Trent and the Snowshoes

Just like all of the 2010 Iditarod Mushers, Trent Herbst left Willow, Alaska for Nome.  Trent is a 4th Grade teacher from Idaho.  In many ways, Trent’s students began the journey with him – and the sled and snowshoes with Trent, were symbols of learning and mutual trust.

Pounding, sawing, thinking, sewing, cooking, organizing, and planning— for the 2010 Iditarod all became a part of the student’s classroom curriculum, the reading, the math, the science, the real life application of skills turned a classroom into a learning experience of a lifetime.

The students did the math, the science, the research, and the work to design Trent’s sled, create snowshoes, prepare meals on the trail for Trent, to sew important gear to keep Trent’s dogs safe and to support their teacher’s trek on the 1049 mile journey to Nome!

When Trent left for Nome, student signatures on the sled were not symbols of a classroom left behind.  The signatures are instead, symbolic of what is good — no great about education today.  Trent’s students will have what it takes to be academically successful because they’ve learned to used the content skills.  More importantly, his students have learned about volunteerism, problem solving, research, organization, goal setting, compassion, teamwork, and many other life skills that will guide them as they help make the world a better place.

*Congratulations to Trent and his students for the incredible job they did on the teacher’s workshop presentation.  Thanks to Trent and his students, the parents, the principal, and the Community School.  Well Done!  A+  You are Idita-Excellent!

The Alaskan sled dog is widely known as being the most athletic dog in the world.  These marathon runners are revered for their strength and endurance.  However, just like human athletes, they’re not problem free.  Some of their issues arise from characteristics inherent to their breed; others arise from their athletic training similar to humans.

While it’s commonly known that the Iditarod dogs go through a regimen of tests and physicals both before and during the race, lesser known is that there’s ongoing research on sled dogs at major universities.  For the past twenty years research has been conducted in six major areas concerning sled dogs:  enlarged heart, gastric ulcers, muscle metabolism, vaccine titers, red blood cell count, and most recently diarrhea.

It’s a fact that sled dogs have enlarged hearts.  It is a genetic trait.  The question is, “Is that a problem?”  Studies conducted in the 1990s sought to answer that question.  ECGs were conducted on dogs and it was found that 50% of sled dogs have heart murmurs naturally, running or not.  Heart murmurs may be a problem for other breeds, but it’s not for sled dogs—well, not if the murmur is on the left side.  If the murmur is on the right side, however, it’s cause for concern.  A dog with this condition will be disallowed to run the race.

The second area of research on sled dogs concentrated on gastric ulcers, a condition also common to human marathon athletes.  Approximately 50% of sled dogs experience gastric ulcers; although they’re usually not a threat to their health unless internal bleeding occurs. Additionally, the research showed that no link between gastric ulcers and diarrhea exists.  As a result of this research, the Iditarod has recommended mushers give their dogs Pepcid, an antihistamine that blocks the release of stomach acid, in order to prevent gastric ulcers.  It’s believed that most mushers follow this advice for the best care of their team.

Another major study of sled dogs started in the early 2000s and is still ongoing.  You may be surprise to find out that it was financed by the U.S. government.  This 1.4 million dollar endeavor focused on muscle metabolism.  The aim was to study how the sled dog can run for such long distances day after day and have metabolic recovery.  The ultimate goal was to relate the endurance of dogs to humans, in this case soldiers.  Michael Davis from Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences says, “The secret to the dogs’ feats of day-to-day endurance lies in their ability to ‘reprogram’ their bodies’ responses to stress after just one day of competition.  Something humans can’t do.”  When an athlete, be it human or canine, pounds the pavement for miles, bits of muscle enzymes and proteins leak out of their cells.  This is a sign of cell damage.  For humans, the cells recover in a day or two.  However, as soon as a human goes for another run, the damage happens all over again.  For sled dogs, that’s not the case.  They adapt their systems within a day, and the leakage doesn’t occur.

