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| Last updated at 3:47 PM on 08/10/07 |
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IMPROVISATIONAL TRAINING – In the few months of the year without considerable snow, Scott Hudson uses a not-so-traditional method to keep his team in shape and train for the approaching winter months. Here, Mr. Hudson “mushes” down a road near his kennel led by lead dogs Ceanne and her mother Shiloh.
Kenn Oliver photo
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Gone to the dogs 
Labrador huskies getting exposure, gearing up for winter
KENN OLIVER
The Labradorian
In April of this year, Les Stroud, better known to his fans as Survivorman, came to Labrador to film an episode of his namesake show.
In true Labrador fashion, Survivorman took a team of Labrador huskies up into the Mealy Mountains with the goal of surviving for a week on only a small amount of survival items.
To meet his canine needs he approached Scott Hudson, owner and operator of Northern Lights Kennel in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. After a couple days of training with the dogs, and already confident in the television personality's skills (he once ran his own team of sled dogs) Mr. Hudson watched his dogs go off with Survivorman.
The episode has yet to air Canada - it will on October 16, at 9:00 p.m. on the Outdoor Life Network - but it's already been seen across the United States. The episode can also be partially viewed on the Internet at a popular online video sharing website. It's here where many of the show's viewers expressed concern with how Survivorman treats the dogs. In one scene, several dogs become quite aggressive with one another and Mr. Stroud is forced to kick one of the dogs to quell their ferocity.
"If they get into a fight, like what happened, make no bones about it, get in between them, separate them, and that's the only way to do it," attested Mr. Hudson.
"The reality of it is that people fail to realize and understand, if you don't separate them from fighting, they're going to do much more damage to one another if you let them carry on."
In a later scene, Survivorman opts to let the dogs go. This too caused some online viewers to raise concerns.
Mr. Hudson, however, said that he and Mr. Stroud had arranged to release the dogs at a predetermined time and place. Though he would have liked to have seen it pointed out during the episode.
"There was no risk or danger and no chance of the dogs going off in to the wilderness at all... within three to five minutes of him releasing the dogs, I was on the komatik."
Despite a small tempest of negative reaction, Mr. Hudson was pleased with the episode.
"It was great exposure for Labrador and for the Labrador husky."
Labrador tradition
Raised in the Métis community of Black Tickle, Mr. Hudson has always felt that the Labrador husky is a huge part of his culture and identity. As such, in recent years he's been active in promoting the breed on a local, national and international level.
In 2005 he was a key driving force in establishing the first Big Land Challenge Dog Team Race (BLCDTR) in central Labrador. Following two successful races, funding problems in 2007 kept the race from taking place.
But like the resilient nature of the revered Labrador husky, the race is back on for 2008. And it's shaping up to be bigger and better than ever.
So far this year, the organizing committee has interested teams from Ontario, Quebec, the United States and the U.K. Also slated to attend is an international mushing magazine based out of Maine.
"The Big Land Challenge is growing, the word is getting out there, and I have every confidence that this year will go ahead."
Another husky project Mr. Hudson is invested in, is the newly formed Labrador Husky Society. Not even a year old, they are going through motions of getting their incorporation settled and establishing their mandate. Once that's out of the way, one of the chief goals is taking stock of Labrador husky populations.
"We need to form a registry of Labrador huskies; how many purebreds are left in the area so we can have an idea of the numbers and the work ahead of us in keeping the breed going."
The only barriers facing both the BLCDTR committee and the Society is membership. Mr. Hudson says both are too low in numbers and need to be augmented.
He contends that anyone with Labrador roots, be it aboriginal or otherwise, can attest to the Labrador husky touching their lives in some way and as such they are encouraged to step forward and lend a hand.
"Having these dogs recognized by the province as a heritage animal is something that's long, long overdue," insisted Mr. Hudson.
"These dogs have been in our people's live for generations and it's very worthwhile, once it's achieved, it will be a great success for all of Labrador."
If you're interested in joining either committee - or both - you can contact Mr. Hudson at 896-0095 or via email at hudsonscott@hotmail.com
editor@thelabradorian.ca
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09/10/07
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