It’s no exaggeration to say that Iditarod Sled Dogs are the best cared for animal athletes in the world. Vet check is always scheduled for the Wednesday prior to the race. That day, Iditarod Headquarters is a busy place – dogs, mushers, vets and spectators. This year there were 96 teams that started to run Iditarod. Multiply that by 16 dogs for each team and that amounts to 1,536 dogs that had to be “cleared” to race. Dogs have an EKG, blood work and a general physical to verify their cardiovascular and overall health. If a dog doesn’t pass the physical with flying colors, the dog doesn’t race. Vets are located at each checkpoint on the trail to answer dog questions, check over the dogs and care for dogs. The vets use the acronym HAW&L as they check the dogs over at the checkpoints. “H” stands for Heart & Hydration. Vets listen to the heart and then check hydration by doing a skin fold or a gum test. “A” stands for Attitude and Appetite. The vets watch the dogs as they come into a checkpoint to see that all the tug lines are tight and they will ask the mushers about how the dogs are eating and drinking. “W” stands for weight. Vet’s and mushers monitor the weight of the dogs by checking the hips and ribs of the dogs. Dogs that are losing weight are often dropped from the team. “L” stands for lungs. Vets listen carefully to the lungs to make sure they are clear. Students can also use the HAW&L principle for periodic school check-ups. “H” stands for heart, happiness and hydration. Is your heart in school; are you happy and are you drinking enough water? “A” stands for attitude and appetite. How’s your attitude toward school, teachers and classmates; are you hungry to learn? “W” stands for wise choices. Do you make wise choices when it comes to rules and being with peers? “L” stands for legal, listening, learning and lucky. Do you know the rules and follow them; are you a good listener; do you learn from your teachers, classmates and parents and do you make good choices to create luck? Doing a school check-up and creating a strategy for improvement on a regular basis will help you become a better student. As a young sled dog, I use the HAW&L check-up to evaluate every run I take with the team. I want to be the greatest sled dog ever and I want to be a lead dog. I go through the HAW&L check-up and sometimes I do better at some aspects than at others. I pick an aspect to improve on and on my rest days, I try to figure out a strategy to make myself better then I really focus on that issue the next time I’m in harness. When I was younger, I didn’t always listen to my musher and handler. Now that I’m older, I know how important that is and I’m getting much better at listening. Really, I want to do a good job at everything I do and it seems that when I listen and follow instructions it makes my musher and handler VERY happy. They keep telling me what a good dog I am and then give me lots of treats! I hope you try the HAW&L check-up for yourself.[Gallery not found]