2004 International Sled Dog Symposium
Schedule
of Events
Sponsored by the Alaska Dog Mushers Association, the
Fairbanks North Star Borough Division of Animal Control, and FNSB Pioneer Park
Last updated 29-Aug-2005. Most speaker bios have now been added (click on speaker's name in schedule or go to speaker biography page), with a few more to come. NOTE: Schedule and location changes have been made to Sunday sessions. Other sessions have been updated as well. Speakers, session descriptions and times are subject to change. See symposium home page for registration fees. Nearly all presentations will include time for questions and answers.
NEW THIS YEAR: We've added a Friday afternoon session with Wes Rau, for which there's a $10 advance-registration fee ($15 at the door). Friday night's presentations are still free.
All sessions are at the Pioneer Park Centennial Center for the Arts (the civic center) unless otherwise noted. Children must be at least 10 years old to attend symposium sessions, except for Friday night's junior mushing presentation. No dogs are allowed in the civic center without prior approval. Trade fair vendors who wish to bring dogs into the building should contact Val Mackler at 907-488-1452; others should contact Carol Kaynor by email (preferred) or at 907-455-9663. Audio or video recording of presentations is not permitted.
Questions? Contact Carol Kaynor or call ADMA at 907-457-6874.
Friday, October 8thNoon – 4 pm • Main floor & mezzanine Trade fair setup in civic center 3 pm – 8 pm • Lobby Early-bird registration and advance registration check-in Avoid the Saturday morning rush! Our staff will be standing by to check you in early. If you registered in advance, you can pick up your name tag and information packet on Friday. If you're paying at the door, beat the cashier lines Saturday morning by registering Friday night. |
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4 pm – 5:30 pm • Theater How to Fix Your Own Dog Wesley Rau, veterinary physical therapist Wes will go over the neck-shoulder-back exam and how to safely treat some injuries yourself without hurting the dog. NOTE: The fee for this presentation is $10 if you register in advance, or $15 at the door. 6:45 pm – 7:45 pm • Theater Updated Curtis Erhart, Wayne Valcq, Kerry Walsh, and Scott Rupp Curtis Erhart and Wayne Valcq will speak about the Junior Yukon Quest. Kerry Walsh and Scott Rupp will go over the Two Rivers junior mushing racing program for 2004-2005. 8 pm – 9 pm • Theater Updated Jodi Bailey, Dan Kaduce, Kathryn Pyne, and Jeanne Olson DVM Wildfires happen, and dog mushers need to be prepared. Jodi and Dan were faced with the 2004 Boundary Fire in their backyard, and will tell how they successfully evacuated their kennel. Kathryn Pyne, stewardship forester at the Alaska Division of Forestry, and Jeanne Olson, FNSB Animal Control director, will discuss how their respective agencies can help before, during and after. |
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4 pm – 9 pm • Main floor & mezzanine Updated The trade fair is free to the general public. The trade fair opens at 4 pm Friday and will be open from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Many vendors will be offering Friday night specials to help celebrate the Yukon Quest's birthday. Come take advantage of these early-bird deals. Your favorite mushing equipment suppliers will be there, as well as clothing specialists, sled builders, informational booths and much more. Check out the latest in mushing gear and publications, talk to company representatives, buy gifts for handlers and kennel mates, and linger over that special item you’ve been thinking about for the past year. 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm • Main floor Yukon Quest Birthday Party Celebrate the Quest's 21st birthday! Enjoy free food, live music, and a no-host bar. Sponsored by the Yukon Quest. |
Saturday, October 9th |
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7:30 am – 8:15 am • Lobby Registration and check-in Coffee & doughnuts for sale upstairs on
mezzanine |
9 am – 11:30 am • Pioneer Hall (in Pioneer Park's "Gold Rush Town" near the back entrance to the park) Microchipping clinic Sponsored by the Second Chance League and Fairbanks North Star Borough Animal Control. Fees are $8 per dog for Second Chance League members, $10 for current (2004–2005) ADMA members, and $15 for all others. National registry fees not included. Limited supply available, but if demand warrants, another clinic will be held. |
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| 8:30 am – 10 am • Theater Updated Jeff King, Mitch Seavey, and Wes Rau An improperly fitting harness can hinder your dog's performance. Further, different body types and certain kinds of chronic conditions benefit from a particular style of harness. Learn how a harness interacts with your dog's physical structure, how to select the proper harness for your dog, and about recent innovations in harness design. |
8:30 am – 10 am • Blue Room Remote Collar Training & Its Application to Sled Dogs Retriever training techniques went through a major transition in the 1980s. Despite initial resistance, virtually all successful trainers have adapted to the modern tools and the more sophisticated approach that goes along with them. Pat will explain how sled dog training can greatly benefit from lessons learned from retriever training, and will dispel some of the myths of electronic collar training. Questions and discussion are encouraged. |
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10 am – 10:30 am • Break—Go visit the trade fair! The trade fair is open from 10 am to 5 pm. |
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10:30 am – 12 pm • Theater Distance Mushing Strategies Mitch Seavey, Zack Steer, Ken Anderson, and Gwen Holdmann Top distance mushers will share tips and techniques for training, racing and camping. |
10:30 am – 12 pm • Blue Room The Physiology of Human and Canine Conditioning John Estle and Arleigh Reynolds Back by popular demand! John will speak on training and training theory, and the relationship of basic physiology to training. Arleigh will discuss how this compares to canine physiology and training. |
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12 pm – 1:30 pm • Pioneer Hall Mush with PRIDE luncheon & annual meeting At Pioneer Hall (in Pioneer Park's "Gold Rush Town" near the back entrance to the park) PRIDE is hosting a complimentary luncheon meeting for all PRIDE members. Please renew your PRIDE membership so you can eat for free and vote at the annual meeting! Contact info@mushwithpride.org or PRIDE president Ken Severin at fnkps@uaf.edu for more information. |
12 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch A variety of food is for sale on the third floor
mezzanine. Take some time to visit the trade fair. |
