It’s no exaggeration to say that Iditarod Sled Dogs are the best cared for animal athletes in the world. Vet check is always scheduled for the Wednesday prior to the race. That day, Iditarod Headquarters is a busy place - dogs, mushers, vets and spectators.

This year there were 96 teams that started to run Iditarod. Multiply that by 16 dogs for each team and that amounts to 1,536 dogs that had to be “cleared” to race. Dogs have an EKG, blood work and a general physical to verify their cardiovascular and overall health. If a dog doesn’t pass the physical with flying colors, the dog doesn’t race.

Vets are located at each checkpoint on the trail to answer dog questions, check over the dogs and care for dogs. The vets use the acronym HAW&L as they check the dogs over at the checkpoints. “H” stands for Heart & Hydration. Vets listen to the heart and then check hydration by doing a skin fold or a gum test. “A” stands for Attitude and Appetite. The vets watch the dogs as they come into a checkpoint to see that all the tug lines are tight and they will ask the mushers about how the dogs are eating and drinking. “W” stands for weight. Vet’s and mushers monitor the weight of the dogs by checking the hips and ribs of the dogs. Dogs that are losing weight are often dropped from the team. “L” stands for lungs. Vets listen carefully to the lungs to make sure they are clear.

Students can also use the HAW&L principle for periodic school check-ups. “H” stands for heart, happiness and hydration. Is your heart in school; are you happy and are you drinking enough water? “A” stands for attitude and appetite. How’s your attitude toward school, teachers and classmates; are you hungry to learn? “W” stands for wise choices. Do you make wise choices when it comes to rules and being with peers? “L” stands for legal, listening, learning and lucky. Do you know the rules and follow them; are you a good listener; do you learn from your teachers, classmates and parents and do you make good choices to create luck? Doing a school check-up and creating a strategy for improvement on a regular basis will help you become a better student.

As a young sled dog, I use the HAW&L check-up to evaluate every run I take with the team. I want to be the greatest sled dog ever and I want to be a lead dog. I go through the HAW&L check-up and sometimes I do better at some aspects than at others. I pick an aspect to improve on and on my rest days, I try to figure out a strategy to make myself better then I really focus on that issue the next time I’m in harness. When I was younger, I didn’t always listen to my musher and handler. Now that I’m older, I know how important that is and I’m getting much better at listening. Really, I want to do a good job at everything I do and it seems that when I listen and follow instructions it makes my musher and handler VERY happy. They keep telling me what a good dog I am and then give me lots of treats! I hope you try the HAW&L check-up for yourself.

Sled dogs come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Some are large and some are small. Some have tall ears, others have floppy ears. Some have blue eyes while some have brown eyes. Some have one eye that’s blue and one eye that’s brown! Some look like a wolf, some look like a hound. I’ve heard my handler say, “Looks are only skin deep.” Well that’s for sure. With sled dogs it’s what’s on the inside that counts!

I consulted with 4 friends to come up with a list of criteria that apply to sled dogs. Sue Allen who is running Martin Buser’s puppy told me what she and Martin look for in sled dogs. Joe Runyan wrote an article, “Description and Origin of the Alaskan Husky” which is posted on the Cabela’s Iditarod website. He talked to folks like Doug Swingley, Rick Swenson, Dee Dee Jonrowe and George Attla to come up with a list of sled dog criteria. Chief Iditarod Veterinarian Dr. Stuart Nelson wrote a story, “What is a Sled Dog?” posted on the Iditarod website that lists the criteria for a sled dog running the Iditarod. The fourth contributor is Balto, a true Alaskan Husky hero.

To start with, here’s my basic list of criteria. Any dog that’s going to run in a cold northern climate needs to have a WARM COAT. That same dog needs a TAIL to help keep areas like the groin warm that don’t have much fur. When sleeping in the cold, dogs also wrap their tails around their face to cover their eyes and nose. This helps to warm the air they breathe. Sled dogs need TOUGH FEET. Top-notch Iditarod or Quest dogs will run more than 3,000 miles a year over ice, snow, gravel and other really abrasive surfaces. Booties help but a dog needs tough feet to start with. With all the running they do, sled dogs need a RAVENOUS APPETITE; picky eaters won’t make it very far down the trail. Sled dogs are born with the INSTINCT to PULL - it’s in our genes just like a retriever knows how to retrieve. The first day I went into harness was the greatest day of my life - I was born to pull and FINALLY I was running with the team - I knew exactly what to do.

According to Joe Runyan and his panel of experienced mushers, here’s what they look for in a sled dog that’s going to make the “A” team. Females should weigh 45 to 50 pounds and males should weigh 50 to 55 pounds. More weight means less speed and endurance not to mention more injuries. Mushers want dogs that are willing to please, easily trained and love to pull in both good and bad weather. Tough feet and a good coat are important considerations for icy rough trail conditions and extremes in weather. Dogs must be able to rest comfortably on top of the snow in extremely cold weather. Iditarod dogs must be capable of running for 12 hours and covering 150 miles a day for 10 or more days in a row. “A” team dogs must recover quickly from exercise and metabolize about 10,000 calories daily. Conformity is also important. To work well together on a team, the dogs should be similar in size and gait. The dogs must be able to maintain speed and have multiple gaits. Multiple gaits means that the dog should be able to lope or trot and change between the two easily. If you look closely, weight is the only physical trait; the other criteria are performance based standards. These mushers put together a pretty tough job description!

Mushers who have large kennels will create a checklist of criteria. Your teacher would call this a rubric. All of the different people who work with the dogs will “grade” them. As Sue Allen runs Martin Buser’s puppy team in Iditarod 2008, she’ll be giving them a score for each of the criteria. These grades will help Martin choose his team for future races. Some of these puppies will be running the 2010 Iditarod with Martin on the “A”. This idea of using a checklist or rubric is exactly what your teacher use to give evaluate your work.

From the veterinarian and Iditarod end of the sled, dogs have to meet another set of criteria listed by Dr. Stuart Nelson, DVM.

1) Willingness to be harnessed and desire to participate.

2) Be adequately trained and conditioned for the activity.

3) Be vaccinated and dewormed.

4) Capable of withstanding environmental extremes.

5) Pass a pre-race physical.

Balto was the lead dog that brought the serum into Nome during the 1925 diphtheria epidemic. There is a statue of Balto in New York’s Central Park with the inscription

“Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs…

ENDURANCE - FIDELITY - INTELLIGENCE.”

Well, there you have it - an inscription describing the spirit of the sled dog, a short list of physical traits and a long list of performance criteria for the greatest athletes on earth.