News release, 2 October 2003
For more information, contact Carol Kaynor, Symposium Chair, Alaska Dog Mushers Association.
2003 International Sled Dog Symposium kicks off this Friday
FAIRBANKS, Alaska—The 2003 International Sled Dog Symposium kicks off this Friday, October 3, at Pioneer Park's Centennial Center for the Arts. The symposium opens with two free presentations and the Yukon Quest birthday party Friday night, and continues Saturday and Sunday with educational sessions all day. A trade fair with more than 30 vendors, and a fund-raising auction Saturday night, round out the offerings.
This year's sled dog symposium offers a wealth of information for dog enthusiasts of all sorts, not just hard-core mushers. On Friday night, the civic center will be hopping with a free presentation on veterinary physical therapy, sponsored by Mush with PRIDE, and a junior mushing presentation on getting started with dogs, featuring Aliy Zirkle, Ellie Claus and Curtis Erhart. The Yukon Quest birthday party will also be held at the civic center Friday night, and the trade fair will open at 4 p.m. All events Friday night are free to the public.
On Saturday, a "Mushing 101" presentation, offered by the Alaska Recreational Dog Mushers club, is geared toward those who are new to dog mushing, and covers topics such as setting up a dog yard and creating a coherent dog team. Other sessions on Saturday include skijoring tips, succeeding with second-hand dogs, veterinary care, maintaining a trail under various snow conditions, and using sled dogs for education and therapy.
Saturday's keynote presentation, "Canine Behavior and Training," will be given by Susan Bulanda, noted canine behaviorist and author. Susan brings to her presentation a wonderfully diverse background in training dogs for search and rescue, sled dog racing, drug detection, hunting and obedience. The keynote presentation is open to the general public for $5.00, and begins at 1:30 pm on Saturday.
A number of sessions on Sunday are valuable to anyone with working dogs, whether it be agility, search and rescue, hunting, or mushing. Sue Bulanda will return to the stage to speak about conformation and how a dog's physical structure translates into performance. Two sessions on veterinary physical therapy will deal with canine injuries and their basic treatment using physical therapy techniques. For those into the physiology of competition, there's a session comparing human and canine physiology when it comes to conditioning. And for anyone who's ever tried to make sense out of the burgeoning assortment of food additives and nutraceuticals for dogs, the closing session will address this important topic.
Saturday night's fund-raising auction is ADMA's single largest fundraising event of the year. Area businesses donate services and merchandise and the public is invited to come bid on a variety of items. The auction runs from 7 to 11 pm Saturday night at the Edgewater Ballroom in the Princess Hotel.
More information, including a full symposium schedule, a preliminary list of auction items, and speaker biographies, can all be found on the web at http://www.sleddog.org/symposium. For more information, contact Carol Kaynor at 455-9663, or stop by the Pioneer Park civic center beginning Friday afternoon.