Help replacing stolen donations for animal rescue

Our friend Gina runs Animal Crackers Pet Rescue in Laguna Beach CA. She pours her heart and soul, not to mention time and money, into giving dogs, cats, birds and many more animals a second or third chance at finding a great home. Our latest addition "Buddy" also came from Gina. This morning, someone stole the donation box for the rescue animals off her store counter! Please help trying to replace those donations and keep Gina's rescue efforts ongoing. Thank you very, very much!!!

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OC Pet Expo & Dana Point Wag-A-Thon

'tis that time of year again for dog folks in southern California.

Orange County Pet Expo is coming up Friday April 20th - Sunday April 22nd in Costa Mesa CA.

Our friends at Alpine Outfitters will have a booth at the event and will have harnesses, lines, collars etc available for sale. Here's your chance to meet the folks behind the operation and get your mushing gear straight from the source.

Their booth # is 1480 (building 14) and they will be close to the Alaskan Malamute booth.

Another booth to check out is Canvas Pet, supplier of organic and environmentally conscious pet products. Their booth # is 734 in the "breezeway" between building 14 and 16.

Also at the pet expo, our friends at Husky Camp Siberian Husky Rescue, booth 119 outdoors.

Please say hello while you're there.

One week later, it's the 19th annual Dana Point Wag-A-Thon, presented the Pet Project Foundation benefiting the Dana Point/ San Clemente Animal Shelter.

The good folks at Three Dog Bakery San Clemente will provide treat bags for your furry friend(s). That alone should be enough motivation to make the trip out that way :-)

1 y.o. Siberian Husky available, Southern California

UPDATE: it looks like "Buddy" did find a home, but if you contact Animal Crackers (see below) or any of the other rescue organizations on the right hand side of this blog, there are always more Huskies in need of forever homes.

This handsome boy is "Buddy", a one-year-old, neutered, black & white Siberian Husky. Buddy is a very, very good natured and gentle boy, but just like all Huskies, needs a lot of exercise to keep him happy. He's a strong and energetic dog and requires long walks, hikes and runs. He ran for the first time in harness last weekend and took right to it.

His new forever home should be with experienced Husky owners where he won't be home alone for long periods of time.

For more information, please contact Gina at Animal Crackers Pet Rescue in Laguna Beach CA at acpetrescue@gmail.com

Siberian Husky available for adoption in So CA

8 months old female Siberian Husky available to a good home that knows about and can take care of Huskies. Her name is Nova, she's red/white with blue eyes. She is in excellent health and has no "issues". Her current owners need to find a new home for her because of allergies.

For more information please call Gina at Animal Crackers in Laguna Beach at (949) 499-1988

OC Pet Expo and Dana Point Wag-A-Thon

The 21st annual Pet Expo at Orange County Fairgrounds is behind us, and as always, it was a great success with a huge turnout.
Our local "Urban Mushing" group had its own booth, thanks to our good friends from the Southern California Alaskan Malamute Club. Tom & Tina Dunn came through just like every year and allowed us to do our mushing demonstrations with carts, scooters and bikes, while they informed the unsuspecting public of weight pull and backpacking activities.
KTLA Channel 5 in Los Angeles did a live broadcast to get things started on Friday and invited us to be part of it. The first half of the video is obviously not a dog sledding demo :-)



(yes, that's yours truly driving the cart :-))


Coming up this Saturday, April 24th, it's Pet Project Foundation's annual Wag-A-Thon at Dana Point Harbor, benefiting the San Clemente-Dana Point Animal Shelter.
Our Urban Mushing group has been invited to also do dog sledding demos that day.


For more information about this event, please visit Pet Project Foundation's website.

What did we learn...?

Our local "Urban Mushing" group got together for its weekend fun runs at Fairview Park, a week after our annual mushing clinic.
So today it was time to put all newly acquired techniques to work and take the dogs out on the trails. Several scooter, bike and cart teams were out and about, running 1 to 8 dogs.
Weather conditions were excellent: overcast skies and cool temperatures allowed for long runs.
At the end of the day, the dogs were tired and happy (and so were the drivers) but everyone realized, that there's still a lot to learn for us and our dogs.

If you like what you see and would like to learn more about our group, we're going to be at the OC Pet Expo in Costa Mesa April 16th -18th and at the Wag-A-Thon in Dana Point on April 24th.

Southern California Urban Mushing

Cooler weather in recent days was a nice motivator to get us and the dogs out on the trails for some decent runs at local parks. On Sunday, we met with 7 other scooter teams for a 6-mile run at Aliso Creek Trail in south Orange County. It had been awhile since I ran my three puppies by themselves and it was good to see them working well together. If only our clownboy Silver would rise up to his potential and carry his weight for the entire run.

