Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs Podcast, the show for dog lovers who
see dogs not as toys or tools, but wise souls worth our respect and care.
I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.
I talk to poor some humans, people who do great work for dogs and their people.
So come and join us for today's conversation.
Anke: Hello, and welcome, TC.
I'm so excited to hear you.
That's
TC: no joke.
I I'm actually very, very excited to be here.
Like I said, I've never done anything like this before, so I'm excited to
share Some of my life with dogs with you.
Anke: Love it.
Love it.
So yeah.
Well, let's just dive straight in.
Where in the lovely world are you, And, uh, what does your
life with dogs look like?
TC: I am currently, um, outside of a tiny little town called Willow In
Alaska, which is about an hour and a half north of Anchorage, um, kind of
between Anchorage and Denali National Park, if people are familiar with
With, uh, the state at all, and it is a balmy 12 degrees Fahrenheit today,
which is much warmer than it's been.
The last Couple weeks, we've been down in the minus 30 to minus 40 range.
Um, so it's nice and lovely and perfect perfect weather for dog sledding.
Dog sledding.
It's
Anke: like I mean, I always like, when I hear it, I think of movies.
Right?
So, you know, I'm
TC: curious.
Anke: Well, how did you get started?
And and, you know, and then How does it like, what do you do?
Like, you're you know, obviously, I know, like, you're not racing or, like,
there's no sort of Nothing competitive and and and kind of pushy behind it.
Right?
So so where do you go with the dogs?
TC: Yeah.
Well And what's the So I I kind of started this adventure.
Um, I've had dogs my whole life.
And, um, you know, we grew up as kids with Labradors and, you
know, the the classic family dog.
And I've always been quite curious about sled dogs and the working dog breeds
and and, you know, Traveling through the woods with your best friends just
always has kind of appealed to me, but, um, I was always a little cautioned and
and put off by The possibility that it might not be a a good thing for the dogs.
And so as I as I grew and matured, um, And finished my master's degree in college.
My mom, my sainted mom, who puts up with so much from all of us, Asked what
what what I wanted to do to celebrate that, and I told her, you know, I
really, really wanna go on a dog sled trip, but not Not the tourist kind
of trip where you're pampered and and you just go out for a couple hours.
Like, I really wanted to delve into this and see How the dogs worked and talked
to the people who train them and actually take a trip from 1 point to another
point To see to see how what it looks like and how how it feels day after day.
So we went up to the Wind Rivers of Wyoming and took a week long trip, um,
Um, where we went through the mountains of Wyoming in January, you know, in the cold.
And I remember 1 night, mom, You know, was sleeping next to me curled up in
in you know, they they put straw down to insulate you between the snow.
And she rolled over and her whole eyelids were you know, her eyelashes
were Frosted over, and she said, you could have asked for a cruise.
You know?
But by the end of it By the end of that week, um, both of us were completely
enamored with with everything about these dogs and the absolute Joy that
they had to be working in harness and traveling through the backcountry,
and it's So quiet and so peaceful.
It's not like the movies where the dogs are barking constantly.
Like, they just move so quietly, and it it's almost like you're Part of a
of a pack moving through the woods, you know, and you it's just such an old
way to travel and And such a such an interesting way to to bond with the the
dogs that are moving you through this wilderness that that it just it just
grew Into a lifestyle, essentially.
So here I am.
So now you
Anke: spent the winter in Alaska.
Right?
And So where do you go with
TC: the dogs?
Yeah.
Well, first of all, like, no sane person would choose to spend a winter in Alaska.
It's it's Pretty hard.
So, um, you know, between the cold and the snow and the isolation and the
dark, It it can be pretty rough for a lot of people, but the dogs, you know,
having sled dogs, and we had Sled dogs for a number of years in Colorado.
It kind of pushed us to explore our, You know, our own limits, the
you know, like, what what can I actually accomplish with these dogs?
And and, you know, how can I grow To help them do the thing that they love the best?
So, you know, it kind of has evolved over the years into this, I guess you
could say all consuming lifestyle, but, you know, it's just what we do.
And no.
We we're not racing.
We don't We don't have a tour operation or anything like that.
All of our dogs come to us, um, from different sources.
So we're not breeding them, um, You know, they they generally are coming
in as older dogs, you know, somewhere between 6 and 9 or older than that.
Um, Currently, the we only have 2 of our 15 dogs that
are younger than 10 years old.
And, you know, so so it's kind of an older group of dogs, which has
its own challenges and benefits.
But just like People, you know, as we age, keeping active and keeping mentally
happy is a big part of Quality of life.
And and this is what does that for this particular breed of dog.
Um, and so that that's my goal is to To get them out, to go explore, um,
to travel the way they like to travel.
Um, you know, our Our philosophy is we never make any dog we
never make any dog do it.
