Sun Dog Express - Sled Dog Kennels, School & Tours

08/01/2026

🍯 Exciting News! Sundogz Honey is now available in Valdez! 🍯

We're excited to announce that Valdez RV Park is now carrying Sundogz Honey in their gift shop!

If you're visiting Valdez or heading through on your Alaska adventure, stop in and pick up a jar of our Raw Alaska Wildflower Honey, harvested in the heart of Alaska's Interior.

Inspired by Alaska's beautiful sun dogs and the long days of the Midnight Sun, our honey is gently strained, never pasteurized or ultra-filtered, allowing you to enjoy the natural flavor and character of each harvest.

Whether you're looking for a unique Alaska souvenir, a thoughtful gift, or simply some delicious local honey, we'd love for you to give it a try.

📍 Now Available at:
Valdez RV Park Gift Shop
Valdez, Alaska

💲 $30 per 16 oz jar

A huge thank you to the team at Valdez RV Park for supporting local Alaska businesses. We look forward to sharing a little taste of Alaska with visitors from around the world!

🐝 Pure • Raw • Unfiltered

07/17/2026

🐾 NEW on the Sun Dog Express Blog: Legends of the Dog Yard 🐾

Every dog yard has a few legends.

The dogs whose names are still spoken years after they’re gone. The ones who taught us lessons, carried us through difficult trails, and left paw prints that never fade.

Today I’m sharing the story of one of those very special dogs.

Tinker Bell was a member of the very first litter ever born at Sun Dog Express, affectionately known as the Disney litter. She grew into a quiet, dependable lead dog who guided our teams for thousands of miles across Alaska. But when the harness came off, she was as gentle and loving as they come.

It’s been fifteen years since we lost her, but her legacy lives on in every team that has followed.

This is the first story in a new series called Legends of the Dog Yard, where I’ll be sharing the remarkable dogs who helped shape Sun Dog Express over the past four decades.

I hope you’ll enjoy meeting them as much as I enjoyed sharing their stories.

🐕 Read Tinker Bell’s story here: https://sundogexpressdogsledtours.weebly.com/sun-dog-express-kennels-blog/legends-of-the-dog-yard-tinker-bell

Have you ever had a dog who changed your life? I’d love to hear about them in the comments. ❤️🐾

07/16/2026

Fifteen years ago, we said goodbye to one of the greatest dogs I’ve ever known.

This is Tinker Bell.

She was a member of the Disney litter, the very first sled dog litter ever born in the Sun Dog Express dog yard. None of us could have imagined the incredible life she would go on to live.

Tinker Bell was a quiet, stoic lead dog. She wasn’t flashy and she never demanded attention. She simply stepped into lead, put her head down, and did her job. Over her lifetime, she led our teams for thousands of miles across Alaska’s winter trails.

Like so many great sled dogs, there was another side to her. The same dog strong enough to pull a sled through deep snow was gentle enough to curl up with a child, comfort someone having a hard day, or quietly rest her head in your lap.

She taught me that true strength isn’t loud. It’s steady, dependable, and kind.

Even after 15 years, I still think about her. Dogs like Tinker Bell don’t just pull sleds. They leave tracks on your heart that never disappear.

Run free, sweet girl. You’ll always be one of the legends of Sun Dog Express. ❤️🐾

07/04/2026

🇺🇸 Happy 4th of July from all of us at Sun Dog Express LLC! 🐾🛷

Today we celebrate the freedoms that allow us to live, work, and chase adventures in one of the most incredible places on earth.

From eager sled dogs racing down snowy trails to long summer days under Alaska’s endless sky, we’re grateful for the people, communities, and traditions that make this country so special.

Whether you’re spending the day with family, firing up the grill, watching fireworks, or simply enjoying the great outdoors, we hope your Independence Day is filled with laughter, good memories, and a little adventure.

🎆 Happy Independence Day, America! 🇺🇸

❤️🤍💙
The Sun Dog Express Team

06/15/2026

🫎🐕 Some days on the trail don't go according to plan.

Back in the winter of 2006, I headed out with a small three-dog team to pack down trails after finishing one of the season's first dog sled tours. Fifteen minutes earlier, the trail had been clear.

Then a very large, very angry cow moose appeared out of nowhere.

What happened next involved a crushed sled, a runaway dog team, a musher sitting in the snow wondering if she could outrun a moose, and one remarkable lead dog named Dudley.

When the dust settled, Dudley made a decision that I'll never forget. It's one of the many reasons he remains one of the finest lead dogs I've ever had the privilege to run.

The moose may have been the star of the excitement, but Dudley was the hero of the story.

Read the full story here:
👉https://sundogexpressdogsledtours.weebly.com/sun-dog-express-kennels-blog/close-encounter-of-the-moosy-kind

Have you ever had a close encounter with a moose? Share your story in the comments!

06/12/2026

🐾 Every musher has a dog they'll never forget.

For me, it was an old lead dog named Deoge.

Back in the mid-1980s, I thought I knew enough to start a dog team with three enthusiastic young puppies and a homemade sled. The puppies had other ideas. One was afraid, one was distracted, and one was thoroughly unimpressed with my leadership skills.

Then I found a newspaper ad:

"Old Sled Dog. Runs Lead. $50."

That old dog changed everything.

Deoge taught my young dogs how to pull, how to work together, and how to become a team. More importantly, he taught me. The lessons he passed on are still being shared in our kennel today, generation after generation of sled dogs later.

I recently shared the story of how Sun Dog Express began and the remarkable old lead dog who helped make it possible.

Read the full story here:
👉 https://sundogexpressdogsledtours.weebly.com/

Do you have a special dog that changed your life? I'd love to hear about them in the comments. ❤️🐕❄️

Welcome to Sun Dog Express Sled Dogs Kennels and Racing Team! We are happy to share the time-honored tradition of traveling by dog sled.

03/28/2026

We’re out here doing our best to think spring… even if winter has other plans. 🌼❄️

So far, this season is officially the second coldest winter on record—and still going strong. We’ve already hit 52 days at or below -30°F, and counting.

On top of that, we’re sitting at the 12th snowiest winter on record… and winter isn’t done with us yet.

But up here, you learn to look for the bright spots.
A little sunshine. A pop of color. A reminder that spring will come… eventually.

Until then—we’ll keep smiling, keep pushing through, and keep a little bit of “sun dog” energy in the snow. ☀️🐝

03/20/2026

Good puppies!

03/20/2026

Musher update!

🌬️ Nine Teams. One Storm. The Final Push is Coming. 🐾

All nine teams at the back of the pack are hunkered down in White Mountain, waiting out a powerful windstorm—by choice, putting safety first for their dogs. But when the storm breaks… it’s a sprint to Nome. And you won’t want to miss a second of it.

🔥 Catch every finish, live video, real-time tracking, and Insider chat with the 48-Hour Finishers Pass—just $15. ➡ iditarod.com/insider

⏳ They’re close. The charge to the Burled Arch is coming.

Read more about the White Mountain 9 with the newest Eye on the Trail installment by Terrie Hanke: iditarod.com/2026/03/20/eye-on-the-trail-9-teams-waiting-out-the-white-mountain-storm

03/07/2026

Top three rules of DOG mushing. #1 never let go. #3.NEVER LET GO!!!!!!