Training, puppies, and sad goodbyes.

Hi Everyone,

Well, training is in full swing, and the wet cool summer has transitioned into a wet warm fall, so nothing has changed really. The weather in Gausdal has been amazingly bad all summer. In fact, it is the wettest summer since 1906. We have had a grand total of 9 days without a drop of rain since May.

The dogs are being troopers though. They are happy and dry in their houses and have shown no signs of hesitation when faced with the prospect of yet another training run in the rain.
Our youngest puppies seem to have excepted rain as a part of their day to day, and are just as likely to be out playing in the rain as they are to be sheltered inside their house.

We have had them inside for some dryout and socializing time.

They have gotten big, and started getting some fun personalities. Wave is the surfer dude of the group. Does his own thing and only check's in to tell us how radical what he just did was. Stream is like her Mom and makes a lot of noice just in case their is something to make noice about that she is missing. Rain is a little bit more of a mellow guy. Very friendly and very active like the rest, but more inclined to stop and notice the details, unlike Stream who wouldn't notice a nuclear bomb go off.
Puddle is a sweet heart. Very tough and small, but off all the puppies she is the one most inclined to come and snuggle.

Fall training is rolling along. The team looks great.
The puppies from last year are looking awesome now in the adult team. The biggest surprise has been Moon, our little non-discript grey female. She was a very carefull puppy, who showed some signs of uncertainty last winter as a puppy. Now she is a total rockstar. She is running in lead a bit, hard driving, smooth moving. Who'd a thunk it.
Hudson, Marble and Soline have all been pulling leader duty as well. Marble is good after we have been going for a while or with a team in front of her. Hudson is a train, just chugging along up front. And Soline takes it very seriously being in front.

Soka is back training with us a bit after having her puppies. They are almost weaned now so she has started some light training. It is a relief to have her in the team again, as she is the only experienced leader we have.

We had to say goodbye to two of our dear friends. A few weeks ago we said goodbye to George and Blåmann. They had both gotten very old over the summer, and after consulting with the vet it was decided that the best for them would be to enjoy the summer, but not have to struggle through another Norwegian winter.
George was 11 and Blåmann was 14.

















We miss them both tremendously.



On a happier note we will be importing a dog from Alaska in May.
I have done the flight and travel logistics for Team Sigrid Ekran's trip to Iditarod 2012, and in exchange Sigrid agreed to bring back a dog for me.
I just needed to find the dog.

After several months of searching and thinking, I contacted DeeDee Jonrowe, who some of you may remember as the musher Kaia worked for in Alaska.
DeeDee listened to what i was looking for, asked follow up questions, slept on it and offered us Ethan (see picture).
Ethan is 6 years old. He has finished Iditarod in DeeDee's A-Team 3 times as a leader, and represents DeeDee's opinion of her best lines and dogs. Ethan damaged a wrist during training, and is out of the Iditarod pool, but is a super dog and one that will be able to train with us and more importantly contribute to our kennels genetics and future. Ethan will certainly be Ropphaugen Royalty!
The plan as it stands now is that Ethan will come to Norway in April, when Sigrid returns from Iditarod. So if everything goes as planned, Ethan will be checking out his new digs before our females come into heat!
A huge shout out and thank you to DeeDee Jonrowe for working with us! We are excited and can't wait to get Ethan here!

Updates as events warrant

New Horizons with a new team

Hi Everyone,

The summer that never was is almost over, and the air is starting to get that crisp autumn feel to it. As I sit here it is raining for the second consecutive day. That may not sounds to bad but when you consider that we have enjoyed only 6 days without rain since May 1st, I feel I have earned the right to gripe about the weather like an impotent old man. On a factual note, this has been the wettest summer in my area since 1906. Which bodes well for future summers (in theory). Rather than brave the weather and head out into the dog yard I must admit that I am sitting in bed with a cup of coffee, watching the weather come down. I stood up briefly to check, and apart from the occasional glance out, the dogs are warm and dry in their dog houses, and seemingly quite content to stay that way for the immediate future.

Speaking of the future. We have some new puppies to report.
My leader Soka has had her puppies. Four solid puppies were born exactly three weeks ago today. We were fortunate to get two males and two females. In honor of the wettest summer in 105 years, the puppies have received the following names. Puddle, Wave, Rain, and Stream. Wave looks like his mum, while the remaining three are copies of their father Langbein. I was up visiting the puppies father several days ago, and he seemed rather unmoved by the news that he has become a father for the billionth time. He regarded me with a sort of warm dissinterest, much like a elderly relative. His eye's said "That's nice dear...What was your name again?"
No matter, Soka is a wonderful mother. Attentive without being obsessive, and very gentle. I am very interested to see what the puppies we hold on to will turn out to be. The breeding is an exciting one.

