Libby here!
I can’t wait for Saturday! Tons of people are going to be at Iditarod Headquarters because there is going to be a huge picnic. Many volunteers and mushers will be at the picnic so this is a time of Iditarod celebration!
Saturday also marks the start of the ‘next’ Iditarod season. Mushers […]
Category Archives: K-9 Reporter Libby
Iditarod Volunteer Picnic and Musher Sign up!
Summer Activities
Libby Here!
It is summer time in Alaska. Mushers and dogs are planning for their next race.
Sign up for the next race begins on Saturday, June 28. Each year, on the last Saturday in June, there is a big celebration at Iditarod Headquarters. Race volunteers are invited to a delicious picnic at Iditarod […]
Students ask: What do dogs wear?
Libby Here!
Lots of the email that boys and girls sent us this year asked about what the dogs wore during the race. Here is a sample of one of our letters:
Dear K-9 Reporters,
Our class is following the race. We saw on the Insider Video that the mushers wear winter gear that keeps them […]
How old are the Dogs?
Libby Here!
What is the average age of the dogs? Are they retired after a certain age? These are questions that a lot of you have asked.
Well, students, do you think I’m going to tell you my age? Some of us don’t like to tell those details, (hee hee!)
A musher doesn’t always tell us […]
What happens at a Checkpoint?
Libby Here!
Are you wondering how long the checkpoint breaks are? When you follow the race and watch the Internet for information, you can ’see’ how long a musher stays in a checkpoint. Looking back at the race information, you can see, some stay short amount of times, some stay longer amount of times.
A musher stays […]
Getting Lost. Don’t Let it Happen to You!
Libby Here!
Listen to this great question! “Do they ever get lost?”
The Iditarod Trail is a marked trail. People on snowmobiles— or snowmachines which is what they are called in Alaska, travel the race trail before the mushers and make sure that the trail markers are in place. The markers are sticks with a florescent paint, […]
What do Mushers Do?
Libby Here!
Lots of kids want to know, “Do mushers get a chance to eat, bathe, and sleep?”
Everyone has to eat and sleep in order to stay healthy. Keeping clean helps, too!
When a musher arrives at a checkpoint, the first thing the musher does is feed and care for the dogs. When all […]
More About Dogs!
Libby Here!
How many dogs are allowed for each sled and musher?
Each musher can start the race with 16 dogs. When arriving in Nome, each musher must have at least 6 dogs pulling the sled.
Not every dog that starts the race gets to finish the race. Most of the time, there are little details that help […]
What about the Dogs?
Libby Here!
Do the same team of dogs do the whole race?
This is another great question.
Yes. The team of dogs that a musher has selected and have passed their medical exams are the only dogs that can be in the race.
The musher starts with his selected team of dogs and cannot add different […]
What’cha Snacking On?
Libby here!
“When do the dogs get fed?” asked Ms. Thompson’s students.
I’m glad Zuma sent me that question to answer.
Sled dogs get fed when they are hungry!
Sled dogs eat and they eat nutritious meals and snacks so that they have the energy to run the race. Eating nutritious meals also helps the dogs stay healthy.
Not […]
What kind of dogs are in the race?
Libby Here!
Zuma sent me a copy of a great question that came from Ms. Thompson’s students: Are all of the dogs huskies?
Any dog that races in Iditarod must be a ’sled dog’. The dogs that race in Iditarod are a ‘northern breed’ of dog, meaning that they have a natural ‘fur’ coat that protects […]
What is a Snowhook?
Hello Boys and Girls,
It is hard to believe that December is almost over! This is a very busy time of year. Not only is it a holiday season, but it is mushing season. Many sled dog races take place over the next few months. Some of the Iditarod mushers, both rookie […]