Kudos to the Dog Walkers

The final five days of dog walking for the Electrolyte Research Project required a daily 9-hour stint on the trails - 6 hours of walking and 3 hours of rest at forest campsites. This schedule simulates a typical work day for a military bomb sniffing canine.

Our SP Kennel dogs walked between 20 and 24 miles each day, very reasonable for long distance racers. Of course, each group of dogs required a human to keep control and man the GPS trackers. These humans walked a minimum of 18 miles each of those days.

Kudos to the 5 human walkers who stuck to the research schedule during rain and wind, significant mud, close to freezing temps, unwelcome wildlife sign and very occasional sunshine. These tough, fit and personable Alaskan women were key to the project's successful completion. SP Kennel salutes Ryne, Kristy, Sarah, Aliy and Wendy.



Kristy and Ryne enjoy hot soup at the Jenny M Camp



Sarah navigates around mud and puddles on the trail



Simple pleasures for Sarah and Aliy - bananas and a little sun!



Wendy and Scout enjoying their trek together



The walking protocol is now over. Final canine blood and urine samples are on their way to the lab. We will post information about Electrolyte Research results when it gets to us. Thanks for all your interest and comments about this project.