Every second year or so we have a litter of Alaskan husky puppies. We add up the number of sled dogs that are to be adopted that spring and realize that it’s time for a new group of mushing dogs to join the team. We usually have two breeding bitches in the team that rotate having litters. Therefore each female sled dog has only two litters in her lifetime.
All our sled dog puppies are born in our bathroom in a whelping box with edges that prohibit the mother from smothering the puppies when they are newborns. Martha and Rod sleep in the whelping box with mum and the pups so that the puppies imprint on their human teammates establishing the foundation of love and respect that will be so important later in their lives. The puppies and mother stay inside until the puppies are about 4 weeks old (or until they can climb out of the box and begin to eat our bathroom!). At this point, they move to our covered puppy pen.
Sled dog puppies are usually weaned when they are 6-8 weeks old. Once the puppies immune system has developed, we invite families from Whitehorse to bring out their small children for some puppy playtime. The rather unpredictable nature of the children is a wonderful way to socialize the puppies. By meeting new faces every day or so, the puppies develop strong self confidence and are so eager to meet new friends that they line up along the puppy pen fence to see who is next coming to play.
Once the puppies outgrow the covered puppy pen, they graduate to our puppy corral. This is a large fenced yard with several doghouses (one per puppy). Various toys and ‘obstacles’ are placed in the yard for the puppies to play with. In addition the mother, and often our pet dog Martini, spend a few hours every day with the puppies teaching them sled dog etiquette. The puppies live in this corral until they are a year old at which time they move into the dogyard. As well as playing in their corral, the puppies enjoy going for walks in the winter and swims in Scout Lake once the weather turns warm.
The puppies get their first taste of mushing when they are about 6 months old. At the end of March we prepare a team of cagey veteran adults to act as mentors to the young pups. Each puppy is paired with an adult for a very short run (no more than 1 mile). It is absolutely inspiring to watch a husky run for the first time. After awkward first steps, the pulling instinct kicks in and they begin to pull like they have pulled all their lives. By their second year, the puppies have put on enough training miles that they are ready to join the adult team and earn their keep. You may find yourself walking our latest litter of puppies if you join us for an adventure in a puppy year!
