I couldn't have properly trained for the Iditarod without the specialized knowledge I acquired attending boot camp, and advanced boot camp.
Teaching the dogs to "gee-over" allowed me to train from home in southern Wisconsin. We learned how to do the best we could with what we have. When faced with disaster in "the steps" with a broken sled and four 16-dog teams tangled up on the first ramp I remember wondering if this would be the first of a series of events leading to scratching. And then the training kicked-in. I could almost hear Jamie saying "well, what now?". The next thought was "just work the problem".
Glenn Lockwood
2006 Iditarod Red Lantern
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While the majority of sibes I've put in harness automatically know
what to do from the get go and within a few runs act like old pros
about it, I occasionally have dogs that are slower to mature. They
instinctively know to pull and to run, but put them in a team
situation and it's like they can't figure out how to run in sync with
the other dogs, or else they're frightened by the whole experience.
Dawson was the first I had who did this and the worst case I've seen.
I put him and his sister in harness at about 10.5 months of age.
Piper was excellent from the start. Dawson seemed to hate it. He
constantly tried to face the wrong direction. While they were
running he was either pulling back or trying to veer off onto the
grass. After a few runs he actually started bracing his feet and
putting on the brakes when I tried to lead him to the lines to be
hooked up, like he was so terrified of running that he didn't want to
do it at all. I thought he was a dud as a sleddog and was ready to
sell him. Karen Ramstead happened to come visit that September and
came out with me and my friends one morning to see our dogs run. She
told me, "sit him out for the season - he's not ready."
Two weeks later I went to bootcamp. The first night at bootcamp
Jamie and Ann were asking everyone what their biggest problem dog was
and what the problem was. I told them about Dawson. Jamie looked at
me and said, "Put him in single lead tomorrow morning."
I laughed. "This dog can't even run forward, and you want me to put
him in single lead??"
She replied, "Put him in single lead tomorrow morning."
My friend/handler Corina and I looked at each other, each thinking,
"Yeah, like this is gonna work."
But the next morning I followed instructions and put Dawson in single
lead. Jamie told me to put a leash on him and run beside him,
encouraging him and basically showing him what I wanted him to do.
Corina drove the ATV very very slowly so I could keep pace with the
team.
At first Dawson did the same thing he always did: held back, turned
around, tried to run off to the side of the trail. I wound up
running just slightly in front of him, holding him on a short leash
and encouraging him to follow me. The first two leapfrogs we did
with the other teams I saw no difference in him.
Then he suddenly started to "get it". He stopped following me so
much and started running forward on his own. The 4th time it was our
turn to run I ran slightly behind him and he ran confidently forward,
his nose occasionally to the ground, his focus on the trail ahead
instead of on the side of the trail.
Corina and I looked at each other with super wide eyes. This was not
the dog we started with - this was a completely new dog! Not only
was he running but he was LEADING.
About halfway through the run Ann came up to us and asked how it was
going, and Corina and I were both raving about the difference in
Dawson. I said, "The only problem is that he doesn't start right up
when we say 'Let's go'... it's takes him a minute or two before he
realizes he's supposed to start running."
Ann said, "Want me to show you how to get him started?" Then she
worked with Dawson, teaching him with a slight pop of the leash to
move forward whenever I called '"Let's Go!", and after showing him
twice what she wanted him to do he started doing it on his own.
Dawson has since then always been one of my A-string race dogs. He's
done almost every race with me, has his SD and is working on his SDX.
He finished multiple 100 mile races the past few seasons, ran the
Can-Am 250 twice, and ever since that day at bootcamp has been one of
my hardest-working and enthusiastic dogs in harness.
And to think I almost gave up on him....
-Jaye Sibersong Sleddogs
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I would like to formally thank Ann Stead and Jamie Nelson from Mushing Boot Camp.
I finally found out what I really learned at the camp, after one season of training. I know I said at the camp that, “Working them slow works better than fast”. I found out that having a positive attitude while training the one on one method is very beneficial.
This past season my family and I focused 100% on the one on one training.
We had three, 2 year olds and several older dogs speed at all the races.
We had many trials this past season (Lack of snow, quad and ski-do both breaking down). This made us focus more on dog power instead of speed. The end result was our dogs performed excellently in power and speed.
Thank you, Mark and Laurie Millions of Oakridgelane Kennels
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Dear Jamie and Ann,
L to R: Paula, Matt and Andrew
It has been seven years since we attended our first Mushing Boot Camp and boy how things have changed!! In the years since, we have gone from recreational, rookie mushers to competing in the Iditarod, and much credit needs to be given to our experience at Boot Camp.
