Turning Heads Kennel is an elite team of canine athletes and two mushers. Together, we travel Alaska’s vast wilderness, race the 1,000 mile Iditarod, and introduce Alaskan visitors to our amazing lifestyle. We are passionate about what we do and have had our hard work rewarded through improved race records, awards for “best dog care,” and great reviews about our tours from our many visitors.
Turning Heads Kennel
3 Activities
Turning Heads Kennel Tour & Dog Sled Ride
Our ride and kennel tour is a one-of-a-kind experience. The best part? Our tours are intentionally kept small because dog sledding is all about the bond a musher has with their dogs and we want to show that to you. Because of that, Travis and Sarah, the owners give over 95% of the tours themselves. After all, they know their dogs best! Both Travis and Sarah have run the 1,000 mile Iditarod and those working with them often aspire to compete in it too. Small tours also mean that you will have plenty of time to ask questions, meet the dogs, and snuggle our husky puppies. First, get ready for our tour. You don’t really need any special clothing, but make sure you are comfortable. We recommend closed-toed shoes in the dog lot. Sled dogs can be playful. Guests that want the full kennel experience are advised to wear a rain jacket or another piece of clothing they don’t mind getting dirty — but don’t worry, this isn’t mandatory and if you show up in your Sunday Best our dogs will be sure to mind their manners. In the event it is raining, most of our tour is covered to keep you dry. We will still go out if it rains because this is our dogs' favorite weather: the cooler temperatures allow them to perform better and longer. If you are feeling the Alaskan chill, we have a nice warm fire to keep you nice and toasty. If it is exceptionally hot out we may also do things differently to accommodate the needs of our dogs. Depending on how hot it is, we may have to stop more frequently or shorten your dog sledding experience because everything we do is about our dogs and their well-being. At our kennel, you’ll be greeted by a plethora of wagging tails from our retirees who now hold the official title of “kennel greeters.” Give our loving older dogs a quick pat on the head, if you like, before checking in to our tour. While you wait for the tour to begin, check out some of our racing memorabilia and photographs hanging on the walls or take a group photo in front of our kennel sign. Then, it’s time to start! When you meet Travis or Sarah, or perhaps one of their helpers, you will be swept up in their passion for their dogs. Before you head into the dog yard, you’ll be given a quick overview of our dog lot rules and how to interact with our dogs. Our dogs are all very friendly but to ensure a positive experience for both our guests and our dogs, we always teach our visitors how to interact with our dogs. Under the supervision of one of our guides, we invite you to pet and play with our dogs — though you certainly don’t have to. Take pictures of our sled dogs and their colorful houses. Then, it’s time to sing! Everyone loves a good husky howl and what better way to bond than by leading the canine choir in a big howl! After our beautiful song together, it’s time to learn about mushing. Hear tales from the trail as you learn about the gear both mushers and dogs need to excel on a 1,000-mile dog race. Learn how we deal with things like open water at -40 and the rigorous routine we go through to take excellent care of our dogs while we are racing and training. We conclude our kennel tour by meeting the youngest members of the pack: our puppies. Steal kisses and cuddles from puppies from as young as 2 days old to up to 10 weeks old. Our puppies' hilarious personalities and antics will have you laughing. Trust us, you won’t want to say goodbye to these guys! After getting your fill of kisses, it’s time to mush! We have a custom-built cart that we hook our dogs up to so we can run on the dirt. A lot of people think dog sledding is only done in the winter, but a majority of our training actually happens before the snow falls on carts, like the one we will go out on, and ATVs. If you are interested in mushing on snow, please check out our glacier dog sledding ride or visit us for a winter tour. Once you are seated on our cart, we will start hooking the team-up. In their excitement, our dogs jump and bark. This is a great time to get some action shots, so while you watch us hook up the team pulls out the camera. People never believe how high our dogs can jump and it’s a great memory to have on camera! See first hand the love and joy that running brings these amazing athletes. Once the last pair of dogs are hooked up, it’s time to take off. The team instantly quiets as we set off on our training session. The commands start just a few moments into the run. Watch in amazement as our leaders respond with