Davis also found that sled dogs have voracious appetites.  During race season, a sled dog that weighs 55 pounds can consume up to 12,000 calories a day.  Human athletes can do the same, but their body weight is three times more than a sled dog.  Sled dogs diets need to be very high in fat and protein.  It’s comparable to a human marathoner training by “eating the Atkins’ diet,” says Erica McKenzie, researcher at Oregon State University who once worked under Davis.  As a runner herself, she also wishes that there’d be more transfer of the dog research they’re conducting to the human world of sports medicine.  But, “we just aren’t there yet.”

In 2006 & 2007 two studies were conducted at Oregon State University.  The first concentrated on vaccine titers.  The question explored was, “Does the stress on a sled dog affect the effectiveness of their vaccines?”  The study showed that some dogs did experience a weakening of vaccines. However, the study also revealed that when these same dogs were exposed to various diseases during race, their immune system built up a tolerance 4x that of the vaccine.  The second study focused on red blood cell count.  It was discovered that for every day of a race, the red blood cell count dropped by 1% in 40-45% of the dogs tested.  This phenomenon also happens in human athletes in races such as the Tour de France.  After the race, however, the red blood cell count returns to normal levels.  The conclusion reached is that the lowering of the red blood cell count is a natural response to exercise for both humans and dogs, and it has no harmful effects.

The most recent research conducted on sled dogs is in the area of diarrhea, which is a widespread and poorly understood problem.  Erica McKenzie has been a leader in this area of research for the last few years.  She took samples of dogs before the race and after 400 miles of running and conducted testing.  Although there’s still research to be done in this area, her studies showed that the diarrhea was not a result of disease, rather a natural response to the stress of running.  Again, this same issue is not foreign to human athletes.  She said that in most cases, the diarrhea is more of an annoyance than a health issue.  Dogs usually regain normal regularity  within a day or two.  There’s one exception though.  If the diarrhea is 9% watery, then it’s a sign of a health issue.  If the watery condition continues for more than a day, a dog will probably be dropped.

This research is hot off the presses and was shared this year with the mushers at their meeting the Thursday before the Iditarod start.  The practice of veterinary research being shared with mushers is a long standing practice.  Mushers are receptive to finding out about health issues concerning their dogs.  I’ve seen first-hand how the care for their dog team is the ultimate priority of a musher.  Now I know it’s also a priority with several researchers around the country.  It’s been said the sled dog is the most cared for athlete in the world.  I think it’s safe to say they’re also the most researched athlete in the world, at least the ones with fur.  Hopefully the research being done on sled dogs will be transferred more consistently to humans marathoners and help them as well.

(Special thanks to Erica McKenzie of Oregon State University for graciously giving of her time for an interview so I could learn about this fascinating subject).

For More Information:

Why Sled Dogs are Super Dogs:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26889282/

Iditarod Dog Car Measures:  http://www.iditarod.com/learn/vet-10.html

Sled Dogs and Enlarged Hearts:

*http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF12/1223.html

Sled Dog Endurance:

*http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/science/06dogs.html

*http://www.scienceline.org/2008/11/28/bio-teyan-sled-dog-metabolism-iditarod/

*http://www.faculty.uaf.edu/ffmew1/krista_west/magazine/SledDog_KristaWest_1p.pdf

*http://sleddoggin.com/mushing-news/sled-dog-endurance-capabilities-change-long-distance-racing-strategies

*http://www.newser.com/story/26658/what-we-can-learn-from-being-dog-tired.html

Sled Dogs Diet:

*http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/dominiquegrandjean-97205-nutrition-racing-sled-dogs-part-1-veterinary-medicine-isdvma-sport-nutrtion-science-technology-ppt-powerpoint/

*http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/128/12/2686S

Sled Dogs and Insulin/Diabetes Research:

* http://newsok.com/dogs-could-help-diabetes-studies/article/3335362?custom_click=lead_story_title

*http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/2009/11/physiology-research-at-sp-kennel.html

Sled Dogs and Diarrhea:

*http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122686405/abstract

NOTE:  For high school students conducting scientific research, or who are involved with the INTEL science program, sharing this area of research might spark an interest in a related topic.

