Ronin kennels

2010-2011 plans

2010-05-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

Plans continue for the new 2010-2011 season. This year we are planning to do some ATV training as we have access to a short but convient trail that allows ATV's. Our plan is to run this trail on the weekdays and concentrate on our training rather than conditioning, saving the conditioning for our weekend runs. The "secret" new training trail does have lots of Gee Haw training opportunities and offers hills and lots of potential distractions. We have priced out some fencing (orange plastic) to make the trail and surveyed it for milage. The idea would be to make it as much like a race trail as possible complete with a starting shoot and swinging gates for variety. Crystal and I have looked at the layout and think its very doable. We are also looking at the feeding program and might try using impact or pro meat 100 throughout the racing season in addition to premium kibble.

The dogs are in summer mode lounging on their decks lifting their heads in acknowledgement of our comings and goings but rarely doing much of anything else. For now all we can really do is plan for next year, fix gear, and work on ourselves, exercising our bodies and exorcising our minds of last years defeats. My goals are the same this year, to do better than the last and learn as much as I can. We do have a few secret weapons in the works but if I told you it wouldn't be much of a secret now would it. As always I would like to take this opportunity to thank my wife and family who put up with and encourage all this nonsense. Without them and the dogs I would surely be up to no good, idle hands being the root of all evil. No time for any evil in this house... well maybe some, just a little, to keep thing interesting.

Dog Chores

2010-04-03T05:36:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite times of year. The end is in sight with school, the weather is perfect, and I get a chance to do all those things in the dog yard and in the trailer I am too busy to do during the season. Yesterday Jack and I really worked hard on the kennel, pressure washing all the mats, putting in a fresh layer of crush, and installing the kennel shades. Our version of extreme makeover kennel edition. The dogs seem to love the improvements.

I am in love with power washers! Thanks to a team sponsor we have on for the weekend and today we are tackling the trailer and whatever else needs blasting. Working with my son (3.1/2 years old) makes me appreciate my dad all the more. I never knew how Challenging having all that "help" from me was. Jack loved it though and doesn't want to do anything without his daddy (love it). More chores to be done, although today I am moving a bit slower!

Getting Ready for next Year already

2010-03-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

Well I did not do a great job of keeping up with the blog this racing season but I hope to better next year. I am going to try and use the blog as a journal, opening up the books so to speak. I do plan on continuing doing a few things I started this year, including feeding a lot more meat and working more on training than conditioning. Head on passes were a problem and something we need to address. I have begun taking the dogs for walks with small packs around the neighborhood trying to get them use to all the distractions and gain some confidence (some need others not so much). Seems to be working well and I have been getting a decent workout as well. I think some early head on pass training with Reggie and Chris should help. Sorry this post is all over the place I am just brainstorming. We will keep everyone updated on our progress!

It all comes together

2009-10-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

Well today it all came together. The temps went down, it stopped raining and we finally got to run. We were out with Reggie and his crew on the canal this morning and man was it great to be on the trail. Reggie was gracious enough to let us practice some passing and we attempted some tricky Gee haw training down some switch backs. We did a little over four miles which is where we need to be right now. I am hoping the weather continues to hold out and we can get some training in this week after school. We have our first race in two weeks and we could use all the trail time we can get. I am looking forward to a great season and lots of fun with the family, friends and dogs!

We just signed up for our first race of the year

2009-10-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

We just sent in our race form for the trailbreakers sled dog club's dryland race in Ohio. We are really excited because our good friends at Xtreme weather kennels and Subzero kennels we be in attendance. This will be our first race of the year and our first race with the new setup. Hopefully the dogs will be up to it and we will put in a respectful effort. We will be running the four dog sportsman class for our first race of 2009-2010 season. Thanks again to my wife and all the salty dawgs out there that make these races possible.

Updated Pictures of our Dogs

2009-10-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

Perfect training for the Fairhill Challenge

2009-10-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

Today's run was perfect training for the Fairhill Challenge. Wet, Cold and miserable. Here are my GPS results for the run. Not to shabby considering a couple of squirrel encounters and some car traffic. I must say I am loving the GPS. Keeps everyone honest and it lets me combine computers with dogs. Looking forward to a long training weekend up near Penn State in early November. Lord knows I could use a weekend of camping and running dogs.

We get some new graphics for the dog truck.

2009-10-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

We got a cool graphic made up for our dog trailer.
Thanks to my baby bro for making this one of a kind graphic. We are sure to turn some heads this season.

All ready to go for our first fall training event

2009-10-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Today we signed up for the big training event at Tow Hill. We are really excited to use the trailer to camp out in. We also purchased an inflatable bed for our tent so we will be living in luxury. Hopefully are friends from Xtreme Weather Kennels and Blur of Fur Kennels will be in attendance. We will be heading North November 13 for this great event, hope to see you there.

Early bird gets the worm

2009-10-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

Up early for our run today we took advantage of the cooler temperatures. We went about 6 miles and the dogs did great. We got a flat tire at the halfway mark but with my rig I was able to just stand on one side and let the wheel with the flat just kind of float. I can actually lift the whole tire of the ground with some creative balancing, a skill that had no practical purpose until today. Anyway a quick trip to Wally World and the flat is fixed plus some slime in the tubes for added protection. I missed a couple fellow mushers this morning, they were arriving as I was leaving but I am sure we will meet up soon for a run. I have Friday off this week so I am hoping to get in an extra day of training. next post will have the incredible bootie horn I promise.

Our new dog trailer

2009-10-10T16:41:00.000-07:00

The new trailer is working out great. We are now able to get ready a lot faster and we are sure we have everything we need when we leave for training. There is enough room in the back to sleep if we need to and add more dogs (in the future). Tonight the dogs are staying in the trailer because we are taking off early in the morning and we went for an evening run. I will drop them before bed but then they are on their own. Jack and I put fresh straw in the boxes on Friday so they should be comfy. I am hoping this will be good training for races on the road.

We booted up all the dogs for this evening run and The bootie horn I made worked great. Putting booties on now is much easier. A future post will show you how to make your own bootie horn. All in all we got a great jump on this year and the dogs are looking really fit, even Murphy my couch potato. I am looking forward to seeing how the team compares to other Siberian teams this year. This being our first time racing four dog class our goal are to finish our races with the dogs and driver in good shape looking fit. We will see...

2009-10-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Ronin Kennels!

Welcome to Ronin Kennels

2009-07-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Ronin Kennels and the home of the Salty Dawgs race team. We are a kennel of pure bred Siberian Huskies. We race four dog sprint races currently primarily dryland but we are looking forward to racing more on snow. Mushing is truly the ultimate team sport. Our team consists of my beautiful wife, two sons, four Siberian Huskies and an extended family that provides all sorts of support from sewing booties to making t-shirts to feeding the dogs when we are out of town.

We also make and sell sled dog gear to help support our sled dog habit. Please visit our online shop Sled Dog Stuff and show your support. We hope to see you out on the trail, at the races and always in good health.

Mike, Crystal, Jack, Charlie, Murphy, Daisy, Tenzing, Sweet pea