Prior to attending our first Boot Camp, we had been trying for two years to teach ourselves how to be mushers. If there was a report card given to rookie mushers we would have been earning a failing grade! We seemed to make one mistake after another and were looking for some good advice. We registered for Boot Camp that year rather than taking a vacation and we got more than we had ever thought we would. You took our mismatched kennel (and we are not talking about just the dogs here!) and helped us become a team! Our first visit to Boot Camp was so positive and empowering that we returned the following year!
Mushing Boot Camp taught us that we, the humans, were our biggest problem! You worked with us on how and when to give commands and praise, and when to just be quite. We were coached in the basics of mushing, such as, pull training and "starting out slow to eventually go fast". The importance of safety, such as the gee-over command, were stressed. And most importantly, we were taught the importance of treating our dogs fairly by making sure they understood just what it was that we expected them to do. These were lessons that we turn to still today when we are training our dog teams
We at Bark River Racing have, and will continue to, recommend Mushing Boot Camp to both newcomers to the sport as well as current mushers looking to get back to the basics. Regardless of how our training and racing evolve we always find we return to the lessons learned in Boot Camp! ??
Thank you,
- Matt and Paula Rossi, and Andrew Letzring
Bark River Racing
Herbster, WI
Togo Boot Camp Testimonial
October 10-12, 2002
I am a veteran of several Boot Camps out here in California and have been meaning to write a Testimonial for quite some time. Guess I was waiting for Togo because the words are flowing now! I am taking the season off to run dogs and as such have some pretty serious race goals. I could see in training that my dogs were scattered and wasting energy bouncing around and not starting together. I was having discipline issues with one (chewing necklines, getting so excited before hook up that he would bloody paws/gums
on whatever he could find to chew on) and the eternal "gee over" was seemingly un-reachable. In order to have a shot at achieving my race goals this season I needed to "stop the nonsense" in my team and bring us all together into a cohesive working unit. What better place to fine tune your team but right in the heart of the "hornet's nest"? I figured being in a position to live and sleep this stuff in Togo (yes, there is a shower and even a toilet) was the only way to go. So I traveled 2,000 miles with eight dogs and I wasn't disappointed.
Boot Camp in Togo has the same format as any of any of the others: up at o'dark thirty to water dogs before a run, afternoon exercises with one-on-one training, Sacco's, agility equipment and this year even a scooter (which only one person was brave enough to try!); and then a second afternoon run. The trails were different (hay fields and MUD), the people attending were different faces which is always nice and you got to meet Jamie's dogs - and Karen Ramstaed's who was there training for the Iditarod. This is the thing about Togo, you never know who you will see! It is a stomping ground for many folks training for various things and the variety of interests, experiences and dogs is truly an amazing thing to see. Togo is buzzing with activity and interesting conversation. Some of us got to watch Jamie as she did a first hook-up with about 14+ 14-week old puppies and a couple "old fo
lks. We all got to see the kind of meat she feeds her dogs (can you say YUCK?) and just real
ly so
aked in the environment of a working distance kennel. The limits to what you could learn were only set by you.
All that aside, Ann had my "discipline" boy shaped up in ONE run, Jamie got them "Gee'ing Over" like I knew she would, and over the three days they both got me and my team in top ship-shape. A wonderful surprise was what I learned about harness fitting, something I thought I already knew, and I came home with a couple new ones to try. I was afraid I would return home and the dogs would revert to their "old ways", but nope, I hooked up yesterday and, a couple of reminders later, had the same wonderful team I had in Togo.
After Boot Camp I had an opportunity to go to Duluth and see Ann & Al's kennel and join them for a training run. You know, the BEST part of being in your instructor's home turf, is that you see with your own eyes that they experience the same issues you do and solve them the same way you have to do. Really, they DO. <g>
I hope more people take advantage of Togo Boot Camp, it REALLY isn't far away at all, and it is "oh-so-worth-it".
- Kathy Miyoshi
Truckee, California
Scott Brown & Janet Sweeney
photo by Amy Gerson
We can provide a testimonial not just for the Camp itself but also the long term impact it has had on our successes out on the trail after we returned home. Prior to Boot Camp we had run our dogs less than 2 dozen times without any real instructions. Our runs were usually out of control andfelt like shear "luck" got us down the trail. Just after the first day atBoot Camp, Scott and I were joking in our cabin before bed that if we had to go home tonight that it would've been worth it. The improvement we saw in our team over the course of Boot Camp was encouraging, exciting, and exhilarating. The lessons we learned at Boot Camp are put into practice every time we take the dogs out. We continually remind ourselves that "every run is a training run" and it shows in the behavior and focus of our dogs on the trail. One moment we were particularly proud of was when our team came upon a dead hawk on the side of the trail....several swerved to pick up the buffet. However,
as the dogs were heading for the hawk, the "on by" command was given and all eyes and ears faced forward and continued down the trail w/o the hawk. We also realize we are still learning and need to continue honing our skills to better our team.....which is why both Scott and I were very glad when we heard that a Boot Camp schedule had been confirmed for Oregon in 2002. YEAH!! We are already clearing our schedule so we can attend again and continue to improve and our team. Looking
forward to seeing you in April 2002......