Iditarod sled dogs are the most amazing athletes in the world, literally.  We love the challenge they embody, both personal and physical, as they run full tilt across the state of Alaska. It is a passion we share with our best friends.  But if our best friends are not in the most superior condition possible they cannot pursue the challenge and their joy evaporates like snow in sunshine.

Last summer I spent a few weeks visiting kennels and watching what was being done to condition Iditarod sled dogs off season and what I saw at Jeff King’s kennels near Denali was a unique approach to conditioning dogs in the heat of summer.  Jeff had, during the 1989 Yukon Quest, found himself in a frightening overflow situation that threatened the lives of his dogs and him.  That situation and others like it led him to devise a unique approach to summer time training.  He hooked up a team of dogs to a paddle boat on Goose Lake, adjacent to his property.  The dogs gained several advantages from this experience.  They gained confidence in this aquatic environment, they gained strength in the specific muscles required for swimming and they gained endurance unique to this specifically stressful situation.  Other advantages to this particular workout were allowing the dogs to stay cool while doing serious conditioning in the summer heat and attention to specific muscle groups that might otherwise be ignored.  This kind of cross-training is similar to what human marathoners do which allows them to run with less effort and more insurance against injury.  I can’t wait to ask Jeff if he thinks this conditioning had anything to do with the slow drop rate out of his team in the new soft snow on the early parts of the trail this year.

Martin Buser, at Happy Trails Kennel in Big Lake, has for years worked with university researchers and dog food companies to develop dog food that efficiently fueled the unique requirements, ten to twelve thousand potent calories a day, of these dogs.  Now he has acquired the elephant treadmill cast off from the Anchorage Zoo and built a building around it.  (to control the environment?)  Who knows where that will lead?

Puppies are routinely born in the summer time when tourists eagerly visit mushing kennels across Alaska and wrap their affectionate arms around these furry little bundles.  The socialization gained from these experiences adds social and emotional balance to these dogs’ temperment allowing them to handle the stress of competition more easily and depend more confidently on their human counterparts.

The point is that the mushing community cares so dearly about the well being of their teammates that they are constantly studying and developing new methods to keep them in optimum physical and emotional health.  A healthier, happier team is a stronger, more resilient team – WIN and WIN.

To have my students understand these concerns more personally I have them study the nutritional and hydration needs of human marathoners as they train for their own long distance run.

Lesson Plan for Eat and Drink a Marathon

Lesson Summary:  Grades 7 – 12:

Physical Education high school course 1, standard 2.9 and Health expectation 1 – food choices.

Students weigh themselves regularly before daily running activity, run 30 minutes (on top of stretching and warm-up activities) and weigh again immediately after running.  Time of day and temperature should also be recorded.  The weight loss is equivalent to the amount of water lost from the body during this exercise and time interval that needs to be replaced. Students read about the need for hydration for optimum muscle functioning and brain activity.

Students also learn about the 60-20-20 ratio for caloric intake for physical activity (carbs-fats-protein) then design and prepare high quality pre-run meals.

]]> http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/03/16/for-the-love-of-dogs/feed/ 0 http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/03/16/caring-for-dogs-of-the-iditarod/ http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/03/16/caring-for-dogs-of-the-iditarod/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:08:35 +0000 Diane http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/?p=3508 By Martha Dobson, Finalist, Target® Iditarod 2011 Teacher on the Trail™, North Carolina

Caring for the Iditarod dogs is as thorough and professional as care for human athletes. High school, college, and professional athletes undergo regular physical examinations to ascertain their health and physical condition. So do the Iditarod dogs. The veterinarians and mushers associated with these dogs demonstrate their concern for the dogs’ wellbeing by participating in health and performance studies, feeding the dogs nutritious diets, and evaluating each dog’s health before the Iditarod begins.

