He picked me up in the kennel truck and immediately made me feel at ease. His wife is a teacher also so that connection alone gave us plenty to talk about. Once we arrived at the kennel we went to see the puppies. He's got three litters of fairly new ones, one so new their eyes aren't open yet.
Those I did not get to pick up but there was no need, mainly because he took the other two litters out of their boxes, one group at a time, and handed me one of the older little guys. I've held three week old puppies before, but this time there was no rush to give them back or put them back with their mom. We sat talking, enjoying the puppies, watching them have a great time exploring the area.
Then he took out the middle litter and it was either the first time they had been out actually walking on the gravel or one of their first experiences. It was fun watching them navigate the yard near their box, all the while squealing at each other. When one starts the others join right in. (This goes for the big dog yard too.) They walked a little, talked about it, walked some more, and eventually lay down for a short nap. It truly is a dog's life! There are two other puppies Mike has been keeping for someone else this year. They are Keppler and Knievil. Kepler is a beautiful tan and blond/white dog whose personality is just nothing but outgoing. Knievil is black and demands his own brand of attention. These two got to spend a long time roaming the puppy pen while we went on a run with eight of the big dogs.
Mike names his puppies after he sees their personalities. These three litters will have L, M, & N names so I'm trying to think of what might fit them from what I saw today. But I am smart enough to know their personalities will change drastically over the summer so anything I might suggest may not fit at all come July, August, or September. I'm looking forward to watching those puppies grow via their website.
After the stint with the puppies Mike hooked up eight of his team to the four wheeler and you would think he was auditioning for the grand prize of something...well maybe he is-The Iditarod! They are all jumping up and down, running circles around in their area, hoping to be picked to go running. Once we took off the dog yard settled down and most of them went to sleep. It is too warm for them this time of year so they conserve their energy by laying in the shade of their houses or go into the house to sleep.
We took off on a trail that has hills, curves, mud trenches, and straightaways. The dogs are pulling the four wheeler that is set in neutral so it will move but only under dog power. They could pull it in park also but that's not the point to this training. We stopped several times to give them a rest, mainly because they will run until made to stop. In 60 degrees that means stopping several times. One key to knowing when to resume the run is when they can all effortlessly swallow at least twice in a row. That was new to me.
Mike unhooked all eight of them so they could free run for awhile. They took off and we followed, most of them getting way ahead, several were running beside us, and several behind us. The ones in front would turn around as if to say "What is are you waiting for?" Then as we got closer they would take off again.
We got to a spot in the middle of nowhere where they ran and played in the fields between the Talkeetna Mountains and the Alaska Range (my only way to describe it geographically)!
Mike told me about the mountains, Denali National Park, the trails they take when training, and a plethora of other things. He is quite an insightful man and I could tell he was born to live here. As he says, "I'm an Alaskan born in Massachusetts". He's either built all of the buildings on their property or moved existing buildings, making improvements on all of them. He also builds for other people in his "spare time".
Eventually it was time to get back to the kennel (must have been time to feed the dogs) so they were hooked back up and off we went. On the return trail we passed an old bus just parked on another trail. Apparently Alaska has buses parked everywhere. If you haven't read "Into the Wild" that is probably the best known of the bus stories here. But I digress...
Once we returned dogs were all unhooked and Mike asked if I was hungry or did I want to feed the dogs first. And my correct answer was feed the dogs first! During a race you ALWAYS feed them before yourself-after all they are your ride! Mike measured out enough for half of the yard, mixed it with water, then told me how much to give each dog. I went out and you would have thought I was the Queen with knighthoods to bestow upon them! I walked up and down each row doling out the required amount to dogs who were biting at the bit to eat, to others who were quite polite, standing there giving me room to actually put the food in their bowls; and others who were content to sit and wait for me to finish before they even got up to eat. By the time I was finished the ones I started with had licked their bowls clean and were now playing with them in the dirt. And don't you know I had exactly enough for all of them? When you do this long enough you figure out what is needed and food is not wasted, nor do you have to go make more.
Next came the water. That took three trips because, #1- most of their water buckets were below half empty and water weighs more than their food and #2, they needed more water than food. Having finished that task I walked around talking to some of them I had not met up to that point. Everyone on the yard is anxious to be petted, rubbed, and talked to. Most are losing their undercoats now also so I got a lot of hair on me and my clothes. Dog fur...the other condiment in a musher's house!
I also now understand the difference in top coat and undercoat. The topcoat is straight and more coarse, whereas the undercoat is curly/spirally and softer. Mike's neighbors take the shedding fur and weave it into hats and headbands. I can imagine those things make you quite toasty in the winter. We sell them at my gift shop too...so my guess is the dogs I had fun with are part of those headbands.
Finally the last job to be done was scooping the yard. This is probably every handlers least favorite job, but it is made easier with a rake and a large dust pan (the same kind you might use in your house with the handle or what I see people cleaning the streets and sidewalks with in China). You rake and scoop, rake and scoop. With two of us doing it the job was completed rather quickly. It is all dumped in a large barrel and where it goes from there I do not know (didn't think to ask).
After burgers and chips it was time for me to go. What I thought might only be a two or three hour trip through a dog yard turned into seven hours of entertainment, education, and friendship making. Mike Santos is a very kind man, humorous, willing to talk dogs all day, and loves to share his knowledge and love of Alaska to anyone who will listen. What a grand way to spend an afternoon- I'll scoop for him anytime, especially if it means learning more about racing and dogs, and talking to someone intelligent who has a good eye for books. Thanks so much my friend.
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