The Can Am Crown Sled Dog Races

Stealing a line from NASCAR: Boogity, Boogity, Boogity! Let's go racing boys

On Saturday, Eric and I spent an enjoyable day watching and helping to handle (musher jargon for assist) for our friends and fellow mushers at the Can Am Crown Sled Dog Races including the 30 mile, 60 mile, and 250 mile races in Fort Kent, Maine.

This was one of the most enjoyable events we've ever attended. Meeting lots of new mushers and seeing many that we already knew was the highlight of the trip. We hope to return to Fort Kent for next year's race.

We wrapped Saturday with a wonderful lasagna dinner at with both Canadian and US mushers at Baisley Lodges in St. Jacques, New Brunswick. Thank you, Gino and Fran!

Below are some great photos that Eric got while at the sled dog races.

Can Am 30 mushers setting up for the race

Rob Cooke hooking up for the Can Am 60

Rob Cooke's team: Come on already, let's go!

Gino Roussel crossing the finish line of the Can Am 30

Gear check at the finish line

Gino Roussel: End of race group hug

Johanne Cloutier finishing the Can Am 30

Scott Alexander finishing the Can Am 30 with his Siberians

Corina Alexander finishing the Can Am 30 with her Siberians including Acadia's Mum, Belle

Lidia's DogTwuk

Gino: I'm ready for next year!

"That was great," says Corina Alexander

Good pups (Oumak and JR): Kisses all around

The dog boxes are finished!

As many of you may know from reading my earlier blog entry, Everything But the Dogs: Mushing Equipment, Eric has been in the process of designing and building integrated dog boxes into our dog truck, which is a Ford Expedition SUV.

With a little chicken jerky the dogs were all happy to load up.

After approximately two weeks of planning and construction and about two hundred dollars later, those boxes are now completely constructed and ready for the dogs' use. Indeed, we took the boxes for a short "sea trial," as dear old Dad would say, yesterday when we took the dogs up to a nice little swimming hole in the Gunpowder River for a refreshing swim in the icy cold water of the river. The boxes passed, although when we returned we did make a tiny adjustment to the latches to make them more secure. The dogs were much calmer riding in the boxes than I expected. Since all of our dogs are crate trained, they all took to the boxes right away (a little chicken jerky didn't hurt none either!). T-Bone and Zoe really seem to enjoy the view they get from their "penthouse" boxes (especially when we pass horses, cows and other farm animals)!

The boxes have now received a coat of epoxy resin on the floors and the wooden thresholds to make them more waterproof. We have ordered a plastic boot tray for one of the five boxes (the center upper) and plastic sheet matting for the other four boxes to further water proof and make the bottoms of the boxes easier to clean if necessary. We have also placed a plastic barrier below the the boxes between the carpet of the truck's floor and the bottom of the dog boxes.

As built, there are five boxes, two over sized bottom boxes and three smaller upper boxes, that will hold five dogs. The boxes' framing is wood with wire shelving material between the boxes. The wiring grating, allows us to see and check on the dogs, lightens the over all weight of the boxes, and allows the rear AC vents to reach the dogs so that we can control their temperature more effectively. Because the boxes are within the confines of our SUV, they should still be plenty warm enough for our thick coated dogs to sleep in during the winter months.

Side view of the dog boxes through the lift gate

Sobo chills out in his box

There were several design goals when we built the boxes: (1) fit them within the truck but make them big enough for the dogs; (2) have them comply with Mush with Pride guidelines for the dimensions a dog box should be; (3) build the boxes as modules so they can be easily removed; (4) keep the weight being added to the truck at a minimum; (5) preserve as much rear window visibility as we could; (5) build well ventilated boxes but with floors that are easy to clean should a pup get sick or have an accident; (6) build dog boxes that are secure; (7) because we use a hitch mounted carrier to carry our rigs, the dog boxes must be able to be loaded from the rear doors and the lift gate which is not able to be raised or lowered with the rig in place on the hitch carrier; and (8) we wanted to still be able to raise and lower our back seat so that we could carry dogs and passengers. Adding insult to injury on this long list of "wants," there isn't a straight line to be had in the back of our Ford Expedition which made designing and building the boxes a lesson in patience and perseverance. Particularly difficult to deal with was the irregularly sloping nature of the ceiling of the truck (it has AC/Heat conduits in it) and the curved exterior edges on the two outer top boxes.

No straight lines! A fishy view (taken with a fish eye lens)

From the inside of the truck with one third of the rear seat up

Another interior view of the boxes (this one is kind of dark)

With a lot of patience, a lot of cutting, a lot of designing, re-designing, and a fair dash of creativity, Eric managed to build boxes that met just about all of our criteria.

Close up of Zoe, an Alaskan Husky

"Unless you have more chicken jerky, I think I'm going to nap," says Okemo

Everything But the Dogs: Mushing Equipment

Anyone who dog sleds or dryland dog sleds with their dogs knows that mushing is a gear intensive sport. There are lines, sleds, harnesses, dog bowls, sled bags, shock absorbers, assorted hardware, rigs, dog sled carriers, rig carriers and trailers, electronic devices, dog trucks, ATVs, snowmobiles, etc. It takes a lot of work to keep all of the equipment used for mushing in good repair and good working order.

