By Martha Dobson, Finalist, Target® Iditarod 2011 Teacher on the Trail™, North Carolina
Twenty-four years of Iditarod dog experience. That’s what Dr. Nelson, the chief vet for the Iditarod has under his belt. Starting as a trail vet in 1986 and becoming the chief vet after nine years of trail vet experience, Dr. Nelson oversees the volunteer veterinarians and works with mushers and the race to coordinate a high level of care for these canine athletes. It’s easy to see that these working dogs have a mission, a job to perform, which is to run and pull.
Three things drew Dr. Nelson to work with caring for the dogs of the Iditarod—the people and volunteers of Alaska and the race, the history of the race and state, and the sense of adventure that Iditarod and Alaska provide.
Nelson contacts experienced vet volunteers in late spring and early summer. Other volunteer vets contact him. In the 2010 race, vets come from Australia, Germany, Austria, and the lower 48, as Alaskans call the rest of the United States. He sends information to vets and mushers throughout the months preceding the race, and rookie vet volunteers attend a training session he conducts.
As they have for the past 15 years, Nelson’s vet techs begin the required dog screenings about three or four weeks before the race. These include a 6-lead electrocardiogram and bloodwork and take place around the state for the mushers’ convenience. The bloodwork checks basic blood chemistry panels. About 1600 dogs are screened or mushers can also have their own vet perform the screenings.
Within 14 days of the race start, vets perform the required physical on each dog the musher is considering taking on the race. The vets listen to the dog’s heart, check its gums for color and hydration, evaluate the dog’s body condition, and check each leg and joint. The paws get a good look, and their temperatures are taken.
Nelson was supervising and consulting with other vets at the last vet check in Wasilla the Wednesday before the race start. He instructs his vets to consult with each other as they need to, and Nelson himself assists in these consultations and evaluations of dogs. On the trail, vets continue to evaluate the dogs and consult with each other, performing about 10,000 routine exams during the course of the race.
At the rookie musher meeting, Nelson shares his knowledge about dog care and conditions to watch for when running the race. The Musher and Vet Handbook is another of Nelson’s tools in caring for the dogs. Informing mushers and vets about what to watch for so they can quickly evaluate how their dogs are doing during the race is another duty Nelson performs.
Nelson says several schools undertake sled dog research including Ohio State University, Oklahoma State University, Colorado State University, Oregon State University, Purdue, and Washington State University. Information gleaned from research on Iditarod dogs benefits those dogs, of course, but it also benefits research on people. Research shows the sled dog is the most elite mammal in the area of metabolic turnover. That means they are very efficient in using calories during their marathon called the Iditarod. The research model for measuring this information is used to measure human performance in marathoners.
Mushers are responsive and receptive to research and dog care ideas and participate in the studies voluntarily, according to Nelson. One protocol Nelson is pleased with and recommends is the ulcer prevention protocol of a once a day medicine during racing and training.
Watching Dr. Nelson examine dogs, consult with vets, and listening to information he’s gained with his years of experience lets you know these dogs are in good paws…hands, that is.