We walk out.
We ask them if they wanna go.
If they're excited to see their harness, we put them on them and off go.
And if we get out there, it's not fun, somebody's not having a good time,
me, 1 of them, whoever, we come back.
It's it's you know, there's no There's if it's not enjoyable, then we don't do it.
And, um, it it's kind of amazing how we've grown together as a
team over the years It's ours.
Anke: It sounds like a retirement home, like, a luxury
retirement home, so let don't
TC: start.
It is what I wish.
You know?
I hope In my old age that somebody goes, hey, TC.
Wanna go for a hike?
And, you know, if I'm, like, excited to see my hiking boots, yeah, let's go.
You know?
Getting out.
I don't wanna I don't wanna be sitting in a house.
I wanna be I wanna be doing and and exploring and learning.
Anke: And I think that would be It's probably true for any person or
any dog, but especially sled dogs.
You know, I think you don't do them any favor if you put
them in a house on a couch.
Do
TC: you?
Well, you have to honor the breed.
Right?
So if you have a dog who has been bred over generations To fetch and
retrieve, then that's what they wanna do.
They wanna play ball.
They wanna play stick.
They wanna, you know, go get something and bring it back to you.
If they're bred to herd, then that you know, that's that's their
genetic component is, you know, I wanna keep the family together.
I I wanna keep the ducks together.
I wanna keep The socks together, whatever whatever occupies their
their brain that fills that need.
And so if you have huskies, They are you know, their breed to honor their breed
is to allow them to run and harness.
You know?
They they want to go explore, and They're a very high energy dog.
They're you know, I have a 14 year old that is running 25 to 30
miles every day, and he loves it.
He's the first 1 in line to have his harness put on him
because it's it's what he loves.
And he's happy and he's healthy And his brain is active and, you know,
he's he's just a very happy dog.
So I think, you know, being able to give them what it is that They need
to be mentally happy is is important.
Anke: I love that.
I love that.
Actually, now I had a look at, um, at I took I took a class.
And, um, what surprised me a little bit as as a, you know, like, as Somebody
who kind of loves no idea, basically.
You know?
Um, they didn't all look like huskies.
So
TC: most people are familiar with the Siberian husky, which is
the AKC recognized breed of dog.
Um, and they are, you know, they're the ones that you see in 8 Below or snow dogs
and dog shows where they're They're very fluffy and off often, you know, black
and white or gray and white with a mask.
Face.
Yeah.
What we have and we we've had Siberian huskies, but what we have
right now are all Alaskan huskies, which is its own breed of dog.
It is genetically different than a lot of other breeds and that
they have adapted to their job.
Um, but they are strictly a functional dog.
Um, so they're you know, the the decisions that are made for breeding an Alaskan
husky is, Do they pull a sled well?
Can they survive the cold?
Do they eat well?
You know, can they maintain their what they need to do
before you know, to do their job?
So you start seeing dogs that, um, kind of throwback to gold rush era where, You
know, whatever dog greater than 35 pounds was basically kidnapped and brought up to
to move materials into the the gold era.
And if if they pulled well, they were bred and made more dogs to pull well.
And if they didn't pull well, then they weren't bred, and That
line of dog didn't continue on.
So you do see throwbacks to, you know, shepherds or Retrievers.
You know, you'll you'll see some of the the throwback lines, um, you know,
and then they they're bred with the The village dogs, which are coming
from, you know, as more of a indigenous background and and bred into that.
So they're They're distinct, but they're not recognized by AKC because nobody's
bothered showing 1 because they're busy.
They're working.
Anke: So are they actually, um, are they still like, I remember this
this movie I saw where they where they were used to, you know, be
the post delivery kind of thing.
And they would kind of even you know, they would transport and deliver the stuff
when no when, you know, when no other Kind of means of transport would get through.
Is that still a thing?
Like, is that still
TC: done?
In many, many places, yes.
So, um, Alaska and probably a lot of kind of the northern part of the
world, um, there's only You can only drive to about 10 percent of Alaska.
The rest the 90 percent of Alaska is not accessible by the road system.
You can't drive there.
You have to fly Or snow machine or ski or walk or use a river or take
a dogs dog team where you wanna go.
So, um, You know, there there's a big cultural significance in having sled dogs.
And, you know, we we just experienced, like I was saying, with our cold Nap
or we were down to minus 46 degrees.
Snow machines didn't start.
Cars wouldn't start.
Yeah.
Anything made of plastic would shatter and fall apart.
Bungee cords, like, lost their bungee.
And but I can go out and and, You know, hold up a harness,
and my dogs are ready to go.
So, you know, they they still they still have a purpose.
Um, and I think it was up until the 19 sixties or maybe early 19 seventies
that Mail was still being delivered in Alaska by dog team to some areas.
