Heat

For those under 18: stop reading.

Everyone else: sorry if you deem this inappropriate, but sex is part of the kennel. A big part of the kennel. Females in heat, males too distracted to run straight, and all the problems it causes. It is a constant concern and nuisance for the handlers, but it is almost as exciting to the dogs as running (maybe more so).
Right now, the entire kennel has gone insane. More than half of the females are in heat. The females that are not, will be within the week; at least, they are acting that way. When a female is in heat, she has two options. Either, she'll sit right down and growl at any male who looks her way (my favorites tend to do that), or she'll stick her butt right in their direction (excuse my blunt language). In reaction to this, the males in the kennel have stopped eating. The females have got them all so distracted, they cannot think or eat or run.
The only option is to wait it out. Females stay in heat for about 3 weeks. The second week is the craziest and the most optimal time for breeding. Since female dogs only come into heat every six months, the dogs only get two chances a year to breed. We are not breeding anyone this time around, we have enough young dogs as it is (I'm secretly hoping for puppies anyway).
The most problematic thing right now is training with the dogs. I had noted earlier that females have a hard time running together because they tend to fight. Now, however, we do not have an option. We cannot run males with females. We have already had issues with males trying to stop mid-run to check out a female; other males get all tangled in the lines trying to reach a female. Even when we stopped for a water break yesterday, the two lead dogs, Juno and Lynx, got a little more action than we would have hoped for. Therefore, the line up for the team is completely different. Males with males and females with females. I have to watch the lines carefully, waiting for fights or males to get a little too close. It is definitely high tension right now.
The other problem is in the future. Like I said, females come into heat every six months. Right now, that timing coincides directly with the Iditarod. If the females are in heat during the race, it could be disastrous. Many good racers have had to pull out because their dogs could not handle it. We can only cross our fingers at this point that it will work out.
For the next few weeks, I will have to force feed the males and discourage the females from teasing. Hopefully a dog won't get loose and hopefully we can keep training without too many distractions. Three weeks of heat and then it's back to normal...