precision timing. At least, that’s what we hope! We often use this tour to train new lead dogs so sometimes things don’t always go according to plan. As exciting as it is to watch the dogs get it right, it is equally enthralling to watch as we work with new lead dogs and the light bulb clicks. No other dog sled tour offers this unique behind-the-scenes opportunity to watch actual training occur. We think it’s pretty special and we know you will too! The ride will go all too quickly and when it ends, we guarantee that you will be impressed with our dogs' athleticism and their intelligence. Back in the yard, we get water for the dogs and give them a scratch on the head to say thanks. Pose with our lead dogs for the day as a great souvenir postcard before saying goodbye. We’ll tell you ways to continue your involvement with our dogs if you find yourself enraptured with the sport of dog mushing and want to follow along on our training and racing journey. We kindly ask that you do not bring treats for our dogs. We appreciate the warm thoughts and well wishes but our sled dogs are the canine equivalent of Olympic athletes and have a highly tailored nutrition program. Unfortunately, our dogs turn to tend to turn their nose up at anything except the kibble we feed and, of course, meat. If you would like to reward the dogs for their hard work, please consider donating to their booty food or purchasing a round of kibble.
Helicopter Glacier Dog Sledding
Want to cross two things off your bucket list? Look no further than our helicopter glacier dog sledding tour. This amazing 90-minute excursion combines the best that Alaska has to offer — glaciers, flightseeing, dog sledding, and snow — to create an epic tour that will leave you talking about it months after your vacation has ended. “Highlight of our trip!” and “Opportunity of a lifetime!” are just some of the positive feedback we receive from our guests. Our Glacier Dog Sledding Tour departs from our office located at the Seward Airport. Once at our office, we will prepare you for your trip. We have all the gear you need. We have boots that will go over your shoes to help keep them dry, we have rain jackets, and if you are a little nervous about the weather being cold, we even have mittens. The weather in Seward typically ranges between 55° and 75°. On the glacier itself, the temperature can vary from about 40° to 90° depending on the weather but these are temperatures you will likely see throughout your trip, not just on our excursion — so be sure to pack accordingly. First-time visitors to Alaska are sometimes surprised by both how warm and how cold various parts of the state can be. We highly advise that you dress in layers and wear sunglasses. It can be very bright on the glacier and conditions on the glacier can also differ greatly from conditions in Seward. Once geared up, we will teach you how to safely enter and exit our helicopters. We primarily fly Robinson 44 helicopters which have room for three passengers as well as a small backpack or handbag. This means that everyone gets a window seat! If you are part of a larger group, don’t worry! We have multiple helicopters on-site and are experts at working with large families, tour groups, and are even great at throwing big corporate events complete with catering! After going over the safety features of our helicopter, it’s time to fly! Sit on our sunny porch and watch for eagles, who nest in the trees on the far side of the airport, as you wait for your helicopter. When your helicopter lands, our staff will walk you out to the helicopter and help you get in. Once onboard, our friendly pilots will introduce themselves, make sure you are ready, and then it’s up, up, and away! Our pilots are experienced, professional, and an absolute blast to fly with. Never flown in a helicopter? It is much smoother than ride than flying in an airplane. Our pilots have pinpoint precision and can go just about anywhere. We pride ourselves on our excellent safety record. As you leave the Seward Airport, you will fly over a beautiful braided river that terminates in the ocean. This is a popular spot to see brown bears fishing for salmon. As the helicopter flies towards the mountains and over Resurrection Bay, keep an eye out for otters and whales. Although rare, humpbacks and orcas are known to come into the nutrient-rich water of the bay to feed. As the helicopter approaches the mountains, you’ll pass over a beautiful grassy meadow. Then, as you round a corner and enter the mountain valley check out several beautiful waterfalls. Look even more closely and try to spot mountain goats as they make their way along the rocky cliffs. When Godwin Glacier comes into view you will be spellbound. The toe of the glacier, or where it terminates, is where we see the blue ice glaciers are commonly known for. Look down below to see giant fissures and crevasses in the ice! We