feature

feature Born to Run

By Nancy Dewar

If you’re in the mood for a winter getaway and an amazing experience filled with beautiful scenery and big dog love, a visit to Muddy Paw Sled Dog Kennel in Jefferson, New Hampshire is sure to delight you. Located about an hour north of Mount Washington, Muddy Paws is home to sixty-two sled dogs that all love their jobs, as they were born to run! And the 2-legged folks at Muddy Paws all love their jobs, as was evident when I connected with Kasey Halliday, Senior Musher and son of the kennel’s founder, Neil Beaulieu.

It all began years ago while Neil, a Maine native, was teaching in Alaska and helping with the annual longdistance sled dog race, the Iditarod; a grueling 1,182mile race from Anchorage to Nome. One year a female musher decided to drop out and offered her ten dogs to Neil, who then began running them and moved back to New England in 2004 with his team. Neil and Kasey initially were racing their teams regionally, but Kasey explained, “It really wasn’t fun for us. We wanted to experience more enjoyment with our dogs and have other people experience this enjoyment, as well. So, we started Muddy Paws Sled Dogs in 2006. Most of our dogs are rescues, and we received 20 Siberian Huskies from Minnesota that first year from a retiring musher.” Kasey’s passion for his work is undeniable. I told him that I’d heard an amazing radio interview with an au-

thor who had recently passed away. “I can’t remember his name, but he was a big musher and told fascinating stories about his experiences running the Iditarod.” Kasey immediately said, “Was it Gary Paulsen? He’s one of my favorite authors ever. I’ve read most of his books. Winter Dance is probably the best!” Upon arrival at Muddy Paws, people are greeted by the mushers and then led to what Kasey calls “the OMG corner” where they get their first glimpse of 60-plus dogs in the yard living their best life! It’s really quite a view.

Most of their dogs are Siberian Huskies or Alaskan Huskies. Kasey explained the difference. “Siberians are a purebred while Alaskans are a combination of Siberians and another working dog breed like a Shepherd or Lab. Alaskans are usually a bit smaller and less prone to injury.” The dogs live outside year-round and each has their own plywood doghouse complete with a deck to stay out of the mud and to provide them shade in the summer. These dogs love being outside, and their ideal temperature is around negative ten degrees; the colder the better! “We put hay in their houses to insulate from the cold, but some of our dogs often pull it out,” Kasey said with a laugh.

The average age of their current dogs is six to seven. “Dogs typically stop running around the age of nine to eleven, and the average life of these breeds is 14 to 16.” Kasey said that there are definite red flags that indicate when a dog is ready to retire. They don’t get excited when they see the harness or even shy away from it. It’s like their saying, “Hey man, I’m done. I’m tapped out.” One of their oldest dogs, who was part of their initial rescue from Minnesota, was Guinness who they lost this fall at the age of eighteen. “He enjoyed living in the house after he retired, and he was ‘the

greeter’ at the property. He’d been with us so long; had such sentimental value; losing him hit us harder than a freight train.”

These big dogs have a pretty long life span. I asked Kasey what he thought contributed to this. He explained, “Well, it’s probably partially in their DNA but these dogs are treated and live like trained athletes. We feed them high protein-based kibble, fish oil, powdered egg and frozen chicken. They consume about 10,000-12,000 calories per day and begin training in the fall for the winter season. Our target goal per dog is five hundred miles before the first snowfall. When they are running, they average 5-10 miles a day; about 40-60 miles a week.” In the winter the dogs are fed what is called “slump” twice a day; all of the above ingredients mixed with warm water to hydrate them. It’s kind of like a dog stew. In the summer they get kibble and water. The grocery bill for 60-plus dogs can’t be cheap! The kennel goes through 2,000 pounds of kibble and 1,000 pounds of frozen chicken every 3 ½ weeks.

The dogs usually run in teams of ten and get two days off a week. The teams are rotated, and Monday is what they call “Dog Day” where everyone gets the day off! In describing the make-up of a team, Kasey compared the set up to that of an airplane. There are two Leaders in the front (pilots), followed by two Point dogs or Co-leaders (co-pilots), followed by four Transitional dogs (crew members and flight attendants) and ending with two Wheel dogs (the engine). All need to work together to make the team run. Regarding learning their skills, these dogs seem to fall into it naturally, “When we start a new dog, they tend to be a bit out of sync and can sometimes be overwhelmed by the adrenaline of the team. The first 100 feet it’s like they are thinking…I don’t know what’s going on. After that, they’re like…hey, I got this. I can do it!”

I loved my conversation with Kasey. His enthusiasm is infectious. Before we wrapped up, I had a few other things I was curious about. Do you ever breed your dogs? “We do about every other year and all litters have themes. Our ‘Candy Bar’ littermates were named Reece, Twix, York, Baby Ruth, Rolo, Chip and Crunch!” How do you remember the names of so many dogs? “Well, think of it like our friends! We know their names. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that their names are on their houses!” And lastly, any favorite dogs? “That’s a tricky question I’d have to answer it two ways. In terms of a kennel dog, my favorite is Mayhem. In terms of a running dog, it’s Snow White. She’s hands-down my little girl!”

A visit to Muddy Paws isn’t simply about the sled ride but the whole experience of interacting with the dogs. People are encouraged to play with them and help with harnessing. “Our dogs thrive on human interaction.” The average run is five miles and lasts about 45-50 minutes. Guests are then welcomed into the hut room to socialize, perhaps buy some homemade maple syrup or other momentos and warm up a bit. They’ve greeted visitors from all over the United States, Australia, Ukraine and more. Many of their guests return each year. Sounds like a great winter getaway to me…right here (almost) in our own backyard.