Um, so, yeah, there you know, a lot of people are still
hauling freight with dog teams.
Um, people are working trap lines with dog teams.
People are going from place to place by dog team.
It's, you know, it's by just a way of life.
I love it.
I
Anke: love it.
So how do you so, obviously, these dogs, they can't,
TC: you know, gin
Anke: like, they're bred to do the thing.
You know?
But there's still an element where they need to be taught something or not.
Like and how do you go about teaching these?
I mean, are they easy to teach or are they, like how do you You know,
like, you always hear about the, you know, the the the famous lead dog.
Like, how do you teach a dog to be the lead dog of a of a
TC: Obviously.
Um, you kinda tap into what's naturally there.
Um, and I you know, we because we get dogs from a lot of different places,
We work with the dog you know, every dog gets a chance to be a lead dog,
and sometimes that Works out really well, and sometimes it's a disaster.
But, you know, we What does it mean?
Anke: Does it mean, like, the the the the sled flips over because the lead dog
pulls in the wrong direction or what?
Oh, no.
No.
When they're going We have when it goes well or doesn't.
TC: We have 1 little 1 little dog.
His name is Buttons, which He came to us with that name, and he he likes it.
That's fine.
He is a wonderful dog.
Beautiful dog.
So happy.
Everything makes him happy.
And he is 1 who is just not born to be a lead dog.
So if I put him in lead, He turns around because he's so very, very proud
of himself to look at me and bark at me about how happy he is that he's in
lead, but he's not actually leading.
That's what I mean by, yeah.
No.
That didn't work out so well.
We'll try it again in a little while and see if see if he
he can focus a little bit.
But they're just like, You know, a a classroom full of kids where
some kids are better at 1 thing.
You know, this kid is better at math.
This kid is better at science.
This kid is better at athletics.
And you just, you know, you tap into that and figure it out.
Um, and we work we work a lot 1 on 1 with them, Um, especially
during the summertime, that's a great time to give them that mental
stimulation because they're not running in harness during the summer.
So if you're keeping their brain active, then they're still Learning and, you
know, having their their world enriched.
So that that's when we do a lot of training them that means left and g
means right and, you know, don't bite the ropes and don't don't be my friend
and, oh, you know, important important things for dogs to know, You know, that
the neighbor dog walking back and forth isn't really a reason to be barking your
head off at, you know, whatever time.
But maybe the bear coming in.
That's okay.
So it it's, you know, it's always a work in progress.
It's nothing's perfect, but, um, it's it's a fantastic Adventure for all of us
to to teach a dog to to do something new.
Anke: I love it.
And I mean, I don't know.
At least in my experience, it's like, it doesn't matter how old they are.
Like, don't really like, this thing, you can't teach it all, don't new tricks.
I think
TC: that's rubbish.
I'm No.
You know?
No.
And, Morgan, the the 14 year old that I was telling you about, um, he he has
run-in wheel pretty much his whole Racing career before we got him, which wheel
is the position right in front of the sled, and it's an important position
because that is the dog that's doing the bulk of the steering of the sled
With with you, the human, on the back.
So they're the you know, usually, the the dogs that that are in charge
of of A heavier amount of that load and really negotiating a turn because
if you if you cut the turn short, then you hit the tree or whatever.
You know?
Um, so for years and years and years, that was that was his position that he ran.
And, randomly, I put him up in lead At the ripe old age of 12 or
something, and he, you know, he'd been listening to me talk all that time.
And so he knew what it was when I said, that that meant to go this way.
And when I say gee, it meant means to go this way.
So he he's processing all that.
They're very clever.
Wow.
That's fascinating.
Anke: Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, I guess he would I mean, you know, he's close to you.
He would have heard you all the time
TC: anyway.
Right?
Yeah.
And, you know, you you work to establish a a kennel culture.
So So you have a system of, you know, this is how we behave.
This is what we do.
These are our customs.
These are our traditions.
You know, this is how we work together.
These are the expectations, that kind of thing.
So, you know, we actually have a little kennel culture, which is different from
other people's Cultures in their kennels.
And and so when they come in, they kind of they kinda learn
the rhythm of life with you.
Right?
And so they they figure it all out.
They are clever, aren't they?
They are very clever.
Anke: So you were saying, like, in in summer, like, They don't like, they
can do they can do cold, but they can't
TC: do heat.
Yeah.
They they're like I said, they're genetically developed
For this work in cold conditions.
And so, generally speaking, if we get to around 50 f, um, 50 degrees Fahrenheit,
They they are very prone to overheating, um, and so we don't ask them to do any
sort you know, they they self regulate.
They have a big yard That they can run around and play and and they they play
during the the cooler parts of the day, in the morning and in the evenings.
But during the heat of the day, uh, you know, I don't ask them, You
know, they get to lay in the shade.