About a month before the Iditarod begins, mushers take their dogs to their own vet or to veterinary technicians around the state of Alaska for screening lab work and an ECG (electrocardiogram) diagnostic test. Used for the past 15 years, the ECG measures heart rhythm and activity. The CBC and basic blood panels lab work check, among other things, red and white blood cells and platelets to determine if all is normal in the blood. To identify the dog, its microchip is scanned or if a microchip needs to be placed, the technician does so. The microchip number is particular to that dog and is used to identify it at the next exam for the race as well as in the future.

Physical exams on every dog considered for racing in the upcoming Iditarod are done within 14 days of the race start. Volunteer vets from the United States and other countries use the HAW/L acronym for this exam. H stands for heart and hydration, A for appetite and attitude, W for weight, and L stands for lungs. Every dog’s legs, paws, and temperature are checked, too.

At checkpoints during the race, dogs are examined again by the vets who hopscotch down the trail in bush planes to care for the dogs, performing about 10,000 routine exams. Vets use the musher’s vet book, a diary of vets’ notes from previous checkpoint exams, to follow each dog’s condition during the race. Another team of volunteers handles urine specimen collection for drug testing purposes, another example of concern for the dogs’ wellbeing.

Dr. Michael Davis of Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Services School researches performance and health concerns for the Iditarod dogs, including ulcer studies and prevention of ulcers during the race. Dr. Stu Nelson, chief veterinarian for the Iditarod, is most encouraged by the ulcer prevention protocol, a daily dose of medicine during race time and training.

During the race, mushers check their dogs’ paws, applying ointment and booties, massage their legs and shoulders, and feed them high calorie snacks, caring for them as athletic trainers tape their human athletes’ legs, massage or whirlpool them after games, and monitor their game day diets. And when dogs fly to Anchorage or Nome ahead of their teammates, vets check them there again using the HAW/L acronym. George, a Talkeetna, Alaska vet, examined one of these dogs thoroughly at the Millennium Hotel during the race while explaining to onlookers the HAW/L acronym he was following.

With the physical exams and information Dr. Nelson provides to vets and mushers regarding optimal health care and symptoms to observe, the four-legged athletes of the Iditarod are definitely on the receiving end of a high level of concern for their wellbeing.

For more veterinary information, go to http://iditarod.com/learn/vetcenter.html

Permission is given for teachers to use the pictures in their classrooms.

Primary Grades Lesson Plan—Write a picture book showing the sequence of the vet exam.

Other Lesson and Activity Ideas:

Paper cube—Use this link for the cube template. http://atozteacherstuff.com/pdf.htm?cube_outline.pdf

Print the pictures to glue to each side of the cube. Number each picture in its correct sequence of the vet exam. Then, play a game with the cube. Roll the cube and move a playing piece along a trail map of the Iditarod from checkpoint to checkpoint.

Upper elementary/middle school—Write the story of the vet exam from the dog’s point of view.

Upper middle school/secondary— Use this article as a springboard for a research project. Research physical exams for people and dogs. Compare and contrast these exams in a formal paper. Cite sources in MLA format. Create a power point presentation.

Lesson Plan: Dog Care

Primary Level: Lesson Summary: Students will put the pictures of a vet check procedure in correct order and then write sentences describing the sequence of a vet check using words such as first, next, then, after, last. Each picture and sentence will be on a single page of their book.

Vet Check Sequence Photo Poster for you to download and print out.

See how you can get involved.  Click Here.

cimg7139

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 1

Millennium Race Headquarters to Target® Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ Herb Brambley…

Monday evening, March 14, Herb was in Shaktoolik, Alaska.

Tomorrow, Herb plans to go to Koyuk.

Follow Herb’s journey at this link.

Herb and Shaktoolik via Skype Pictures:  Click the image for a larger view.

Here are two files that shows my one of my students’ letters.  She wants to thank you and your website for helping her learn.

English is her second language and she has never seen or heard of a the Iditarod prior to this or even seen snow!  So this was a good experience for her and she was very excited to learn about something that she has never seen before.

Here is her letter that you can use.  Please let me know when you will post it!

I think she will be very happy!   Thanks again!

Mike.

file-1

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 2

Click each image for a larger view.

