Politics of Dog Food

Alright so when you have thirty eight dogs it takes a bit to feed them all winter. I think I mentioned before that the dogs eat mostly meat, and I definitely mentioned the chicken. The dogs eat a mixture of chicken and beef with some liver and fat added in sometimes. Only a small amount of kibble is added. This all gets mixed together in a large tub with hot water so the dogs end up getting this kind of soup to eat. They get fed once a day, after running. They also get “watered” in the morning before running. The “water” is just a watered down version of their actual meal.

So, I as before, I definitely mentioned the chicken (traumatic experience? Me? Pfft, no…) but that’s actually a relatively new operation. This is only the second year they’ve done it. Those chickens were laying hens that were done laying, and were just going to have to be rendered or disposed of. So the Hutterite colony instead sells them to the dog sledding community for 25 cents a pound. Not a bad deal.

Before Don used to get chicken from a different Hutterite colony, a little closer to where he leaves. I believe they have broiler chickens (for eating), and one of the ladies of the colony started collecting the pieces of the chicken that don’t get used and started grinding them up, and selling them to Don for dog food for something like 20 cents a pound. So, once again, stuff that used to be waste, now turning a profit.

Don worked for forestry in Alberta for many years. They’ve lived in the area for something like 40 years, and have been running dogs for almost as long. So Don’s done this Hutterite colony a lot of favours in developing their operation and getting various permits for things and helping them out by purchasing additional goods that they’ve made and stuff like that.

A bit about Hutterite colonies before I get too far. So I don’t believe that are Hutterites in Ontario, or there are very few, but initially I was led to believe they were like Mennonites.

Ok, also before I get too far, disclaimer, I did about zero to no research on this, it’s what has been told to me and what I’ve observed. Basically I’m almost definitely wrong at any given time.

Anyways… Hutterites are similar to Mennonites, however Mennonites have their own farms, and Hutterites live together in colonies of between maybe twenty to eighty people. They all help in the farming efforts. Also when Hutterite colonies reach a certain amount, they break off to form new colonies. 

So, what’s the problem? Well in addition to helping out the nearby Hutterite colony, Don helped them grow their dog food operation by telling other mushers about it. It became a larger operation, more people are involved besides just this initial lady, Sarah, who was a friend of Dons’. Also Sarah has gotten older, and younger people are taking over the position she used to hold in the colony. As a result of all this, the price has gone up. Now this new guy is telling Don its 50 cents a pound. So Don is pissed because it’s over double what it used to be, and even though its (A LOT) less effort than grinding up the layer hens, it’s just not worth the price anymore. So he’s buying less chicken from them and switching the dogs to this new stuff. Sarah is upset because she and Don had a good arrangement, and Don is a dependable customer. Now they have an excess of dog food, because the other people they were selling it to are less reliable, and Don doesn’t want it anymore because it’s too expensive.

This all culminated in a trip to the Hutterite colony the other day, for tea, at around 8:00 in the evening. All the Hutterites live on the farm in little complexes. So we drive over to Sarah’s, and sit around in their living room for a while. Sarah lives with her sister, Margaret, and their cousin whose name I didn’t catch was also visiting for Saskatchewan. Also their brother, Darius, was there as well. So we’re all sitting around the kitchen table for tea. I guess the chicken deal was the elephant in the room. Darius is one of those people who’s always joking around, so he starts needling Don about all this dog food they’ve got stored up in the freezer and how he needs to take it off their hands. This sets off Sarah and Don, who start up about their deal, and everything that’s been going on. Sarah wants to know where Dons getting chicken now, and initially Don won’t tell her, but then starts talking more about the grinding and everything and they actually guess which Hutterite colony it is pretty easily. So now that’s on the table, Sarah is also telling Don that she’ll sell him the dog food for the original price. Don’s nervous about getting involved with that because they’d be undermining the other man who is in charge now, and he doesn’t want Sarah to get in trouble. At one point they talk about how a handshake is worth more to them than a signature. Then they shake hands over something. Honestly it was difficult to follow, and it was like 11:00 at night by this point, way past my bedtime.

All in all, sled dog food is not acquired by just going to pick up kibble at the grocery store. At least if you don’t want to spend a fortune. I’ve heard a little bit about how a majority of mushers have deals similar to the ones above. People know local farmers or butchers that can get them meat somehow. It gets more complicated the more competitive you are too. Factors come into play like how coarse the meat is ground, and what ratio of red meat to white meat you should feed. In conclusion though I believe they ended on good terms, but Don’s also got all his food for the winter, so who know what it’s going to be like next spring. It’ll probably change again since the guy with the layer hens also wants to up the price to 35 cents a pound. All I know is that last year spring chicken grinding was April 13, and I am not going to be here.