- Scott Brown & Janet Sweeney
Boot Camp Survivors - LaPine, April 2001 & 2002
I attended my first boot camp in Fall 1998 with nine dogs, one of which would lead. I left camp with nine dogs who would lead my team and get me home.
I love the way Ann and Jamie work with each person and dog as individuals, understanding we all have our quirks and biases. All questions are welcomed and I always felt as if my questions were answered thoughtfully and respectf
ully.
My success in earning the Siberian Husky Club of America Lombard/Norris Award in 2001 and the Working/Showing Award in 2000 and 2001 is directly attributed to the training my team and I have received from Ann Stead and Jamie Nelson at their mushing boot camps!
- Barbara "Dog Drop" Schaefer
Qualobo Kennel
AKC Siberian Huskies for Show and Trail (and Couch)
Grass Valley, CA
Rubicon Alaskan Malamutes
Photo by CARL BROWN
"Before meeting Jamie and Ann, we never thought we would be running a big team of Malamutes. We certainly never imagined that we'd be running races with them, nor that we would even come in ahead of other teams sometimes! Boot Camp taught us how to make sledding fun for ourselves and the dogs. Under the guidance of Jamie and Ann, we learned to have patience with our dogs, and that has flowed over into non-sledding activities as well. We now have a pretty impressive toolbox for training dogs with all types of personalities and idiosyncrasies. Our team has drawn lots of positive attention here in New Eng
land, and we've made lots of friends on the race circuit. No doubt we will run a sixty mile race in the near future. Working with Jamie and Ann has given us the confidence that we can do that and anything else that we put our minds to."
- Hiram & Vicky Daitch
Canterbury NH
Alana Schlang racing at Diamond Lake, Oregon, photo by: Rick Schlang
"Mushing Boot Camp advanced my knowledge by many years. The Leader Training was great and it built a lot of confidence in my dogs. I also enjoyed the passing training. The instructors (Ann and Jamie) were very nice and glad to share their knowledge. The other mushers who attended the camp were great and they helped create a comfy environment."
- Alana Schlang
Golden Ice Kennels
"Boot Camp totally opened my mind and allowe
d me to recognize that hooking up my team and
running the dogs did not constitute training. I now know that training means "training". I am able to break down the different components of running the dogs into training needs from pulling, learning commands to good behavior and team work. AND most importantly, work on myself as team leader. It feels good to have a plan and to have the tools to help the plan work. I've learned to be patient and to change my perspective on how to run my dogs. This whole experience has greatly enhanced my relationship with my team of fuzzies. I am much more aware of how each dog learns and what I need to do to help them along. I cannot wait for the next Boot Camp experience."
- Lidia Dale-Mesaros
New Hampshire
"I have attended three Boot Camps and plan to attend more. The "learn by doing" approach that is practiced by Ann and Jamie is outstanding. They teach techniques that work to solve individual dog and team problems. One may learn that an existing team dog has potential to be a leader. Passing problems can be eliminated. Boot Camp is
an ideal opportunity to work with new and young dogs. My camps have included early morning and late afternoon team runs. Ann and Jam
i
e ride with each team and tell you what needs to be corrected and how to do it. During the mid day we have worked with individual dogs on pull training and agility. Part of the time is spent discussing topics related to mushing, training, and health. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate their Boot Camp a 15."
- Bill Wilkinson
Grass Valley, CA
Driver for Qualobo Siberian Huskies
I attended the New England Boot Camp in 2000. We went with 10-dog "rag tag" team of Alaskan huskies and no real leaders. We came home with several leader prospects and two leaders who began to show real confidence after only two days of work with Ann and Jamie. The pull training has been my "secret" to success as we compete in 30 and 60 mile races in New England where good, strong pullers is essential. I've continued using the techniques I l
earned at Boot Camp to develop my team. An added bonus was making some long-lasting friendships with other Boot Camp participants. I would recommend Boot Camp to first-timers as well as veteran sprint and mid distance drivers.
- Tenley Meara
As the Crow Flies Master Guide Service
Topsham, ME