will follow the glacier up and slowly gain elevation until we reach the accumulation zone, the area where it snows heavily throughout most of the year. Annual Snowfall on Godwin Glacier exceeds one hundred feet of snow! You’ll be in utter disbelief as the helicopter lands at our dog camp at just how much snow there really is. You’ll want sunglasses, it’s bright! As the helicopter lands, make sure you have all your belongings as our glacier staff will come to help you out of the helicopter and escort you towards our camp. This is about a 10-20 meter walk. We like to tell our guests that the ground is uneven and the snow can be punchy at the height of the day, but it is not slippery. This is some of the only walking guests will have to do making it appropriate for all ages and activity levels. Those worried about conditions should let our staff know so that we can be extra attentive. Our dog sledding camp is the home-away-from-home for our mushing staff, who work in rotating shifts, living in this remote haven taking care of our dogs, and sharing their enthusiasm for mushing with visitors like you. Our guides will introduce themselves to you and then explain to you what life is like living on a glacier taking care of sled dogs. Your guide will walk you into the kennel where you will meet some of our famous canine athletes before going out on the trail. Our dogs are all very friendly but to ensure a positive experience for both our guests and our dogs, we always teach our visitors how to interact with dogs. Under the supervision of one of our guides, we invite you to pet and play with our dogs — though you certainly don’t have to. After getting your fill of kisses, it’s time to mush! We use a unique double-driver dog sled and we give all our guests the option to sit and relax or to help mush the team under the supervision of the guide. Before hitting the trail, we will go over the basics of dog sledding. We explain how to sit on our sleds so the driver can maneuver more easily. We also go over what gear we use and why it’s important. Most importantly, we teach those helping to mush the team, all about how to stop a dog team! Believe it or not, in dog sledding the toughest thing we have to teach the dogs is how to stop! Before we set off, the dogs generally bark and jump to show their excitement — they really love their job — and if you have a good camera this makes for some fantastic action shots. Then, with the command of “alright” the team falls silent and starts to take you around beautiful Godwin Glacier. Our guides are all highly passionate, experienced, mushers who excel at telling stories and sharing their love of dogs with you. Hear captivating stories from racing events like the 1,000 miles long Iditarod Sled Dog Race or the Copper Basin 300. Every now and then, your musher will stop to take photos of you and the team. We know photos are an important part of any vacation and we are happy to help you capture your glacier dog sledding tour. The photo opportunities here are absolutely unbelievable! During these stops, you can also say hello to the dogs or watch and try not to laugh as they roll around in the snow. Time flies when you are having fun and before you know it your 30 minutes of mushing will be over. When you get back to dog camp, you are given another opportunity to say hello and pet the dogs. This is a great time to go up to the lead dogs and pose with them for a photograph. After you go dog sledding, You have approximately 30 more minutes on the glacier which you can use to stage group photos, meet our puppies, or simply kick back and enjoy the scenery. Every year we raise one or two litters of puppies on Godwin Glacier. Having you visit us, give us an excellent opportunity to socialize our young dogs! When you’ve had your fill of puppy kisses, we invite you to relax on our outdoor porch. Sit back, enjoy the sunshine, and take in the beautiful scenery. On cooler days, enjoy our propane fire or go inside our guest tent. Before you know it, you’ll hear the helicopter as it makes its way back to camp to pick you up. Your Guide will help you snap a quick photo in front of the helicopter before helping you onboard. Then, it’s time to fly back to Seward! Back in our office, we have complimentary coffee, hot chocolate, and tea available in our office and eagerly wait to hear about your experience!
Winter Dog Sled Tour in Knik, Alaska
If you are brave enough to visit Alaska in the winter, you have to go dogs sledding! Our 3-hour winter dog sled tour is a great introduction to mushing. Drive or sit in the sled with one of our guides, learn how we train and prepare our dogs for races like the 1,000-mile Iditarod, hear exciting tales from the trail, and experience Alaska’s state sport for yourself! Pick-ups are available to and from Anchorage for an additional $125 per person.
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