On the first day of school, I presented my students with a community service goal which tied into the Iditarod Rookie Project.   We were going to raise money for our rookie musher, Kim Darst and all the money that was over our goal would be given to our local animal shelter.  I called it “Cans for Miles”.  After all, how hard could it be to collect cans and bottles!   My class calculated the number of miles from Kim’s hometown in Blairstown, New Jersey to the Iditarod finish in Nome.  Using Yahoo Maps, we calculated it was 5,413 miles.  Our goal then was to collect 5,413 five cent cans.  September through January we collected five cent cans.  Unfortunately, our goal was not met.  We collected 1, 837 cans during those months.  Boy, talk about a great lesson on goal setting.  My students realized that sometimes, we set goals and they aren’t always achieved.  We talked about what we could have done differently and how sometimes we set goals in life that are hard to attain.  I tied this in with how Kim Darst may have felt knowing that she would not achieve her goal this year of getting to Nome.  Many of the students were disappointed when they knew we wouldn’t be able to donate any money to the animal shelter, so I told them I would match their hard work so that Kim and the animal shelter would get a piece of their hard work.

Not to be undone by our rookie project, my class learned about Four Paws for Logan from the Iditarod website.  Now this is our new service project.  We are collecting five cent returnable cans to raise money for a service dog for Logan.  Did we set a goal?  You bet we did!

One has an infectious smile, the other wears a kilt.  Both received a lot of attention at this year’s Iditarod.  Newton Marshall, from Jamaica, and Wattie McDonald, of Scotland, are two rookies for the 2010 race–and, boy do they have a great deal of pride for their homelands.  On the morning of the ceremonial start it may have been only 20 degrees, but neither musher would’ve been anywhere but on the snowy street in Anchorage.

Newton Marshall, a most unlikely musher, gained media attention all year.  Last year he became the first Jamaican musher to complete the Yukon Quest.  Many said it couldn’t be done, but he proved them wrong.  This year he’s been training with none other than Lance Mackey, 3-time Iditarod champion.  Because there are still naysayers, Newton is determined to finish the Iditarod race and set the record straight once and for all.

This persistence and drive is not new to Newton.  Born in St. Ann, Jamaica, Newton didn’t have much schooling.  He had to work to help support his family.  He’d always dreamed of running horses at Chukka Cove Farm.  Newton started working there as a gardener eventually moving up to horse guide.  Chukka Farms offered reading and writing lessons to its employees, so Newton overcame his illiteracy.  When Chukka Farm started to offer dog sledding as an activity, Newton was asked to take on that task.  One thing lead to another and Newton found his way to Alaska competing in dog sled races.  He even gained the attention of major sponsor Jimmy Buffet of Margaritaville fame.  The inspirational story of the Jamaican Dogsled Team can be seen in a documentary movie called Sun Dogs. (Click here to watch a trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1384907033 )

Even people who’d never heard of Newton before this March couldn’t help but notice the Jamaican flag, (watch short video clip here: http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=4359&CID=291226 ), the “Rootin for Newton” buttons and t-shirts, and the vivacious young black man with a huge grin on his face.  Certainly not a normal sight in downtown Anchorage or Willow.  Those who were lucky could even hear him sing reggae to his dogs while waiting for the race to start.

Wattie McDonald may not have gained media attention as early as Newton, but he made up for that on start day.  The reason being–Wattie didn’t come from Scotland alone.  His entourage contained several kilt-wearing bagpipe-playing Scots, and they didn’t seem to mind the cold either.  But, the Scottish fanfare didn’t stop there.  A huge Scottish flag waved from behind his sled and his dogs wore plaid coats as they trotted down 4^th Avenue.  In comparison, John Stewart, a second rookie from Scotland, merely wore the country’s flag like a cape for the ceremonial start.  I almost expected bagpipe music to start playing from the speakers.