Photo by Sarah Miller

A visit to Muddy Paws isn’t simply about the sled ride but the whole experience of interacting with the dogs. People are encouraged to play with them and help with harnessing.

Photo by Molly Shanahan

Cotton Candy Lobster

fun things to bark ABOUT

Photos by Ray Bisson

Dover Dog Howloween Event

Dover Dog Howloween, a community event produced by Sit.Stay.Smile. Pet Photography and the NH Dog Walking Club recently donated $4,495.00 to support Pope Memorial Humane Society (PMHS) as part of their ongoing fundraising effort. The 3rd annual celebration attracted over three hundred dog owners. “Funds raised from this event will give the animals that depend on us for their care a second chance and the opportunity to find loving forever homes,” said Deborah Shelton, Development Director at PMHS. “The animals need to be spayed/neutered, updated on their vaccinations, and given preventative treatment for heartworm and flea and ticks.” Over $9,500 has been raised from this event over the past three years. Kudos to all that produced and attended it. Cotton Candy Lobster We’ve been writing a lot about crazy colored lobsters these days! In our last issue we highlighted Pinchy, an orange lobster. Banana, a yellow lobster was featured last summer. Well, a lobsterman from Maine recently caught what is known as a “cotton candy” lobster; a multi-colored crustacean that is about a 1-in-a100-million catch. Bill Coppersmith found the female lobster, which he named Haddie after his granddaughter, in Casco Bay. Lobsters with bright colors are easier for predators to spot, which is why Haddie wasn’t returned to the sea. Instead, she will live out the rest of her life at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye. Head Tilters

Have you ever wondered why your dog gives you that cute tilted-head look? In a study recently published in Animal Cognition, a peerreviewed scientific journal, researchers proposed that head-tilting in dogs may be related to “processing relevant, meaningful stimuli.” The researchers watched the reactions of forty dogs during “object-label knowledge tests” and analyzed the presence of head tilts when owners verbally asked their pups to fetch a familiar toy. “Only a few dogs can learn the name of objects even after a few exposures, while most typical dogs do not,” read the report, adding that dogs that rapidly learn labels are identified as “gifted word learner” (GWL) dogs. "We expected that if head-tilting is related to processing meaningful or relevant auditory stimuli, dogs that learn object labels would tilt their heads more frequently upon hearing the toy’s name than typical dogs." Their hypothesis proved correct. In a three-month-long program aimed at teaching both GWL and "typical" dogs the names of two toys, GWL dogs tilted their heads much more frequently than typical dogs: 43% vs 2%.

Lt. Kris Kerkensen & K9 Officer Jasper Photo by Sit.Stay.Smile. Pet Photography

Paw House Inn Maine’s Original Lobster Dip

Pooch in Print

Pawlice Dog Calendar Sit.Stay.Smile. Pet Photography has been working on an exciting project, a 2022 calendar called Pawlice Dogs of New Hampshire. The goal of the project is to raise funds for both Hero Pups and the New Hampshire K9 Trooper’s Association. The calendars are printed ondemand and are now available to purchase. Sit. Stay.Smile donated its time and resources, so 100% of each purchase will go directly to the non-profits. To purchase, contact Sit.Stay.Smile. Pet Photography at: woof@SitStaySmile.pet. (NHK9trooper.org) Paw House Inn

Some hotels readily accept dogs; others tolerate them! Since 2001, the historic Paw House Inn (built in 1786) in West Rutland, Vermont has been catering to dogs and their parents who bring them. Each private room provides tail-proofed creature comforts for their two- and four-legged guests, and all offer easy access to a guest kitchenette stocked with most anything you might need to prepare a simple lunch, dinner or snack for yourself or your dog(s). In addition to two dog-friendly cottages, there are eight guest rooms…with fun names such as “Good Dog,” the “Bad Dog Room,” “The Chase” and “Rin Tin Tin” (with a back-story for all names). The Paw House Inn is a wonderland in the winter and a fun-loving doggie playground all year round. It’s located just minutes to Killington and Pico, making for a fun Dog & Ski weekend getaway. (PawHouseInn.com)

Take the Polar Plunge Support the Special Olympics of Maine by participating in the annual 2022 Maine’s Original Lobster Dip on January 1st in Old Orchard Beach in front of the Brunswick Hotel. You can take “the dip” in person or participate virtually with either “a dip” or a “lobster roll” (a roll in the snow!) elsewhere on your own before or on New Year’s Day. There are lots of great prizes for dippers, depending on the funds they raise. The “Top Lobster” (the individual who raises the most money over $1,000) will receive twenty-five live lobsters, with the prize to be claimed in July-August 2022. Visit this website to get complete details: www.somaine.org/get-involved/lobster-dip/

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Your Pooch in Print

How fun is this? Yappy.com offers you the opportunity to have a custom book all about your pup!

This is a pawsome gift for dog lovers. Simply choose your dog’s breed and the name you’d like featured in the book and they’ll do the rest! With over three hundred breeds available, you’ll have a unique book that stars the furbulous dog in your life. Get ready to unleash your inner detective with their popular Search & Find book, ‘Where’s (insert dog name)?’ With twelve beautifully illustrated locations to explore, you’ll be challenged you to find your adventurous pooch on each action-packed page. Their personalized story book ‘Wondrous Adventures’ is a dreamy tale of your dog drifting into the land of nod. Who knows what exciting landscapes and characters they’ll encounter? Perfect for a birthday present or thoughtful gift, these personalized books are sure to be adored by anyone who’s simply mutts about their dog. (yappy.com/us/dogs/c/dog-books)