IditaProject Forum

Hi Karin..thank you for being in our forum. I just have one question, about dog handlers in general. I have had some interviews in the past when I was wanting to do that, to experience being around a racing kennel but it didn't work out. I learned a lot from those interviews too.

Why are the positions temporary?

Seems the musher/owner would like the idea of a long term person instead of temporary, having to train again people.
Does the musher think a long term person would get complacent? Or is there a lot of burnout? I have huskies, so I am aware of the chores required, not just feeding and watering, but attention given and medical awareness.

If Karin is not still answering the forum, perhaps some others could answer my question.

Either way, thanks, and good luck Karin and team.

so whats your moto, or your manta you run your dogs by? where did it come from and why
I don't think I had a mantra before this year. This year I really needed to get some mental and emotional focus, and I spent a lot of time working to get my head in a good place. One thing I did was work on developing a moto or power phrase to fall back on when things got tough. Someone asked me to tell them how I knew I would finish Iditarod, and I explained that I knew what I was doing, I was tough, and I could handle whatever came my way. "I can handle this" became my focus phrase - not just for Iditarod, but sort of anytime I start to get frazzled. Because the truth is, I CAN handle it.

have you everr tried any other forms of sled dog sport? sprint, skiijor, etc?
Before I came to Alaska I taught my two pet dogs to pull me on a kid's scooter. Those dogs had advanced level obedience, agility, search and rescue, and tons of training. They picked it up really fasts, and learned gee and haw in just a few trips. And once they got running together they wouldn't listen to 'whoa' any better than a sled dog!
I also tried skijoring once or twice. One dog was too slow. Two dogs was better, but still too slow. Three dogs was an improvement....I kept adding dogs. Pretty soon I decided I would be better off if I had some way to make things more stable. Maybe a handlebar of some sort?

the all time funnest story you've either had or heard along the trail
Almost everything Karen Ramstead writes is funny. I really love this story from 2008 (the pants part, not the finger part!) http://www.northwapiti.com/Iditarod2K8/040508rocksinplaces.html

Can you tell the story of how you got your kennel name?

My kennel is called Blue on Black Kennels. It is named after a song by blues guitar player Kenny Wayne Shepherd. I confess, I turn into a screaming idiot whenever I see him in concert. Here's the story of how his music impacted my life and ultimately caused me to end up where I am... http://blueonblackdogs.com/kws.htm

about dog handlers ...Why are the positions temporary?
For most kennels there is not much to do during summer, so it is usually a seasonal job. Most people who are mobile and able to do a winter as a handler are in some sort of transition, so often they aren't available the next winter. Or they want to move on and learn from a different musher. I would LOVE to have a handler return. My handler this year is working towards running her own team in Iditarod next year (which I just don't have enough dogs to help her with). If things fall through for her then she will come back for another year here, she says. I am rooting for her Iditarod plans to come together. Really I am!

I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question, you are the first musher to give me a reply to that, I have asked several in the past, none ever said they wanted a full time handler.


Most kennels also frown on handlers bringing their dogs, for many reasons that I understand, one musher I applied with, would have let me brought my huskies, which I greatly appreciated that offering. I wasn't interested in running them, just would have missed them terribly if they had been left at home!

Karin I read through your list of handler requirements. Could do most of them, and learn to back a trailer and re-learn how to drive in snow. Why couldn't I have found out about dog sledding about 30-40 years ago?!!!!! I would have loved it. Hope you get more good handlers in your life and not to wish this year's handler bad luck, but if running the Iditarod next year doesn't work out for her, hope she returns to you. Always nice to have people you can depend on and not have to train from scratch.

Loving your answers, intense Karin is giving intense answers

Thank you, Karin, for sharing your precious time and awesome adventures here on the forum. You've done a fantastic job, providing a wonderful sense of who you are, what you do, and why you do it. If someone were to grade your answers--of course, no one is--you've earned an A+++! We're cutting you loose to get back to your dogs and your life. Keep in mind, though, that when you're out on a trail somewhere under a starry night sky and you swear you're not alone, it won't be the dogs you sense, nor the wolves hiding among the trees, nor the moose standing just off the trail. That presence you feel won't be spirits or ghosts or even God. It will be the 'buds, following along, wishing you and the team success, willing you to your destination. Happy trails, Karin!

Thanks everyone. It was fun. You all had some great questions!

Although I am too shy or uninformed to ask any good questions, I enjoyed this Ask-the-Musher chapter more than most others I have followed. Karin, you are so good at expounding on the questions, including details and thought processes and letting us feel and experience the thrills and spills of the Race and the life surrounding it - in a way the modern gadgets will never be capable of. Thank you for this experience - you are a true storyteller - an ancient, beautiful skill.

I totally, wholeheartedly, agree.