Whenever I hear the term “Boot-up”, vivid images come to mind of wrestling with impatient dogs at the start of a long run, hunched over, with bare hands, hoping one of them didn’t just step in the remains of last night’s slop. In short, like I imagine most mushers do, I despise having to put booties on dogs. As a result, I’ve learned a few tricks over the years to avoid the dreaded procedure.
When I first started running distance races it seemed like habit to ALWAYS boot the dogs before every run. Over time I’ve learned though, that booties are not always necessary and have some hidden evils of their own.
It all started innocently enough – a couple of lab-husky cross pups obtained from a friend more than three decades ago. Bitten by the sprint racing bug in 1974, Eddy Streeper started competing in Northern B.C., the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
It
would be accurate to say that Wisconsin native, Pat Quaintance, has
gone to the dogs – Bluetick hounds to be exact. He has raised these
remarkable animals for 35 years and his kennel has been home to a
number of champions.
Boot-up for Life