Nature's Kennel Sled Dog Racing & Adventures

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Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Nature's Kennel

PO Box 5
McMillan, MI 49853
Tel: 1-906-748-0513
Email: info@natureskennel.com

Dog Blog

Adventure Journals

Welcome to the Nature's Kennel Dog Blog! Check out the latest kennel news, stories of your favorite sled dogs, Iditarod training adventures, and more!

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010 They're BAAAACCCCKKKK!!! Jen made it back to the kennel yesterday around noon with our 51 Alaskan Travelers. Her and Ryne made the drive to Michigan in record time, had no major travel problems, and I’m sure are glad to be walking on solid ground. I believe there are 120 dogs in the dog yard and 5 three week old Tuuli puppies, and two 9 week old Lady Bird puppies (they were born in Alaska and made the trip back). So, it’s a crazy doggie world out there! Dent was so excited that they were coming home that he took off from the team yesterday and wandered around in the woods for a few hours until a DNR surveyor found him. He was in lead with Ed’s team and Ed wanted to switch leaders. So he let Dent loose (which we do all the time with various dogs) and Dent decided to just trot on up the road on his own agenda. They were less than 5 miles from home so we assumed he’d just show up here in the afternoon. No such luck. But, we did have a DNR truck pull up and the surveyor, John, said he saw a sled dog sleeping on the trail but could not get him to come in the truck. So, he marked his location with GPS, gave Ed the coordinates, and sure enough, Dent was there basking in the sunshine. He must have gotten confused in the woods and decided that he should follow Rule # 1 When Lost in the Woods: Stay in one spot and eventually someone will find you! John was quite amused that the dog’s name was Dent because after he found him, he backed the truck up and dented the back on a stump. How appropriate. Posted by Tasha

Monday, September 27th, 2010 Wow...what a FANTASTIC Teacher's Conference and Mushing Symposium! We had a fabulous turn out for both events, so thanks to everyone who made the drive to the UP to enjoy a weekend of "dog talk". A huge thanks goes to Michele Seng for keeping us all organized, welcoming all the participants, and doing the endless behind the scenes work. Thanks as well to Trent Herbst and Sebastian Schnuelle for donating their time to wow us with their stories and humor. Trent, you are an inspiration to us all, whether we are teachers or not, to get out there and do what we believe is right, regardless of what other say. We will be producers instead of consumers. Sebastian, thanks for showing the world that dogs that are loved, cared for, treated with respect, and given a second chance can truly be champions. Thanks to all our speakers for keeping mushing alive here in the Midwest: Ken Chezik, Bruce Magnusson, Dr. Nick Vukich, Delbert and Linda Storms, Troy Groeneveld, Doug Harrer, Clyde Risdon, Ian MacKenzie, and Jim Oehlschlaeger, Diane Johnson, Terrie Hanke, Lynne Witte, Craig Adams, Darlene Walch, Jackie Winkowski, Herb Brambley, Ed White and Jamie-Sue and Smokin’ Sled Dog Records. We’d also like to thank those who supported the silent auction so we can continue this event next year: Risdon Rigs, Red Paw Feeds/John Stetson, Dogbooties.Com, Chris Rowe, Stacie DeWaldt, Ian Mackenzie, Lance Mackey, Jeff King, Mary Shields, Mitch Seavey, Ken Anderson, Aily Zirkle, Martin Buser, Laura Daugereau, Jon VanZyle, Lisa Fredric, and Paul Gebhardt. Your donations were AWESOME! We do plan to do the event next September, so let us know what you thought about this year’s event, what you’d like to see in the future, and how we can make this even better! Posted by Tasha



Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010 Oh my, what a crazy couple of weeks! Ed and the guides have been expanding the kennel, building new dog houses, and clearing lots of brush. Nate and I have been making lots of trips to Marquette to get lumber, and to deliver Stinky Feet to the vet as he had to have a very bizarre intestinal surgery. Stinky is fine now, but is a pretty sore puppy. The Teacher's Conference and Symposium are coming together and we should have a great turnout for both events. So, if you happen to wander through Curtis this weekend, we'd LOVE to have you! In fact, Nate is going to drive his dog sled there! Posted by Tasha


Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 It’s back to work here at the kennel after Nate and I made a quick visit to Great Grandma’s in Charlevoix and Ed’s traveled out East as “company executive”. (As you can see, Nate takes his computer work very seriously—he’s actually trying to figure out how to play his new, more age appropriate music video, The Elmo Slide.) It’s going to be a busy few weeks as we get the final preparations made for the Iditarod Teacher’s Conference and Midwest Mushing Symposium. Thanks to Lynne Witte and Michele Seng for doing all the pre-registration and leg work, and to Jamie Sue Seal for sending up the AWESOME promo posters! I had to take a photo of one just in case some of you don’t get to Newberry or Curtis much to see them around town. We have also had an incredible response from mushers for both registrations and silent auction items. We are also doing some kennel expansion and adding 24 new dog houses, posts, and dog spots. We will have quite a full house here until the Maine dogs leave in December. Ed flies up to Whitehorse on the 26^th of this month to meet Jen and Ryne and give them a hand driving the “Alaskan workers” home for the winter. I’m sure there are a few dogs who can’t wait to dig in the sand and sleep in their own beds! We have our new guides, Amy and Jess here so dog running has been a breeze. They are both naturals with dogs and are quickly learning the routine. Nate and I have been in charge of Tuuli’s new puppies as it’s our job to hold them every day. He’s just figured out that they can move, so it’s quite fun to watch him look at the puppy when I set it on his lap. It’s definitely “dog season” as the weather is brisk, the leaves are changing, the winter tours are booking, and the dogs are a runnin’! Posted by Tasha


