Husky News

If you want to teach kids about teamwork, go to the experts: Sled dogs. The students at Hardy Elementary got a first hand lesson on teamwork when they were visited by Tasha Stielstra and two of her dogs Tasha Canine and Momo last Wednesday.

Stielstra and her husband, Ed, own Nature’s Kennel in McMillan, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. On their property they have about 95 dogs, all of whom are Alaskan Huskies. Stielstra called Siberian Huskies movie stars, while her dogs are small, but fast.

The dogs can run up to 15 miles per hour, but when harnessed they average about 10 miles an hour. The dogs are paired into teams and have to be well matched. The dogs wear harnesses that help them pull a sled with their whole body. Tasha Canine is notorious for chewing up her gear — or “uniform” as Stielstra called it.

“Do you eat your soccer uniform?” she asked the giggling children.

Stielstra presented rules for the kids to learn. “Be safe,” included rules like, “Keep your head out of the fence,” and “Sit down in the bathtub.” “Be Kind” included rules like, “Don’t bite your neighbor’s ear.” The photos of cute puppies misbehaving sent the children laughing again.

This summer Stielstra and her husband accomplished a rather amazing feat. They packed up around 80 of their 100 dogs and gear and headed across Canada to Juneau, Alaska. It took four days of driving with stops only for bathroom breaks and feeding times.

Once in Juneau, 10 dogs at a time were loaded onto a helicopter and shipped to Mendenhall Glacier.

“They didn’t like it very much,” Stielstra said.

There they joined 300 dogs from all over the U.S. All summer long the dogs conduct dogsled tours for people just off the cruise ships. In a single day 15,000 people visit the glacier for a dogsled tour.

Stielstra taught the children some the commands and even had them demonstrate. She dressed one child up as a musher in gigantic boots and an oversized coat. He had three rules to remember. “Don’t let go! Don’t let go! And don’t let go!” she said.

The others children acted as dogs turning right (gee), left (haw), going slow (easy) and stopping (whoa).

Tasha Canine had a litter of puppies in mid-September who are now going through puppy school; learning the ropes, so to speak. Each litter of puppies is named on a theme. There have been cereal-named dogs, candy-named dogs and dogs named for fruits and vegetables.

Momo is special. She was raised by Iditarod dog racer, Susan Butcher, and has been with the Steilstra’s for 10 of her 11 years. She is the mother, grandmother and great grandmother to most of the dogs at Nature’s Kennel. She got her name for a mohawk of fur on the top of her head that sticks straight up.

“Momo has a bad hair day, every day,” Stielstra said. Some of Momo’s children and grandchildren have the mohawk, too.

The Stielstra’s race their dogs in the winter and Tasha – who has only been racing for five years – won one of her races and came in second in another, just 26 seconds behind the first place finisher.

Nature’s Kennel is gearing up for another busy racing season. Snow is in the air and the dogs can’t wait to run. Stielstra will be right with them, holding onto the sled.

“They love to run,” Stielstra said.

Source: HomeTownLife.com