For updates on our runs, please see the calendar or the Yahoo! Group at www.urbanmushing.com

New date for 4th annual (not so) Great Serum Run

After getting feedback from the registered participants and reviewing the viable options, we have rescheduled the 4th Annual (not so) Great Serum Run to Saturday, January 9, 2010.

This is the soonest date that will work out for most participants. If you've already registered and cannot make that date, we will refund your entry fee (contact our group through info@urbanmushing.com). Of course, this also gives a chance for new dog teams to register for the races!

We'll send out a reminder again in a couple of weeks but everything else remains the same - venue, race classes, barbecue potluck, raffle and t-shirts. Oh yeah, we will once again be raffling off a grand prize --- a brand new Diggler Dirt Dawg courtesy of Diggler Scooters!!!

4th annual (not so) Great Serum Run Postponed!

Our 4th Annual (not so) Great Serum, originally slated for this Saturday, December 12th, at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa, has been postponed.

Everything is all set --- medals, t-shirts, racing bibs, sponsors, raffle items, barbecue potluck, etc. And on top of that, we are experiencing unusually cold temperatures for this area and it would have been a wonderful and fun opportunity to run the dogs.

The City of Costa Mesa, to which we had to get permission and pay special events and usage fees to, contacted our group an hour ago and has revoked the permit for this weekend. They have determined that due to the soaking the park has received from the heavy rains this past Monday, coupled with the forecast for additional wet weather starting tomorrow (though possibly only showers/light rain), that the trails will be subject to a lot damage IF a large number of scooters and bikes were allowed on it. (FYI, they recently set up new trail systems and are continuing to do so together with a general beautification of the park).

And believe me, this is VERY disappointing as we've made all these preparations and spent all this money to get this set up but there is nothing we can do. It's not being postponed due to the weather but rather the effect past weather has had on the trails.

What are our options? I think there are only two of them at the moment: 1) move the date to Sunday, December 20th (the park is already reserved by the Boy Scouts for December 19), or 2) move the date to sometime in January, probably the January 10th. We have between 60 - 70 entries signed up so far and all will be contacted individually to get their suggestions for a new date.

The 4th Annual (not so) Great Serum Run, Dec 12th 2009

It is time to go racing!
Our local southern California mushing group is hosting its 4th annual (not so) Great Serum Run on December 12th at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa CA.

Races will be held in a fun and friendly atmosphere in the following classes:

1-Dog / 1-Mile Junior Scooter Race
1-Dog / 1-Mile Scooter Race
2-Dog / 2-Mile Scooter Race
3-Dog / 3-Mile Scooter Race
1-Dog / 2-Mile Bikejoring Race
1-Dog / 3-Km Canicross Race

For more information, registration forms and rules, please see UrbanMushing.com
Registration deadline is December 5th!

After the races, we will have a potluck bbq, raffle and carting demonstrations with 4- 6- and 8-dog teams.

We will have some of our Arctis Carts available for test runs as well.

Fairview Park is located in the city of Costa Mesa on Placentia Ave, between Adams Ave & Victoria St. within minutes of I-405, Hwy 55 and Pacific Coast Hwy

For driving directions, see map here

Just announced: the 4th annual (not so) Great Serum Run

It's once again time to make preparations for our 4th Annual (not so) Great Serum Run (NSGSR - 2009)! This year, we will hold the races on December 12 (Saturday) at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa CA.

For those new to the southern California "Urban Mushing" scene, the NSGSR is our once-a-year scooter race event that is really more of a chance for most of us to get together to run our dogs in a fun, recreational, yet competitive race environment. We have the 1-mile/1-dog, 2-mile/2-dog, 3-mile/3-dog scooter races, a bikejoring class, as well as a 3-Km canicross race and a junior division. The whole point is to get motivated to run our dogs, engage in friendly competition, feel the thrill and excitement as you and your dogs anxiously await your turn to take off at the starting line (and believe me, the dogs can feel it too), and just have a day of fun on the run with your four-footed furballs!

It's a great way to promote the sport and while we mostly focus on the joy and camaraderie of participation, we do award medals for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place PLUS the coveted Red Flashlight Award (patterned after the Red Lantern Award, which is awarded to the last place finisher in the Iditarod).

More info and details will be posted over the next few weeks.

First fall dates scheduled!

While we're still dealing with quite a summer heat wave, we're looking forward to fall, cooler temperatures and being able to run the dogs again.
This is the time of year when we're making the first plans for our fall events, local and far away (road trips!).

