Intro: Cece’s breeder Lori said it best — Cece is a firecracker. The former leader of her litter, Cece now happily terrorizes her older pack mates. She doesn’t back down from anybody. She is the only one of our dogs that Juno will “submit” to, lying down on his back and allowing her to use him as a chew toy. She is obviously something special! We knew Cece would be different from our other dogs because she is from racing lines. Her breeding is mostly NorthWapiti, a Canadian kennel run by Karen Ramstead, ten-time Iditarod veteran. Cece has numerous champions and Iditarod veterans in her pedigree, and both her parents have participated in mid-distance races. We waited for Cece for a long time. After seeing her parents’ first two litters, I knew I had to have Cece. I picked her practically from birth and she has not disappointed me since. We only showed her briefly, as she didn’t like it much and lacked the coat to be truly competitive. In only a handful of shows, though, she had some nice wins over more mature bitches, including a Best Puppy and a Best Puppy in Specialty Show. She produced an excellent litter for us, and her daughter Lillie has accomplished more than we ever thought possible.
Health & Conformation: Cece’s OFA hips are excellent and eyes are normal. She is a very moderate girl at 21 inches and 43 pounds, with good bone. She is put together beautifully and is extremely light on her feet. Even as a baby puppy, she just floated across the ground. Her excellent structure and movement is most apparent when she is loping in harness — her topline simply does not move. Cece has wonderful length to her upper arm, pelvis, and second thigh. Most importantly, she has leg! Her proportions are close to ideal for us. Given all the amazing athletes in her pedigree, it is no surprise that she is our most athletic dog. Maybe not for long, though. Her daughter Lillie is giving her a run for her money!
Temperament: When we brought Cece home, we were worried that her energy levels would be through the roof. While she did require the most exercise out of all our puppies, she is also surprisingly calm. She has a good on/off switch. She is one of our smartest dogs and has a lot of thoughts and ideas. In order to keep her happy, we try to provide her with both physical and mental stimulation. Cece has always seemed mature for her age and reads other dogs’ body language very well. She is on the more dominant side and sometimes gets into spats with the other dogs. She can be too prey-driven for her own good and won’t take no for an answer. But no matter what she is doing, she has really good recall in the yard. One of her favorite activities is tormenting her children, who are still terrified of her even though they are bigger than her.
Drive: Cece is a sled dog, through and through. If she hears the sound of you picking up a harness, she starts jumping off the walls in excitement. Once she is in the car, though, she is perfectly calm and quiet, since she knows what’s coming next. She is a great leader in harness and pays attention to voice commands, though we are still working on accuracy. Because she is still young, we have not trained for speed yet, but she can easily go 5-10 miles, rest for a day, and be completely fine the next. I have yet to see her really tired. Together with Marv, she led us to victory in the 2020 Tug Hill Challenge 2-dog 6-mile skijor race. It was their first race ever and they did awesome for both being yearlings.