Um, you know, they have water troughs that they can swim in and and,
you know, Lots of trees that they can kinda just get out of the sun.
They they dig these big dens and go underground where it's cool.
So if if you if you don't want to have big holes dug in
your yard, don't have a husky.
That is
Anke: fascinating.
Actually, reminds me, like, a friend of mine.
She's got a She's got this dog and, like, you know, sort of a big breed.
Who knows what?
But the eyes are very much husky, like, and the fur and
stuff, and she loves digging.
She will always dig a little, like, under bush or something.
Next thing you know, like, she's done with something other.
TC: I mean, it's it's a natural behavior of dogs to dig.
So, you know, they they're just being dogs.
They're not they're not being naughty.
They're just they're just digging a hole like you do.
And that's
Anke: the thing.
And she doesn't I mean, with her, you specifically you kinda you
can see clearly that it's not, like, a nervous Kind of whatever.
It's like, no.
No.
She digs the hole and then she lives into that.
Like, she literally does it for herself.
TC: Like, it's not much Yeah.
It's like it's nice Is it cool as well?
Anke: Like, no.
No.
She kind of, like, I wanna be cool cool in here, and, yeah,
that's exactly what she does.
That's fine.
TC: Yep.
Yep.
Like I said, they're they're not stupid.
No.
Anke: No.
Not at all.
I think I think we often, Yeah.
I think we underestimate what they you know, how much they pick up and how
much they actually process and learn and
TC: yeah.
Well, and they're they're so much better.
Dogs are so much better at speaking human, at communicating with humans
than humans are communicating with dogs.
And it it just blows my mind at how how good they how well they train us.
You know?
Like, it's 6 o'clock.
Where is my dinner?
You know?
They don't have to say that in English words.
They they're telling you, like, hey, person with the thumbs,
please put some kibble in my bowl.
That would be great.
Thank you.
I I I don't like, I sometimes
Anke: wonder, like, how on earth because, like, yeah.
I mean, my dogs know
TC: exactly when it's, Like,
Anke: how do they know?
You know?
How do they know when it's their time?
You know?
TC: It's trying to so well.
Yeah.
It is.
I you know, they do.
They sit and observe us, And, you know, they they watch.
They know.
Like, if I go out this door with with the jacket that I that I wear when I'm taking
them for a sled ride, They know that that jacket means we're going for a sled ride.
You know?
And and if I walk out in my chore coat, they know, oh, well, she's just coming out
here to feed us or scoop the yard or play with us or whatever, but but it doesn't
mean it doesn't mean we're going for it.
Right?
Anke: Yeah.
So where can people go and, um, you know, connect with you and
find out more about what you're
TC: doing?
Uh, Yeah.
I've got, uh, we have a blog that that has been going For, I guess, 13 years
now, um, kind of kind of talking about our life and and, you know, back and
forth between Colorado and Alaska Good.
And how we manage it and kinda get you familiar with the dogs and and
what we do and some of the some of the challenges that we face over the years.
Um, and I think you'll you'll link to it, but we we are the Oda Roloc sled dogs,
um, which is Colorado spelled backwards.
See, I've got my Colorado backwards.
Anke: That's funny.
Obviously, I'm gonna put the link, you know, if you watch it, and the
newsletter's gonna be below here.
If you listen on the podcast,
TC: Yeah.
Yeah.
And you can also you can you can also find us off of Facebook.
Um, we do have a Facebook page that kind of I try to update with with a
lot more day day to day type things.
So, um, yeah, I I would love to love to hear from people and answer questions
that Folks might have and, um, you know, really, really, uh, drive home
that the you know, these dogs are very, very happy with what they do.
I I can't even imagine What job I would have that every day when I saw
my harness, I would be like, yeah.
We're going again.
Anke: Bring it on.
I don't know what that job is.
Oh, I don't know.
I think it's like to me, it sounds like you've got the best job in the world.
TC: Well, this This is this is a lot.
It's a lifestyle.
I don't I don't make any money off of them, you know, but and
and I kind of want it that way.
Like, you know, they're They're my family.
I you know, they're they're my joy.
They're my happy place.
And people sometimes ask, well, you know, do you consider Alaska home
or Colorado home, and I always tell them, home is where my dogs are.
You know?
Where wherever they are, I'm home.
If we're out on a sled up the river somewhere, that's my home,
you know, where my dogs are.
Anke: Love it.
Love it.
Well, thank you so much.
Uh, that was an absolute delight.
And, uh, you know, I'm definitely gonna follow your Facebook Paige.
And I hope to have you back at some point.
Absolutely.
With your attention.
Yeah.
Very happy to chat with folks, and, um, thank you so much, Anka.
Awesome.
Thank
you.
Thanks so much for listening.
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That's A N k E at Soul touched by dogs.com.