Pre-race Vet Care, key to a happy healthy team.

Today was a big day for the Dew Claw race dogs, maybe not their favorite day, but an important one nonetheless.   Today we loaded all the dog in the trailer and headed to town for 2 very important appointments. Now the Dew Claw dogs get pretty excited when they get to go in the trailer, usually it means we are going somewhere fun to explore new trails.  And I think they were bummed when the first stop was for EKG’s and Blood Draws.  This is a mandatory screening for ALL Iditarod race dogs.  These tests give us key information about the health of our dogs, and can reveal things that would not be visible to mushers, even after our hours of observing our team.  This is the kind of information that really helps us make informed decision about which dogs are best suited to racing this year.

I have some photos from today to share with you. But first I want to take a minute and thank Jan, Tabitha, and the great group of Vet Techs who did such an awesome job today!  Blood draws and being strapped to an EKG machine may not have been a favorite activity, but the love and attention that was given the dogs made it all better.  Also want to give Mush Thanks to Dr. Jim Atwell and the folks at Providence Health System for their continued support of the Iditarod. They will be doing the lab work and reading the EGK’s.

Pepsi joined the Techs and Vets for a group photo~

Tabitha showing off her fancy EKG machine.

Thistle relaxing while she gets hooked up for her EKG.

Orchid wanted a little lovin’ before she hopped up onto the table!

As an Iditarod veteran she is an old pro at this.

Spanky getting some praise after his blood draw.

The techs were totally taken in by Topaz, her burning blue eyes, and super soft coat.

ChaseUm waits patiently for his turn.

So it was a busy morning of pre-race testing, and paperwork for the Dew Claw dogs. And after each dog took their turn they were rewarded with a nice piece of fish, and loaded back into the trailer. But alas the day was far from over.  And the trailer would take them to yet another important pre-race screening…
The Mandatory Vet Check.

Once again not as fun as our usual destinations, but very valuable.  This year we had our Vet Check done by Dr. Renee  Rember at Chena Ridge Veterinary Services.  She is an experienced and respected sled dog vet, and I am very glad to be working with her and her staff. Dr. Rember’s exam began by taking some basic information, temperature, weight, coat condition, and examining dental health.  She went on to check for lameness and injury, listen to the heart and lungs, and do a comprehensive check of dogs feet. This is also my chance to discuss each dogs condition with Dr. Rember and get her insights and information. Mush thanks to her and her Vet Tech Sue Ellis for all their care and concern!

Dr. Rember examined every dogs teeth as part of the overall health exam

Topaz gets her turn with the vet.

MK was very well behaved today

Dr. Rember was great to work with.

Orchid, the old pro took it all in stride.

Of course another stop meant another treat, and this time everyone got a nice chunk of frozen beef to reward them for good behavior. And they were loaded up in the trailer one final time.

Not sure if they were relieved or disappointed when the final destination was right back where we started, our own dog yard.  Yeah it meant we were done with vet visits, but I am pretty sure by dog standards today did not compare to a fun filled day on new trails. However the work we did today is so important, ensuring that every dog I race with is in the best physical condition. Plus there was a nice big meal for all the dogs on our return, so any disappointment they felt about the lack of new trails today was quickly forgotten as they enjoyed the meal.

“Don’t worry” I told them, “we have plenty of new trails in our future”