Chester

The formatting was a little off on that last post, still figuring this stuff out. Hope this one turns out a little better. I now see that I can preview the post before I publish it, better start doing that.

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One of my plans for this blog is to slowly introduce you to all of my dogs. I've got 15 of them so it will take a little while, but be thankful I don't have 100!

I'd like to introduce Chester. He is from a breeding that I planned between Lucky and McKenzie. Lucky is a 7 year old female I bought from Will Forsberg. She is mother, or grandmother, to all but two of my dogs. McKenzie is a Hedlund Husky I had two winters ago. He is now back in Knik where I orignally got him. Chester has a sister and two brothers who have moved to Two Rivers where they are doing very well.

At one year of age, Chester is already my largest dog. He's got the height of my tallest dogs, but is especially wide in the chest. The last time I checked he weighed in at 75 pounds. Just for reference, most distance mushers run 40 to 55 pound dogs. I've found dogs usually put on another 5 to 10 pounds of muscle after their first year until their growing is complete at 2 1/2. That logic would have Chester weighing in at 80 to 85 pounds by this time next year. That's a whole lotta sled dog! Keep in mind that in weighing a sled dog, you can still feel their ribs, the tops of their spine, and the bones on their rump. This is lean weight we're talking about. Most musher's agree that athleticism begins to suffer once a dog hits 80 pounds. The big dogs are strong, but can become painfully slow when they get too big.

Chester put in some good working miles last spring before the snow melted. He hauled some wood and even went smelting one day. He seemed to do fine keeping up with the team once they settled into their trot, hopefully he'll keep pace just fine this winter.

He's got most of what I look for in a dog. He's calm, well mannered, and loves to pull! A dog showing these characteristics (especially early in life as Chester did) is welcomed to a long working life in my dog yard. The big question now is, will he lead!

Only lead dogs are allowed to pass on their genetics in my dog yard. The pullers are spayed or neutered. I take my time with young dogs before altering them. They get until their third winter to prove they have the desire to lead. Chester will get a few shots in front with an experienced lead dog this winter. If he takes off I know he MAY have something. If he isn't too eager to go and keeps looking back I know he MAY not have anything, but it takes some dogs an entire winter to show interest in leading. Once a dog shows the desire to lead, I run them in swing (right behind the leaders) for the majority of the winter. Then in their third season, if everything has gone to plan, they are ready to run lead next to an experienced dog and learn the commands and finer points of leading a team of working dogs. Some leaders progress faster, some slower, but this is the method that has worked well for my particular line of dogs.

Chester has a long season of learning ahead of him. It will be his first full season in harness. I know he loves to pull and is calm and level headed, but he has put on 20 pounds since the snow melted. Just how hard will he pull? And of course the big question, will he become a lead dog?

Not sure if Chester's large build (and age) will allow him to keep up with the team and make it to the starting chute at the Kusko 300 in Bethel. It would be great to have such a big tough working dog like Chester running a race like the Kusko. We'll see how the season shapes up for Chester. Seeing a dog like Chester would bring back a lot of memories for folks on the Kuskokwim River.