Saturday, September 11th, 2010 The reports from Maine area all good, and it looks like Krister will have himself a slew of sled dogs for giving rides at Sunday River this winter. Ed flew back into Detroit on Friday morning, and is at his annual “Boys Weekend” with some high school friends. They are off the watch MSU play at the new big stadium downtown (it used to be the Silverdome…but I can’t remember the new place right now) and then they are off to the annual Detroit Tiger’s game at Comerica Park (got that one!). Amy has arrived from Big Beaver, Saskatchewan and Jess is due in late tonight from Northern California. So, Maliko and Mallory have been showing them the ropes. They broke Amy in early today as she was up at 6:30 with them to run dogs! However, they paid her back by cooking a fabulous dinner of home-made vegetarian blackbean burgers and hashbrowns. Mallory and Maliko recently watched Food, Inc. so they have joined the vegetarian club. It’s great as we love all the new recipes! I decided to pack up Nate and make a surprise trip to Charleviox to see my grandma for the weekend. It’s going to be pretty busy from here on out, so we’ll take advantage of all the girls getting settled in and head out. Just when you think the kid has received a package in the mail from everyone we know, he got another one this week from the Rannikko’s in Duluth. I had Paula and Art’s youngest daughter, Maija as one of my kindergarten students the first year I taught in Duluth. She’s now a senior in high school. Is that even POSSIBLE?? I still know those kids as 6-year-olds and can’t imagine them graduating! My, time does fly. Posted by Tasha

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 It's another dreary day here in the UP...guess that means fall is just around the corner. Yep, back to school season is definately here! Nate and I are on the couch typing "together". He basically runs his fingers across the shiny mouse pad and messes things up. Then he grunts because he begs to watch Beyonce's "Single Ladies" video on you tube. Yep, he's hip I tell ya! I have no idea how he became such a big fan, but as soon as that song comes on, his face lights up and his feet get kicking. It's down right weird. (Now you are all going to watch it too aren't you ?!) Anyway, back to work...Mallory removed the dew claws from Tulli's puppies today. All six pups are doing great and are very chubby. She only had two pups for her last litter, Bolt and Enzo, and they were obese! So, we'll see how this crew turns out. I took Nate into the pen to pet the puppies but he was more interested in standing in the dog house and stomping his feet. Tulli wasn't fased at all, just kept nursing and looking at the little weirdo doing his Single Ladies dance. Ed is in Maine this week to finalize our plans to give rides at Sunday River Resort near Bethel, Maine. Yes, Nature's Kennel is becoming a national chain. Sunday River is a Boyne family owned resort so we are expanding within the Boyne family to offer more for guests on the East coast. Krister will be headin up the Maine crew, so he and Ed were hiking around trails today and meeting with the head of operations. Well I'm off to watch Beyonce. A child changes your life is ways that you'd certainly NEVER imagine! Posted by Tasha

Friday, September 3rd, 2010 It’s been eight years since I left my classroom teaching job in Duluth. However, the end-of-summer, back-to-school feelings still persist. It must have something to do with an engrained cycle of summer vacation and school events that begin at age five, and continue for at least thirteen years, and maybe more if one is in the education field or the parent of school-aged children, or the owner of a sled dog kennel. Back to school at the kennel may not be exactly what teachers and students experience, but there is certainly a change of pace. The kennel is a busy place at 6 am these days, with multiple teams being run. I’m sure there are many house-holds across America that were very quiet at 6 am this summer; but no more as alarms go off, kids start rustling around, and breakfast gets served. The dogs sense the change too, not only in the cool morning temperatures, but also in our energy of that back to school excitement. It’s hard to pin point the emotions of a first grader on his or her first day of school, and the emotions are the same in the kennel these days. The young pups are watching intently as the adults get hooked up just as the first graders watch and learn from the fifth graders as they board the school bus. There is definitely some re-training that takes place after summer “vacation”, both academically and socially. I’m sure many middle school students are struggling to fit into their new pack, just as a few of our young dogs are. It’s exciting and stressful all at the same time. And not only are the kids anticipating a new and exciting year, so are the teachers. There’s new staff, new students, new schedules, new courses. We have three new staff members arriving in the next month. Amy and Jessica are making their way across county this week (Amy from Saskatchewan, Canada and Jessica from Northern California) and Kristen will be driving from Alaska once she is finished with her summer job in Denali. Our canine “students” who spent the summer running tours in Alaska will be home at the end of the month, we have many more young and inexperienced “students” who will be in harness soon, and we have new “students” who were just born yesterday (I think the kindergarten and pre-school classes will be full this year!). And, we are all looking forward to a new year of tours, rides and adventures. So yes, the season has begun; we are all headed back to school. Posted by Tasha

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 I know it is urban legend that Eskimo's have a hundred words for snow but it is a fact that there are over a hundred words for drywall. Some of these words were even exclaimed by Tasha as she returned to the store to buy two more sheets after turning a corner too fast and damaging the sheets she had just purchased and loaded into the truck. She did make it home safely with the next load and it is now hanging on the wall with mud in its joints. One coat down, a few more $%^& coats to go. The Pretting Up Kennel (House) Experience, also know as P.U.K.E. is proceeding nicely. About half of the trim is refinished and nailed up. As mentioned above, the drywall is hanging and mudding has begun. Today's project is to build new towel bars for the bathroom, take down the old, patch, paint, and put everything back together. I am far enough along in the project now to start seeing some of the fruits of the labor. When finished, it is going to look very nice for our guests this winter! Posted by Ed

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