So, here we go. The first scheduled events are:

Sunday, September 6th - Barbecue Potluck Picnic - Laguna Niguel CA

I know this is short notice but we just decided to host a barbecue potluck
picnic on September 6th (Sunday) at Laguna Niguel Regional Park.

We reserved Shelter #12 for the day, which comes equipped with 4 grills, picnic
tables, and even electrical outlets. It's also a little bit more secluded,
which is a good thing when you have a bunch of high energy dogs show up:

http://tinyurl.com/npn25t

This would be a great time to get together, specially with the long Labor Day
Weekend. It would be a chance for us to chat about plans for the coming season
and have a picnic with the dogs. Depending on how the weather shapes up, some
of us may even get there early in the morning and go for a quick scooter run.

So please join us if you can and celebrate the end of summer! The potluck
barbecue is set for noon (but we will be there starting early in the morning) so
all you need to bring is your potluck item and $5 per person to cover the
shelter reservation and use fees. (FYI, there is also a $5 parking fee per
vehicle.) Send an email to info@urbanmushing.com if you are coming and what
potluck item you will be bringing.

The address to Laguna Niguel Regional Park is

28241 La Paz Road
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Map

Here is a link to the park layout. (.pdf file)

Hope to see you there!


October 24th & 25th - Training Workshop with Karen Yeargain - Big Bear CA

We'll be holding a weekend training workshop with Karen on October 24-25 in the
Big Bear area.

Karen has been training and racing Siberian Huskies for many years. Check out
her website www.tumnatkisiberians.com for more info on her and her wonderful
dogs.

We'll be working with individual dogs and teams and will cover command and pull
training, training your dog to work in a team, passing, good behavior in harness
and other areas. Discussion will cover equipment, harnesses and lines, and
other topics as requested by participants.

The workshop format is flexible enough to accommodate all levels, so beginners
as well as more experienced mushers are welcome.

The cost is $175 per person with $25 for extra family members. Bring as many
dogs as you are comfortable handling.

You can get more info and a registration form here (.pdf file)

Let me know if you have any questions. Those who attended last year's
workshop got a lot out of it and I'm definitely looking forward to this year's
training.


November 7th & 8th - Mushing Weekend - La Pine OR

Once again, Karen Yeargain is organizing a “fun-for-all” mushing weekend at La Pine State Park, in La Pine, Oregon.

This year’s event will be the first weekend of November, which falls on the 7th & 8^th. Some of us will arrive the afternoon of Friday the 6th, to get settled in. We will be hoping for damp trails and cool temps, but no snow. This event is a dirt run, so plan on carts, quads, bikes and scooters. Runs will be arranged to provide a variety of training opportunities, including passing (from behind and head on), team weaving, directional command training, hills, etc. There is quite a variety of nice dirt trails to choose from. The event is open to anyone regardless of mushing style and experience (or lack thereof); bikejoring and scootering teams are welcome. Trails are suitable for all functions unless we get a surprise dump of snow that makes them dangerous for bikes or scooters.

Organized runs will be on Saturday and Sunday mornings; meet for breakfast at the conference lodge at 6:30 am or at the meadow about 7:15. The meadow (staging area) is about 1/8 mile before you get to the South Loop of the Park, on your right. The event has the use of the meeting hall on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (until 1 pm on Monday). It has a refrigerator/freezer, microwave, sink with hot/cold running water, tables and a heater. We will have a potluck meal on Saturday and Sunday afternoons at about 1 pm; other meals will be informal potluck at the participants’ discretion…. We never lack for enough good food!

I will be planning a couple of presentations on Saturday and possibly on Sunday. Topics still to be determined. These will be right after the potluck, so bring a dish, join the meal and talk dogs!

Campsites at La Pine State Park are suitable for tents or R.V.’s; all have electrical hookups and water. Bathrooms with shower facilities (included in camping fee) are in our immediate area; bring your own towels and toiletries.

There are five “rustic” cabins (two double futons, a table, electricity and heat) and five “deluxe” cabins (two double futons in separate rooms, toilet/shower, heat, running water, microwave, fridge, barbecue). Rustic cabin #1 and Deluxe cabin #44 have been designated “pet friendly” this year as a pilot, meaning that up to 2 dogs are allowed in these two cabins; whether that continues and/or expands depends on how well guests manage their inside dogs. There are no dogs allowed in the other cabins, same as in the past.

Each person needs to make their own site arrangements. To make reservations for a campsite or cabin, go online to www.reserveamerica.com or call Reservations Northwest at (800) 452-5687, specify La Pine State Park, South Loop. Also, state that you are with the SLED DOG GROUP/MUSHING WEEKEND so that they can note that on your reservations. That way the reservations folks can advise non-mushing campers as they make reservations and give them the option to be close to the activities or further away, as they prefer.

