Brittany North: Tell me about yourself. How did you start sled dog mushing? 

I’m Dave Burge and my wife is Cristen Burge and we own Dogwoods Kennel here in Minnesota. I’m from Arkansa and moved to Minnesota. My wife, fiance at the time, recommended I should volunteer at the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon at the Sawbill checkpoint. My job was to help guide first team coming into Sawbill to their sleeping spot. I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal since the dogs had already ran over 100 miles but they were still full of energy. Seeing the dog's love for working is what infected me. On our honeymoon in Alaska, we stayed in a dry cabin and the host mentioned they had a sled dog kennel and needed to go do sled dog chores. We asked if we could help and we ended up helping do chores during our three day stay. At the end of our stay we went home with an 11 year old Yukon Quest retired sled dog. Her name was Skinny. Our first snow that year we used a kick sled with Skinny and our Brittany and we mushed up and down the streets and alleyways of St. Paul MN. Later, I found a mentor and spent a lot of time learning from him. We got dogs as a recreational way to run dogs in the beginning. I saw a trail system I could pay to use and they put on a sprint race. We signed up for the race just for fun and that’s how racing started for us. Nowadays we’re a distance oriented kennel. 

BN: How far in advance do you start training for a race like the Gunflint Mail Run?

The Gunflint Mail Run is a training run for us. There's lots of different kinds of mushers and goals. Shorter faster races and longer slower races. For us, we’re running 200-300 mile races and longer distances in the future. The Gunflint Mail Run presents as an opportunity for us because it’s great for our young dogs to learn because it has seriousness in the air because it’s not just a fun run. We mushers really live in isolation, so this race is great practice because it has a checkpoint and is a great way to simulate and get the bugs out now so when we go to longer races we are prepared. 

When we’re not at races, we train year round. We don’t think of it as training. We think of it as adventuring with our dogs. As long as the temps are right, dogs can get hooked up to the gangline and can run with the four wheeler on cool summer mornings. We also have a play pen, it’s like our own dog park, where they can free run. Mushing is a lifestyle. It’s everyday. It's 365 days a year. If we have someone to watch the dogs if we go on a family trip, I'm still thinking about the dogs and the trails. 

BN: How do mushers train their dogs to work together as a team?

As a younger kennel, we’ve been mushing for about five years. We've been able to experience bringing in dogs from about 6-7 different kennels, not only are we trying to condition the dogs muscles, lungs and hearts, but we’re also socializing the dogs. There’s a few things that help the dogs bond, like howling together, eating together, socializing by playing in the playground together. Team building comes from trail miles, once they get along and know each other, they can go down the trail together. Every dog gets the opportunity to run in each position in the team and run next to each other. Doing all of these things and making sure they all individually know they’re special helps everyone get along really well. 

BN: What does a typical winter day of training look like for you and the dogs?

It starts by getting the human kiddos out of bed and ready for homeschooling. Once the household is settled, then we will often hydrate the dogs 2-4 hours before a run, depending on the details of the run. We make sure all the equipment is prepared, that there’s human and dog snacks and camping equipment, required race gear in the sled, clean the dog yard, do a pre-run health check, get booties on, and get harnesses on. We do this while they’re all still at their house to keep a calm environment, but when it’s time to unhook them and put them on the gangline, this is when the excitement begins. I leave my trail route plan and a map with my wife so she has an idea of where I’m going and when I should be back. I also make sure I’m fed and hydrated as well, because if I’m not taking care of myself I can’t take care of the dogs. 

BN: What happens on race day, from start to finish?

The night before, the mushers and the race committee meet to go over trail conditions and vet checks. On race day, it’s the same routine of training. A race like the Mail Run, we get to run 30 miles then camp for 3-4 hours and the dogs get new booties, water, food, and some rest. On every leg of the race, we let the dogs know they’ve won. At the end we always celebrate them and give them a good hearty meal and some warm straw and some sleep to aid in recovery. 

BN: How do you help your dogs recover after a race like this, and what’s next for you and your team this season?

Yes, we had unexpected challenges, but the race went really well. It was the first race ever for seven of our dogs. Seven of the ten had never raced before because we didn't have snow last year. One of the older dogs has had an orthopedic issue that I haven't been able to solve. It’s really great with every race there’s vet checks and so I was actually able to work with one of the vets and identify what this problem is. Another unexpected turn was one of my leaders got really confused on our second run. We live in a lake area in central Minnesota, but we don't run on lakes. So we did a couple 360s out on the ice and it ended up costing us a position in the race. But it was fun to identify an area where we need to improve and what we need some training on.


BN: How do you help the dogs recover after races? 

We have nutritional recovery, we make sure that the dogs get adequate carbohydrates or and get calories and protein back into the dog as soon as possible. They get rest, but also, they get to go on some shorter runs and they get to go play in the dog yard because while, yes, they just did exert themselves, they don't need to just go and sit, they need to stretch those muscles out and move around and play. The races are certainly fun for the dogs, but there's other ways they love to have fun and so to not only give them a physical outlet, but also give them their own doggy shenanigans, mental stimulation where they can crawl through the tunnels and play king of the hill, not work mode just more fun. Again, they love the race, there's lots of different ways to have fun, I love that there’s lots of different ways to have fun. 

What does the rest of your season look like? 


Our season's really just getting started. We have the UP200 next weekend, it'll be another rookie race for us. Then February 23rd is my birthday, we have the Wolf Track Classic, which will be kind of a fun run. Again, it's a shorter run where it’ll be another good place to have the young dogs get some race experience. Then, fingers crossed, the Beargrease is supposed to happen in the beginning of March. So then we have a 50 mile race, a 200 mile race, then a 300 mile race coming up. It's nice it all kind of worked out and that sort of progression.