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The Citizen, 1999-01-20, Page 9THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1999. PAGE 9. Bred for work, sled dogs run for the fun of it By Bonnie Gropp Citizen staff Fit for neither man nor beast has never been a winter weather problem for Mike Siertsema and his dogs. For several years the Blyth man has been racing huskies. Having always had an admiration for Siberian Huskies, the interest took a new turn six years ago when he spied a malamute at a Toronto dog show. "They are bigger, more majestic. I bought one female, then another, then started fooling around with a sled," Siertsema says. Thinking he'd like a three-dog team, Siertsema kept a male, from a litter of pups. Unfortunately, the malamutes tendency to pack order resulted in disharmony among the two females so he could only run with the two dogs. The malamute is a work dog, known as the "freight train of the North”. Not as fast as Siberian huskies, the malamutes have tremendous power. Also, though quite intelligent, their mind can be very much their own. "They say these dogs have a natural desire -to pull," says Siertsema. "But not all are born with that. They can be quite stubborn. You have to make the experience a happy one or they won't do it. If you work with them for a couple of years before you realize that it can be too late." Using a trial and error approach in the beginning, Siertsema made trails in the fields, but found himself just "kind of running behind and in front. It was tiring running through the snow so I found running down the rail line worked better." Siertsema also learned about the Alaskan Malamute HELP (Housing Evaluation Love and Placement) League, which hosted novice sledding events north east of Peterboro. Siertsema began participating in these four years ago. "Two years ago they started having races and that got me interested in that part of sledding." Used to running behind the dogs, Siertsema said he wanted something that really had the desire to pull, so two years ago he purchased from a breeder four Alaskan huskies. "These dogs just don’t stop. They pull and pull and pull." Another favourable trait is the fact that they get along with each other. The dogs, which were ex four- mile sprinters, though they had just passed their peak speed,were still competetive. And determined. Despite being chained well apart from each other, one male and female got a little too close, and the Siertsema kennel grew by eight. Siertsema found good homes for them all, but one which was returned and one he had kept for himself. All nine of his dogs run, with the exception of the one female malamute, as the other is better suited to the male for running. After a summer of well-deserved rest, dry-land training begins for the dogs in October. Siertsema uses a modified golf cart on a gravel road which toughens the feet and builds muscle. By Christmas it's time to work on speed. The short distance dogs can reach speeds of over 25 miles per hour, while the long distance dogs run at 12-15 miles per hour and cover anywhere form 50-100 miles per day. In weight-pulling events, the malamutes, sort of the body­ builders of the breed, can pull 2,000-3,000 pounds. "It’s a wheel car so it's easy pulling but a lot of weight," Siertsema explains. Though he feels the sport is a safe one, it's also only common sense to be somewhat knowledgeable before beginning. "These dogs are not that easy to read. You think they're getting tired, then they'll see a squirrel or rabbit and they'll just take off." As Siertsema prepares for a run, hitching his dogs to the sleigh, their natural desire to run is evident. As those being hitched to the sled dance around, yelping impatiently, the ones left behind are jumping frantically, with one of the malamutes clearing the fence. "These dogs are more like athletes. They have their time to relax, then to train. And when it’s time to take them sledding, they just love to do it." Lightning strikes twice to beat Sarnia 2-1 On Jan. 17 the Saugeen Maitland Lightning PeeWee Women's team hosted the Sarnia Starfires at Howick Community Centre. As of the new year, the Lightning PeeWees have been upgraded to Midgets play Wednesday Continued from page 9 one in off a perfect feed from Darryl Postma. The Midget Bulldogs have three home games remaining on their schedule, Monday, Jan. 18 at 8:30 p.m. against Clinton; Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 8:30 p.m. against Ripley and Sunday, Jan. 24 at 3 p.m. against Zurich. Blyth will meet Lions Head in the WOAA Play-off final with the winner advancing to the OMHA semi-finals. The playoff series will open in February. "A" status from ”BB". In the first period, the Lightning opened the scoring with a wrap­ around goal by Brittany Campbell. An aggressive and physical team, Sarnia had several good scoring opportunities turned away by Nicky Berfelz between the pipes for the first half of the game. Late in the second period, Samia tied the game when the puck just rolled over the goal line after a couple of whacks at it. I< < << >A AMA AMA AMA AMAAMA AO A AMA AMAAMA AMA AAA AttauieUa'A Slug. <£ ► ► <<Every day is Boxing Day ► < <for the whole month of //► 1 ◄ <January ►►>< < << 20-50% oft JL,►► ► < < Selected Winter Items \J >►► <<<faivtetta'y Slug A. 1/2 ►► << < 252 Josephine St., Wingham 519-357-4650 ►► Ten seconds into the third period, Samia picked up a hooking penalty and the Lightning responded with a powerplay goal when Carleigh Weiler knocked in her own rebound after a pass by Brittany Kellington. Stuck with a spare tire around the middle? Leave the car at home and walk. Future^, Although the momentum was turning in favour of Sarnia as the period was winding down, the girls : ung on to the lead and came away with the 2-1 victory. SAW WINTER COATS 1/2 PRICE POLAR FLEECE 1/2 PRICE SWEATERS 1/2 PRICE SPORT SHIRTS 1/2 PRICE Josephine Street, WINGHAM 357-4221 Brook Wheeler played the second half in net and shared the win with Berfelz. The girls travel to Orangeville for a tourney this coming weekend.