Please let Karen know if you are planning to attend so that she may organize the event well and is able to provide updates as we get closer to November.

Questions, please e-mail Karen directly at tumnatki@earthlink.net.

Please cross-post and pass along to anyone who would be interested.

That's a lotta dogs!

...and that's an often repeated comment we get, when taking the dogs for a hike or run in suburban southern California. Weekday mornings, we take anywhere from 3 to 6 dogs out for an 8-10 mile hike on the local trails, including some of our friends at Three Dog Bakery.
Weekends, we usually run the trails at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa with 8 and 6-dog cart teams, as well as several scooter teams. For most park goers, it's just not a common occurrence to see a pack of 20+ Huskies coming around the corner.




For videos of our recent adventures, please click here.

Super Sweet Siberian Sisters

aka the Good Girls, Gaia & Gidget


Taking a water break on our walk to the beach this morning. We invited another Husky from our friends at Three Dog Bakery to come along on our 9 mile hike to the Ritz Cove. Fortunately, it wasn't quite as warm and humid as it was the past few days, so everyone had a good time. We even got a round of applause from the Laguna Niguel Little League kids when we walked by their baseball field, and our clownboy Silver was told-off by a rattler hiding in the bushes, so he quickly hid behind his friend Coal for protection :-)

Overcast skies...finally!

Yeah! The skies were overcast long enough to go out for a good 9 mile hike to the beach and back. "Team Arctis" was hooked up, along with two of their friends from Three Dog Bakery in San Clemente. Another good way to train basic commands while dealing with plenty of distractions, like rabbits, squirrels and other dogs. At the halfway mark, we took a water break at beautiful Ritz Cove.

Video of our recent training runs

Here's the video to go along with the pictures below of our recent training runs at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa. During the warmer months, we just take the dogs out on early morning runs to practice trail behavior with other teams, basic "on-by's" and "gee over's".



...and just a reminder: our dogs are well hydrated before we go out on a run. We make sure, that the runs are kept short and slow, and that the dogs get plenty of rest in the shade in between.

There's always work to do!

Even though we're currently going through a rather warm period here in southern California, we still manage to squeeze in a little bit of groundwork exercises in the early morning hours. Fortunately, we have quite a few folks that come out every weekend to work on commands, discipline, and trail behavior, plus we constantly mix and match our dogs, so we're able to put together larger teams of 6 and 8 dogs, instead of the more common 2-dog scooter teams.
For more information about our local group, please visit UrbanMushing.com

Click here and here for a few pictures of the last three weekends at Fairview Park.

Summer's Here!

Yes, summer has finally arrived in southern California. For the past week, we've been laying low, taking it easy on our walks, and just kinda hang out on cool tile floors, close to the fan with plenty of water. Unfortunately, that only worked for the canine members of our family, not the human ones; those had to keep building carts. A bit ironic to build sled dog equipment in the summer heat, don't you think?





Anyway, today was the day we went out to Fairview Park and met up with a few members of our Urban Mushing group to take the dogs out on an easy run in the early morning.
We hooked up an 8-dog team to one of the Arctis carts, and took them to the rest area, where we kept switching teams for short runs so we could work on commands and improve team work.
An impromptu mushing clinic, if you will.

More pictures are here.


Note: please keep in mind, that our dogs are well hydrated before we run. The "runs" are about 3/4 mile at a time at a slow pace with plenty of rest in the shade after each run.

4th of July Fun Runs

Unfortunately, our beloved marine layer did not stick around for very long in the morning, so we had to run the dogs early, slow and short distance, but we still managed to have a good time on the trails at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa, as well as Laguna Niguel Regional Park. Sunday's run might have had more excitement than some had hoped for; there's just nothing like two loose Huskies running down the trail at breakneck speed, just to be found relaxing on a cool patch of wet grass a little while later. All's well that ends well.

California Glooming...

Our "June Gloom" weather pattern still keeps us somewhat cool to squeeze in a run or two in coastal Orange County, so on Saturday, we went out to Fairview Park in Costa Mesa to join a good sized group on the trails. Unfortunately, our little boy Silver suffered a cut to his leg while flying through the infamous "Bamboo Trail" alongside his friend (and idol) Coal. While it ended up looking worse than it actually was, we decided to leave Silver home on Sunday and just take "the girls" for a walk on the local trails, and wouldn't you know it, we ran into a small group of fellow"urban mushers"...what a coincidence!
The photographic evidence is posted here and a short video here.