Our Fritz Dyck (TOM) Rig

Side shot of our Fritz Dyck TOM

Our custom designed hitch mounted rig carrier

Hitch mounted carrier shown loaded with our Fritz Dyck TOM

Our Fritz Dyck SAM rig

The rack for our dog sled which makes loading the sled a breeze

Four dog picket line

Once on the trail, dog sledding is an adventure shared by the musher and the dogs. In large part, the equipment used once you get out on the trail is the same equipment that has been used by mushers for the past hundred years. Getting to the trail is a different story...

To that end, we are frequently asked, "how do you transport your dogs?" Most mushers use a dog truck to transport their dogs. Dog trucks can range quite a bit. Some are pick up trucks with dog boxes built into the bed. Others are pick up trucks with the beds removed and boxes built where the bed used to be. Yet other mushers use a flat bed truck, with boxes built on the flat bed. Generally speaking, dog trucks can carry anywhere from 2-3 dogs to 20-30+ dogs depending on the truck's configuration and the musher's needs. To see photos of various types of dog trucks, visit the dog truck pages on Sled Dog Central. Dog boxes can be constructed from a variety of materials including fiberglass, wood, and metal. Dog trucks don't even have to be trucks. Some mushers like to use a van with built in boxes.

A full size van with dog boxes and gear

A mini van being used as a dog "truck" with standard dog crates in lieu of boxes

Dog Truck at Mushing Boot Camp

Another musher's dog truck

A small set of four dog boxes on the back of a diesel dually pick up
Double decker dog boxes for carrying 20 plus dogs

A van being used to transport sled dogs

Fiberglass dog boxes on the back of a pick up truck

Close up of wooden dog box door (with nose)

Yet another style of dog box door

Close up of wooden dog box (with dog)

Our dog truck is a Ford Expedition SUV and when our dog boxes are finished, we will have five separate dog boxes (two large and three small) with the option of adding a third box to the lower level. Even with these boxes in place, we will be able to raise and lower our back seat and thus carry (albeit snugly) up to five people.

Our dog truck parked in Corinth, Maine at Mushing Boot Camp

As some of you know, Eric handles most of our dog sledding gear and is our resident Dog Truck Engineer and Dog Truck Mechanic. In addition to his regular full time job as an Associate Professor of Bioresources Engineering at the University of Delaware, Eric enjoys making, fixing and sometimes breaking our dog sledding gear. His current project is designing and building dog boxes for our dog truck. Past projects have included refinishing our wooden dog sled, building a hitch mounted carrier to carry our three and four wheel rigs, installing a new exhaust manifold on the dog truck, installing two new starters on the dog truck within six months of each other (don't purchase starters from Autozone), making gang lines, and making drop lines.

Building the dog boxes within the snug confines of the back of our Expedition has been a tall order. First, the dog boxes need to be modular so they can be removed easily as we do occasionally use the truck to carry other items besides the dogs. Second, the dog boxes need to be relatively light as we do not want to add any more weight than necessary to the back of the truck as it decreases fuel economy and with the hitch carrier in place there is already extra weight on the rear of the truck. Third, the dogs boxes need to be large enough to hold our four dogs but still fit within the confines of our truck. Fourth, there are virtually no straight lines within the back of our truck and that poses a challenge when trying to construct dog boxes to maximize the size of the boxes. Fifth, we would like to maintain some rear window visibility. Sixth, the dog boxes need to be well ventilated yet they need to have floors that are easily cleaned should a pup get sick or have an accident. Sixth, the boxes must be secure. And last but definitely not least, we need to be able to load the dogs into the dog boxes even when the hitch carrier and rig are in place (i.e., the dog boxes need be fully accessible through both the rear doors and the lift gate).

Framing up the dog boxes

To determine what size our boxes should be, we consulted and followed Mush with Pride guidelines for the sizing of dog boxes. After weighing our options, we elected to construct two large boxes on the bottom level that will exceed the Mush with Pride width and depth dimensions and will meet the height requirements. Our upper level of boxes consist of two larger boxes and one smaller center box where our smallest, 35 lb sled dog, T-Bone, will ride. This box will give T-Bone a bird's eye view of the passing scenery including horses, cows, dogs, children in strollers, bicyclists, joggers, etc. all of which T-Bone seems to vastly enjoy barking at. Our top level of boxes are deeper than the guidelines suggest, and, with the exception of the center box, as wide as suggested by the guidelines. The center box is approximately one inch narrower than suggested by the guidelines. The height of all of the boxes meets or exceeds the height suggested in the guidelines.

After drawing up plans and pricing out materials, Eric came up with a design that satisfied the majority of our design requirements, purchased approximately $200 in materials, and has begun work on the construction of the boxes.

Framing for one of the two larger lower boxes

The center box (aka T-Bone's House)

The other dog "truck"