One of the ongoing chores of sleddog kennel maintenance is upkeep of the dogs' stakeout gear. Sleddog kennels in North America are almost invariably "colony style" with an individual doghouse for each dog. The dogs are tethered with a post, swivel and chain; a snap on the end of the chain attaches to a ring in the dog's collar. Tethered in rows with no fences except perhaps on the outer perimeter, the dogs can interact with their neighbours when and as they choose; fights rarely occur and each dog has his own territory where he can eat and sleep undisturbed. What is more, the dogs' owners and care-givers have free and easy access to each dog at all times, quickly, without opening and closing gates.
Those who know nothing about sleddogs condemn the colony system as "cruel" because the dogs are chained. It is to laugh! Sleddog psychology is such that dogs in "humane" pens and runs are less happy than those chained on stakeouts, because the penned dogs see a barrier between themselves and the rest of the world, while the chained dogs do not. Fence-fighting between dogs in adjacent runs is common. Penned as the French do it, "en meute" (as a pack), sleddogs will accumulate a mass of scars from constant fighting, while the unfortunate dogs who are lowest on the social hierarchy can never escape from their persecutors.
The colony dogs at Seppala Kennels bask in the sunshine, play with their neighbours, sit and watch birds, sleep in their doghouses -- and go nuts when they see something exciting like a squirrel or a rabbit. Also every day at suppertime! When they run back and forth or around and around on their stakeouts at full tilt, chains and snaps take a lot of wear and tear. Hence the need for stakeout gear maintenance every spring and fall.
Here's a chain worn so thin over the years that there seems little doubt that in another month, it will just go "ping" when the dog hits it. Several snaps have badly worn swivels and attachment rings. Our snaps are special: we brought back from Europe some "mousquetons de sécurité" made in France. They look like this. These incredible snaps, made of hardened steel and bronze, are impossible for a dog to open. They offer absolute security and unbelievable wearing quality. In most dogyards, snaps last for a few months, but some of these snaps have endured continuous use for over ten years. We have a welder friend build up the wear points on swivels and loops when they have finally worn nearly through, and they then last for another two or three years! But they aren't available in North America, at least not anywhere we are aware of. Common in France, Andorra and Spain, these superior-quality snaps are virtually unknown over here. I saw some once in a kennel in New Brunswick, but the importer had stopped bringing them in. (Can anyone help us find a source? We could really use a dozen new ones!)
As I go about my "blacksmith" work, lifting swivels out of the steel pipes in which they sit, cutting away worn chains with the bolt-cutters, hammering on split-links and cold-shuts to install replacement chains and rebuilt snaps, the kennel dogs sit in fascination, watching my every move with eyes glistening brightly. Their pleasure at having me working beside them in the kennel is obvious. As I move among the stakeouts checking their gear, I pause to notice individual dogs. Even the wildest, most bumptious males like Haakon, Pavel and Pyotr will calm down, put their ears down and give me shy little kisses when I kneel down to fluff the fur of their ruffs and scratch beneath their collars. It is a happy time both for me and for the dogs. They know I'm working for their welfare and comfort, and it's obviously appreciated.
Posted by jjeffrey at September 30, 2003 12:05 PM