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Frank Sihler's dog team

These 16 dogs were in harness to start the run to Nome. Frank had most of his team in mind in the week before the race, and on the last weekend he filled out the team with the strongest dogs that work well together.

Several dogs will take their turn as leader. The best leaders are the ones who immediately follow "gee" and "haw" commands to turn right and left, an important skill when there are branching trails and obstacles in the trail.

Bilko. Bilko
Female. Born 2005. An ethusiastic runner. "She runs quite far up on the team," says trainer Jeff Deeter. "He (Frank) really is quite happy with her, even though he doesn't like white dogs. She's an exception." Littermate with Blaze and Braveheart.
Blaze. Blaze
Female. Born 2005. "One of the most wild dogs on the team. She loves to go," Jeff says. Littermate with Bilko and Braveheart.
Braveheart. Braveheart
Male. Born 2005. "Braveheart is kind of like Blaze, sort of a wild guy," says Jeff. "He interested in everything, including running. He loves to run. He runs mostly close to the front."
Cannon. Cannon
Male. Born 2005. This Iditarod is his "first big thing. ... He can go lead, and we will try him out on the trail for that," says Frank. Brother to Chinook.
Charlie. Charlie
Male. Born 2005. "He's going also to lead, this we know, but we need to see how he's doing under race conditions," Frank says.

Chinook. Chinook
Female. Born 2005. Can be a leader. Sister to Cannon.

Clarence. Clarence
Male. Born 1999. Ran in the Junior Iditarod 2006 and in the Don Bowers Memorial race, an Iditarod qualifier. Command leader, "a good everyday leader," Frank says.
Dipper. Dipper
Male. Born 2005. No race experience.
Eddie. Eddie
Male. Born 2000. No race experience. "He's a very good team dog," says Frank, "a good honest team dog."
Green Pea. Green Pea
Female. Born 2000. Good gee-haw leader. Leader of two Junior Iditarods with Jeff Deeter. Ran 2004 Iditarod as far as Rainy Pass, where she was bitten by another dog and withdrawn.
Gunner. Gunner
Male. Born 2004. Good gee-haw leader. Father of Cannon and Chinook. Littermate of Trigger.
Mugsy. Mugsy
Female. Born 2005. No race history. Frank says, "A leader, but not yet a gee-haw leader."
Nigel. Nigel
Male. Born 2000. Very experienced, but not a leader. Ran in 2003, 2004 Iditarods and middistance races such as the Don Bower Memorial and Knik 200. In 2005, Frank says, Nigel was "the employee of the year here in the kennel. He got the most miles."
Slick. Slick
Male. Born 2002. He ran two previous Iditarods, in 2005 with Bartlett and 2006 with Ryan Redington.
Tears. Tears
Female. Ran in 2004 Iditarod as far as Ruby. Leader of 2005 Don Bowers Memorial race team. Ran in Junior Iditarod 2006.
Trigger. Trigger
Male. Born 2004. He's a leader, Frank says, but not a gee-haw leader yet. No race experience. Brother of Gunner.

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