OK, maybe we’re a little over-excited considering this is Alaska and it is known for it’s long, cold, snowy winters. However, the Duncan effect has been in full flow since we got here. Summer was warmer than normal, much more sunshine than normal and autumn (or Fall, if you prefer) has been incredibly mild and un-Alaskan. Most mornings it is barely below freezing and recently one of my neighbours was telling me that this time last year, they were already running sleds.

So, it was lovely to wake up and look outside to see the dogyard covered in snow. Barely covered admittedly, but it’s a start. The forecast for the coming week is cold but sunny, so it may not stay, but hey, we’re Scottish, we’re used to that.

Introducing the final pair of dogs collected during the trip, 2 more Seppalas from Deer Creek Sleddogs.

Oak is a delightful, friendly in a very “in your face” kind of way – provided she likes you. When I first met her at Tabby’s, she wasn’t at all happy to see me and the whole world knew it. Over the thousands of miles we travelled to get from Wyoming back to Alaska, I think I won her over – and the proof of that, for me, was when she slipped her collar at one of our rest stops on the Alcan.

Middle of nowhere, chucking it down with rain, 7 dogs on drop chains and she is running round loose only a few yards from the road. Fortunately, my wife has trained me well (she’s a great fan of dishing out doggie treats) and I had got in the habit of having treats on me and also placing them in the dog box everytime the dogs got put back in.  The pups, Rimi and Hop especially seemed to like this idea and I actually had trouble sometimes stopping them trying to get back in their box. Anyway,  deep breaths, calm demeanour,  and sprinkle a biscuit or two about. Oak darted here, there and everywhere, visited all the other dogs before deciding I wasn’t so scary after all and could be investigated. She got her treat, and several more besides,  and since then, she has been openly affectionate and very well behaved.

Quizno or Quiz as he gets called here, is another from Tabby. He’s a young male and like Oak, was a little unsure of me at first. He too has come round although maybe not quite as openly affectionate as her, he loves one on one attention and is a real wriggler.

Oak of Deer Creek

Deer Creek's Quizno

New dogs numbers 5 and 6 came from TJ Schrader’s Cold Canyon Sleddogs kennel.

I’d been writing back and forth with TJ almost as soon as the litter was born. From an early age he was full of praise for these pups, and has high hopes that they’ll develop into being as good dogs as their parents, Boogie and Blaze. Once we had agreed to take 2 pups, it was the tricky matter of trying to decide which dogs to have – from 3000 miles away. So far, it seems to have worked out well !

I was planning on having the pups flown up as I figured that at 18 weeks old, the long truck journey might be a little too much when they had never met me. However, TJ has had the pups going on camping trips, long truck journeys and eating on tethers and he was sure they would be fine. And how right he was. The two I took away with me never caused me any concerns on the trip and the only thing I would say about them was that I felt bad that they never got enough “playtime” on the road. They’re making up for it now tho’ !

As for names, well, the boy is called Rimini – not after the Italian resort but a Colorado mine apparently and the little girl was called Whopijaw – an old time Colorado word meaning out of whack, out of kilter, squint etc. I was never sure how that was pronounced and TJ was calling her Whopi – I called her Whoopi, Wop, Wopi and Whopi and in the end, I gave up and decided to call her Hop.

They have settled in really well and are playing wildly with Fionn and Ciara. Rimi also has a rather disgusting habit but I’ll save that story for another day.

Cold Canyon's Rimini

Cold Canyon's Hop

and introducing  Junior……….

Wild Wind's Junior

Junior’s a big boy and should fit right in amongst our big guys. He has behaved impeccably so far, ate and drank like the seasoned traveller he is during the long drive with me from Minnesota to Alaska.  Aaron and Natalie of Wild Wind Siberians did a fine job with training this guy and I’m truly grateful to them for letting Junior come live with us. They did “warn” me about a couple of Junior’s slightly less endearing habits – he is a bit on the amorous side – but our girls have managed to fend him off so far without causing lasting emotional damage to either party.

Lightfoot,

nope, not a superfluous reference to the fabby 70’s film, but in fact the name of another of the dogs that now calls Gealach Mor their new home kennel.

Lightfoot is a delightful, bouncy, friendly, outgoing, hardworking 4 year old female. When I saw her working during my visit to Jedeye Siberians, she seems to just float down the trail, very light on her feet. Blake told me that she has always been that way, even as a puppy, which is how she came by her name. It only took her a couple of days living here before she showed me her party trick – she loves to run and jump up into your arms and be cuddled.

Jedeye Lightfoot of Manitou