How to Care for a Dog Team

Keeping a fit and happy dog team is essential to sledding. "I love to emphasize that I'm not the athlete in this sport," says Iditarod veteran Shawn Sidelinger. "The dogs are."

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Dog Food
• Freeze-dried Meats

1. Feed the dogs a proper diet. "They are fed some of the best stuff in the world," Sidelinger says. "They eat better than I do at times." Kasco high-performance dry food serves well, supplemented with all sorts of goodies: fresh, frozen and freeze-dried meats; ground chicken and rendered chicken fat; turkey skins; beef and beef tripe; and fresh or frozen fish.
2. Serve the team water. "It's probably the most essential nutrient, but it's a chore to get enough nonfrozen water."
3. Understand that dogs have minds a bit like those of 5-year-olds and don't always want to do what's in their best interests ' such as drinking and eating at the proper times. "Like a good parent, you coax them to brush their teeth and do their homework. It's amazing how much energy they expend, but how little they feel like eating."
4. Bait the water bowl with meat to persuade the dogs to drink. They will rarely feel like drinking a bowl of clear water.
5. Rest the team 50 percent of the time. If the dogs run for 6 hours, they should remain at the checkpoint for about the same amount of time. "No one is on the trail to dictate how you're going to run your dogs, but the rules say you must keep them healthy," Sidelinger says.

Tips & Warnings

• Judges and veterinarians are present at every checkpoint to watch over the teams. They have the option to pull any or all of the dogs if they feel a team is unhealthy.