Wattie, a Siberian Husky breeder back home, also gained the attention of a major sponsor, Northern Outfitters, and a production company who is filming his challenge.  On his website (http://www.wattiesgreatrace.com/) he describes himself as a man who is “slightly past his prime and given to wearing a kilt whenever possible who wants to cross 1,000 miles of the Alaskan wilderness with just a dog team and a sense of adventure.”  He trained with Dean Osmar last winter and completed his qualifying races to make that dream a reality.

From reggae to kilts, this year’s Iditarod took on an international flair that it hadn’t seen before.  It was fun for the spectators and added to the wonder of the Last Great Race.  While  Iditarod fans hail from all over the world, I’m sure this year the website will see more hits from Jamaica and Scotland than ever before.  So, join me in “Rootin’ for Newton” and cheering on Wattie as they cross the finish line in Nome.

And, who knows from where the next international musher will come?  I know of one musher in training from New Zealand, and dog mushing is becoming more popular in South Africa.  I guess we’ll have to wait until the Musher’s Picnic in June to find out.

For More Information:

*Jamaican Dogsled Team Website:  http://www.jamaicadogsled.com/

*Newton Marshall Profile (video):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKMsI1lm9nk

*Newton Talks to the AP (video):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF_DiDpuY_w&feature=fvw

*Meet the Rookie:  Wattie McDonald:  http://iditarodblogs.com/teachers/2010/01/21/meet-the-rookie-wattie-mcdonald/

*Wattie at the Ceremonial Start:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_0GMEQLV3k

*Wattie’s Restart:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs8c1U80oRI&feature=youtube_gdata

Also, check out the Iditarod Insider for video clips of both mushers (some videos require subscription):  http://insider.iditarod.com/

Lesson Plan Ideas:

*Research Jamaica and Scotland.  Compare and contrast the two countries.  Draw conclusions about which country would be the easiest to come from as an Iditarod musher.

*Use the race statistics from Iditarod.com for Newton and Wattie and translate the military time (Alaska time zone) into the times in Jamaica and Scotland.

*Wattie McDonald doesn’t have a t-shirt for sale on his website.  Design a t-shirt (or other items) for him to sell to his fans to raise funds for future races.

*Watch the documentary “Sun Dogs,” and write a movie review or make a web of the character traits exhibited in the movie.

*Research dog sled associations around the world.  What countries have them?  Mark them on a map of the world.

*Learn about reggae music.  Write a reggae style song about Newton Marshall.

*Learn about Scottish food.  Create a meal for Wattie to take on the trail so he feels like he’s back home.

Jon Van Zyle turns his artistic talent to support the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race every year when he creates the official race poster. Beautifully done, each poster expresses an important race theme or historical viewpoint. The 2010 poster juxtaposes current racing against the backdrop of the history of running dogs in Alaska, showing a Native Alaskan dressed in fur clothing with his team snuggled in snow and a vet and musher in modern winter gear, the team wearing blankets or coats while resting on straw.

Jon ran the Iditarod in 1976 and 1979, a fact that he says surprises a lot of people. He says that folks are also surprised to learn his artwork is shown and sold worldwide. His first official Iditarod poster premiered in 1977. Jon’s wife, Jona, is an artist in her own right, also. They collect Native Alaskan artifacts and photographs of sled dogs from their current dogs to dogs long ago in history. A replica of Balto’s leather harness hangs in their home, thanks to Jona’s friend who works with leather.

Jon arrived where he is now after a stint in the Army, working in Hawaii, and working for Sears designing stores. He says he has painted his whole life, and when he earned the same salary from his painting as he did working at Sears, he quit that job and stuck to painting. Jon illustrates books as well as creating the poster.

Jon says he’d consider his first poster his favorite because it was the first one he did, but that he really doesn’t have a favorite one. Jon and Jona have a kennel of well-mannered Siberian huskies, and Jon’s been into dogs for 50 years. They run dogs for recreation now, taking 300-400 mile trips together.

An Iditarod Hall of Fame inductee, Jon’s posters are now available in December before the race start. Proceeds benefit the race. Lucky people have posters personalized by Jon! Check www.iditarod.com for Jon’s posters at the Iditarod Store.