Our kennel has experienced a changing of the guard the past few months. Old timers have been retired, and young upstarts have stepped in and are in the process of filling the footprints left by the retirees. Overall I would say that the team has gotten better. However, it is sad and bittersweet to say goodbye to some of our old friends. Blåmann has retired completely. Kajo and Splint left for better trails in Hemsedal with Andreas Heja. All of our borrowed dogs were returned in the spring. Now we have our core team left and one borrowed dog for the season.
With a few acceptions, the team is still known to us, as most of the "new" dogs are last years puppies. They are looking very nice so far. We had our first training run on Friday night and they are looking fantastic. Marble, my future super dog, ran in lead for the entire first run. Moon, the puppy I had the least faith in last winter has suprised me with her drive and positive attitude. Soline has guts and a beautiful gate. Onyx is head down no BS. Bronx is steady and happy. Shale is fast and light, but a little unsure if she is up towards the front. Hudson is the strongest dog I have ever owned, bar none.

During the last of our winter runs, Hudson broke three harnesses. I want to be clear... He did not chew them, or break the tig loops. He broke the stitching that held the harness together. I thought that perhaps the harnesses were getting a little old, so for Fridays run I put a newer harness on him. We didn't leave the yard before the stitching was gone. Off with that harness. I rumaged around in an old duffle-bag and found Yoda's old Nooksack harness. For those of you that know Yoda, he was my first dog and 80 pounds of pure, happy, muscle. Hudson is stronger, but Yoda weighed more. So far, Yoda's old harness has held up thanks to the quadrupple stitching I asked Kathy for all those years ago. Hudson has some big paw prints to fill if he is running with that harness. However, with his friendly attitude, and bowlingball head, he is well on his way to doing Yoda's memory in the team proud.




Apart from the puppies we have a few newbies in the team.
Øyvind Mortensen from Kirkenes has been nice enough to provide me with the dogs I needed to fill out the team.

Emi is a small (wicked small) female. Born last year. Pertified of bridges with water running under them. She was here in the beginning to see if I could get her to run. She is sweet, has a good coat, good feet, and basically became one of the gang within literally moments of arriving at the kennel. After seeing her run, she is here to stay. Emi is young. Only 18 months.






Merian is a big rangy male. He can be a bit of a wimp if he is running far up in the team and a lot is happening behind him. But he is honest, and a few kind words is all he needs to settle back into his beautiful trot.

Kill is the newest team member. With Kajo sold, Splint sold, Blåmann retired and Soka on maturnity leave, I found myself suddenly leaderless. Kill was a dog I had been eyeing at Øyvinds since he arrived at his kennel from Robert Sørlie. Luckily for me (and Øyvind), Øyvind found himself with more good dogs than he expected out of the last few years of puppies. So he needed to make some space. Øyvind has a well founded faith in his own puppies and breedings, so he decided to hold onto his own breedings first. I was lucky enough to get Kill. Kill is 2.5 years old. Has an awesome coat, awesome head and great atiitude. He is another of those rare dogs that was at home the moment he stepped into the kennel.


I am signed up for the Femundløpet 400 in February. I will have a very young team, so we will be taking it slow and fun. The speed in between checkpoints will be good, and we will rest for a long time in each checkpoint. It will be more of a training race than anything else, with the main focus being fun, and finishing. I am excited to see which of the puppies make the team.

Otherwise, the summer is slowly coming to an end, and training will be in ful swing within the week. We have a few runs under the belt so far, and are getting pumped for the season.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe late summer/early fall.

As always... Updates as events warrant.

Puppies and a New Job!

Hi everyone,

I apologize for how long between posts it has been. I have been as busy as a one armed coat hanger, and Kaia has been busy too.

I have gotten a new job!
About a month ago Tim Hunt contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in working for Dr. Tim's in Europe. I played it cool and said (very cooly) YESYESYESYES OHGODYES. He was impressed with my coolness and after interviewing with him and VP Denny Zogg, I got the job and started cracking! My official title is Barry Siragusa Boy of Destiny.
Ok, Not really...
My real official title, (honest) is European Representative for Dr. Tim's Premium Petfood.
I am basically the sales consultant for the working dog market for all of Europe!
I am thrilled and have been having a blast since I got started. After sending the emails letting all the "little people" know that I would not forget them on my rise to the top, and the following emails apologizing for letting it all go to my head, I have gotten hard to work getting Dr. Tim's into the market and stomachs of sled dogs in Europe.
Thanks to Tim and Denny for the vote of confidence!

Yesterday we picked up some puppies. Two to be Exact. Ben and Jerry are their names.
We considered Chunky Monkey and Half Baked, but in the end we went with the mundane, and Ben and Jerry it is.
The pups came from Trond Ørslien and Anita Pettersen. They are super friendly and beautiful pups. We are very greatful for the chance to corrupt young minds.

Updates as events warrant!