Beaver, lamb, tripe & horse: Iditarod dogs fuel up on interesting proteins

KTVA ^ | March 16, 2020 | Heather Hintze

[Morgana]

Dog teams coming into Unalakleet for a break are hungry after long stretches on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Kelly Maixner’s team gets a steak snack several times a day to keep them fat and happy.

“New York strips it looks like. I’ve gotten cases of New York strips and rib-eyes from Three Bears," he said. "Ray Redington taught me that trick."

Iditarod veterinarians estimate the canine competitors burn up to 12,000 calories a day.

Jeff Deeter of Fairbanks said mushers have a strategy on how to get those calories back into the dogs during the race.

“I like to feed red meats towards the end of a run and during the start of a rest," he said. "Fats are a little better for giving dogs calories going into their run and during their run."

His dogs aren’t thrilled about the fine ground beef he brought. Instead, they’re partial to homemade treats he coined “the secret weapon.”

He uses a KitchenAid to mix up dog food with supplements like glycogen to help with the dogs’ muscles.

“Some vitamins that we add, a few different powders that we mix in and it all takes place in the kitchen," Deeter said. "So you get the whole house basically covered in meat which is pretty funny."

There’s a wide variety of proteins on the trail.

[Morgana]

WOW! One time my Siberian drug home some deer road kill. I told him "I'm not taking it from you but I'm now watching you eat it". He ate it! OOO the smile on his face as he started in.

[Night Hides Not]

As a firefighter during summers in college, we feasted on "deer road kill", aka fresh venison. Our fire station was on the outskirts of civilization (a mile north of Hwy 9 to Santa Cruz, on Skyline Blvd...Saratoga Summit). Every couple of weeks, a car would hit a deer, and we'd clear it from the road.

Certainly stretched our meal money.

[HighSierra5]

Nothing like a bowl of authentic menudo with tortillas and limes. Plus a CORONA beer.

[GreenHornet]

“Beaver, again, that's a really fatty meat," Maixner said. "So that’s why that’s a good one.

I thought he died in Viet Nam.

[RandallFlagg]

In before the. “Beaver,” wisecracks.

[faithhopecharity]

Yum yum. And no da@@ tofu on the menu

[Himyar]

Here in Alabama there is a certain etiquette involving road killed deer if the car that hit it is still there. First you make sure everyone is okay, render aid etc. Then and only then you may ask “Ya’ll gonna want that deer?

[Vaduz]

Beaver is always good for you man can never have to much of it.

[cyclotic]

A musher we follow, who didn’t race this year is a vegetarian, except during the Iditarod.

His dogs, all 200 of them are carnivores.

[Pocketdoor]

I’ve eaten lamb, tripe and horse, but I’ve never eaten beaver.... Ahhh wait a sec...

[Morgana]

Never eaten Beaver meat ick!

[Mercat]

I’ve heard that highway patrol has a list of people to notify, usually low income rural people.

[Vaduz]

Beaver = Women