-love and another where a determined Romeo broke a snap AND scaled 2 6ft fences! Ok so it looked like he dug under, but idea of such determination is romantic, right? Of course, he was not motivated enough get himself back out before we came out to see what the other dogs were tattling about. Even though the potential father was caught in the female yard, it is always a long, drawn-out wait to see who the lucky mom is!

In anycase, I thought I'd share this year's puppy photos! We have had so much fun with all of them!

Winter is finally here

We've had a terrible year for snow. Casper Mountain trails were useless most of the season. But the last couple weeks (following a teasing bout of warm windless days) we have had storm after storm, 18 inches, 4 inches, 4, inches, 3 inches...too bad the County already retired the groomer for the season,the mountain trails would be ideal. However, down in the plains, where our home sits, the sun quickly melts off the wet heavy snow and quickly turns to mud. So if your gonna go, you'd better get up and go!

That being said, we thought we better get the young dogs in harness to see if they remembered the lessons of the previous weeks. I gotta say they are an impressive bunch. They all inherited the wonderful personalities and work ethic of both Madonna and Marshall. Marshall is the easy going guy who gets his job done. He doesn't bother anyone and no one bothers him. He also possess a muscular build and very nice front shoulder angulation which gives way to his flowing movement and beautiful reach.

Madonna has a daintiness about her that just makes you love her. She is very affectionate and has passed this temperament to her puppies. But when you put Madonna in harness, she gets the *crazy* eye--I love it! Both Madonna and Marshall are incredible, smart leaders. You can actually see them *think* about their decisions...I hope the puppies show this intelligent trait as the build their racing careers.
Sunday's hook-up went very well and the pups all ran and pulled as if they were season veterans. All of them are so easy and natural. I spent lots of time this year just free running them either behind the 4 wheeler or letting them chase the border collies across the endless, rolling fields that make up our landscape. Usually, it is more fun to use my kids to run the puppies, er, maybe it is the puppies running the kids.

Looking for a home...

I regularly check rescues and shelters in the Rocky Mountain states. To some degree, we all have a responsibility to do our part. That isn't to say we have to take in every stray or abandoned dog, but we can do a little extra when the opportunity presents itself--I really think that is innate to any breeding policy. Our basic policy is to never turn a dog away if it came from our kennel. Additionally, many times over the last 12 years (and to our own determent), we have fostered a number of dogs in order to find suitable homes.

Lack of time and the cumbersomeness of updating my site has kept me from posting our rescues or others looking for homes. However, now that I have this blog, I will try to be much better about it!


In any case, I found this sweet looking rescue named Jazz in a shelter in Fort Collins. The description says she is from Seppala racing lines. I have no idea what this girl's pedigree background is, but she certainly looks like she could be part Seppala--possibly Howling Spirit lines. I'd imagine there is a good chance that she'd make a great recreational dog for someone even though she has been raised as a pet. So if you considering a pet to get in the snow with, give her a second look before you "buy".

Sping is in the Air

Spring is just around the corner and I can't wait! I especially love it because I work for an accounting firm as a tax accountant and the busy season ends just as the weather turns sunny. Spring and Fall are my favorite--especially Spring because the new babies start showing up from puppies, to calves, right down to the baby antelope. The daylight lasts longer and the temps set just right allowing conditions to take a team out. We all especially enjoy spring runs as they are shorter without the bitter cold. The *green* doesn't last long around here. The bottom picture was taken over Memorial weekend a couple years ago, the top picture was taken just a few weeks later.


Each spring we come up with a few major projects to get done before the heat of the summer hits. Last year we did a major expansion to the dog yard. We increased capacity of the kennel; replaced all fencing that was less than 6 feet tall, replaced any depleted gates with brand new 6 foot walk through gates (with latches that can not be lift with a nose--sorry J. Lo). The biggest part of the project was putting in 100' of a solid, 6ft wooden fence. It sure has cut down on they way the wind and drifting goes through the back side.

So this year we'd like get in a second exercise pen, the original yard has turned into the puppy area. The hard part is going to be deciding how to set it up...I have an idea, but I think it will take a little arm twisting to convince Allan :-) There is also still about 60' of chain link on one side of kennel we'd like to swap out for the solid wood fence. I suppose the majority of the work will come through general maintenance--painting and replacing.

Just for fun, here is our first kennel (and my first Seppala, Bristall). Yes, just three pens! I'll never forget Allan's declaration as he finished the third pen, "...now this is it, no more kennels or dogs!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Say again?

Even though he started his racing career with Alaskans, it was really Bristall that won his heart :-D