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1:30 pm – 3 pm • Theater • Keynote Presentation How To Be Chicken about Training or, What You Can Learn from a Dumb Bird Cheryl S. Smith, noted author and dog trainer Dog trainers regularly pay big bucks to torture themselves trying to train flighty Leghorn chickens to stand patiently and only peck the target shape. Why? Because chickens won't do it because they love you, or love the work, or because you force them to, or any of the other reasons/strategies you might apply to dogs. All you have is a clicker attached to a feed cup, and your fast-evaporating trainer's pride. But put your ego aside, and you can learn everything you need to know about training a dog (or any other species, for that matter) to do anything physically possible. After a brief presentation, Cheryl will open the floor for questions. This session is open to the general public for a $5 cover charge. |
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3 pm – 3:30 pm • Break—Go visit the trade fair! |
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| 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm • Theater Comparing Sled Designs and Construction Hans Gatt, Dan Kaduce, Dave Klumb, and Fred Raymond Wood vs. aluminum. Oil vs. varnish. Yellow, black, white, or orange plastic runners. To wax or not to wax. Sled makers and a waxing guru will discuss the pros and cons of various sled materials, construction, and maintenance. |
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm • Blue Room Updated Experienced Alaska Skijoring and Pulk Association members will share their ideas on how to prepare yourself and your dog(s) for successful skijoring. Learn off-season and on-snow training techniques and get an overview of equipment used for skijor touring, training, and racing. Bring your questions. |
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| 7 pm – 11:00 pm • Fairbanks Princess Hotel, Edgewater Ballroom ADMA Fundraising Auction Is there something you need, from dog food to a good book to a truckload of wood shavings? Maybe some mushing artwork, or a gift certificate to a local restaurant? You will most likely find it at the auction. Join us Saturday eveningfor both silent and outcry auctions to help raise funds for ADMA. Auction funds are used to support the symposium and other ADMA expenses such as trail maintenance and hall repairs. Visit our ever-changing list of auction items on the web (www.sleddog.org/auction/2004), and keep in mind that many more items from our trade fair vendors will magically appear Saturday night. |
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Sunday, October 10th |
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8 am – 8:45 am • Lobby Registration & check-in Coffee & doughnuts for sale upstairs |
9 am – 12:00 pm • Pioneer Hall (in Pioneer Park's "Gold Rush Town" near the back entrance to the park) Microchipping clinic Sponsored by the Second Chance League and Fairbanks North Star Borough Animal Control. Sponsored by the Second Chance League and Fairbanks North Star Borough Animal Control. Fees are $8 per dog for Second Chance League members, $10 for current (2004–2005) ADMA members, and $15 for all others. National registry fees not included. Limited supply available, but if demand warrants, another clinic will be held. |
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9 am – 10:30 am • Theater New time, updated Egil Ellis, Eric Lanser, and Arleigh Reynolds Top open and limited-class sprint mushers will share tips and techniques for training and racing.
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9 am – 10:30 am • Blue Room Mushing 201: Do-it-yourself Julie and Miki Collins, and Will Forsberg Not everyone can run to the store and buy new lines. Others simply prefer to make their own kennel items. Experts in making their own gear will explain how to make lines and other dog mushing supplies. |
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10:30 – 11 am • Break—Go visit the trade fair! The trade fair is open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. |
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11 am – 12 pm • Theater New time Wesley Rau, veterinary physical therapist Wes will give an overview of canine injuries, including what to look for and how to fix small problems. The emphasis will be on basic dog care, anatomy and physiology.
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11 am – 12 pm • Blue Room Dog Nutrition for Nerds Cheryl S. Smith and Arleigh Reynolds Cheryl will cover necessary nutrients, from amino acids to water, including the many vitamins and macro- and microminerals. Arleigh will discuss some of the cutting edge developments in canine nutrition. |
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12 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch A variety of food is on sale on the third floor mezzanine. Take some time to visit the trade fair. |
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1:30 pm – 2:30 pm • Theater New location Many mushing families pass their traditions and techniques down through the generations. Father and son dog mushers Mitch and Tyrell Seavey will talk about some of their family’s stories and what it’s like to be the latest in a line of competitive dog mushers. |
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm • Blue Room New location, updated Cathy Dimon, moderator; Carol Kleckner and Roger Hocking Come hear some of our canine success stories and learn about this new sled dog training and evaluation program. The mission of the Second Chance League is to reduce the number of huskies euthanized at the Fairbanks North Star Borough Animal Shelter. We do this by finding foster trainers to evaluate and advocate for individual dogs, and then we work together to adopt them out into appropriate homes. We're helping sled dogs be successful, and in the process, we help the mushers, too!
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2:30 pm – 3 pm • Break—Go visit the trade fair! |
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3 pm – 4:30 pm • Theater New time DVMs Jean Battig, Jeanne Maddux, and Jeanne Olson Three of our top veterinarians will discuss the lameness exam, vaccination protocols, and common medical issues that are often mistaken for behavioral problems. After brief presentations, they will open the floor to questions. [Yes, it's true: We couldn't resist bringing together the three Jean(ne)s. Our excuse is that they are all outstanding veterinarians as well as popular speakers.] |
3 pm – 4:30 pm • Theater Updated Becky Alexander, Jodi Bailey, Curtis Erhart, Margi Terhar, Scott Rupp, and Val Mackler Gain insights on the checkpoint scene from the perspective of officials and handlers, rather than the musher. |
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