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00:00My name's Mike Rowe and this is my job.
00:11I explore the country looking for people who aren't afraid to get dirty.
00:15This is a dangerous place.
00:16Very dangerous, you get burned.
00:18Oh my goodness!
00:20Hard-working men and women who earn an honest living.
00:23You want an apron, Mike?
00:24No. Aprons are for girls, Rob.
00:27Doing the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us.
00:32Now get ready.
00:34Wait for it.
00:35Wait for it.
00:36To get dirty.
00:41Coming up on this special episode of Dirty Jobs.
00:44Ready!
00:47When the Alaskan wilderness calls.
00:50I call back.
00:53My assignment? A sled dog ranch.
00:56We learn an old lesson.
00:57You don't go where the Huskies go.
00:58You probably don't know what a squeeze off is.
01:00I have an idea.
01:01And you never touch that yellow snow.
01:04Oh no!
01:05What have you done?
01:07Solid advice.
01:08From legendary sled dog racer, Martin Boozer.
01:11People like know you around here.
01:13Two or three people.
01:14Yes.
01:15And later.
01:16Ah!
01:17Damn it!
01:18A look back at my previous Alaskan misadventures.
01:21Why is it that in Alaska nothing is simple?
01:24Like maybe the pole or some...
01:27I don't know.
01:28The place is pretty.
01:29The jobs?
01:30Not so much.
01:35Oh God.
01:36Crazy fuel!
01:37I don't know.
01:38The kids are free.
01:39Yeah.
01:40And we're all in the same place.
01:41Radio.
01:42The big boy.
01:43No!
01:44No!
01:45No!
01:46No!
01:47No!
01:48No!
01:49No!
01:50No!
01:50No!
01:51No!
01:52No!
01:53No!
01:54No!
01:55No!
01:56No!
01:57No!
01:58No!
01:59No!
02:00No!
02:00No!
02:00No!
02:01No!
02:01No!
02:02No!
02:03No!
02:04No!
02:05Behind me is the Alaska Range, and that mountain there specifically is called the Sleeping Lady.
02:11She can't hear me right now because she's sleeping.
02:14But if she could, I'd have a message for her.
02:17I'd say, get up!
02:19Put some clothes on!
02:21It's freezing!
02:32Come on, guys.
02:34Rise and shine.
02:35Hello, Mary.
02:37Hello, Pippa.
02:38Sam, how you going?
02:39Good to see you, buddy.
02:40Hello, Angel.
02:42Today I'm at Happy Trails Kennel, where legendary sled dog racer Martin Boozer breeds and trains
02:47Alaskan Huskies.
02:49Who do we have here?
02:50Marlon?
02:51Great, great.
02:52Orion?
02:53Relax.
02:53Take a load off.
02:55Good to see you there, Fido.
02:57Martin trains his dogs for the world-famous Iditarod, a 1,049-mile endurance race where teams
03:03frequently face sub-zero weather, gale force winds, and blinding blizzards.
03:11Martin?
03:12Come on in, Mike.
03:14It's cold.
03:18It's great.
03:20It's a beautiful day.
03:21It is a gorgeous day.
03:23Who's yelling at me?
03:24That's Tonto.
03:26How many you got?
03:28We've got about 80 dogs here all the time.
03:30Do you know all your dogs?
03:32I know all of them by name, but I know about half of them by sound as well.
03:36Who's doing that one there?
03:38Oh, that's a hot foot.
03:40Somebody must be walking.
03:41And I know what they're saying.
03:42There's all, throughout the day, you'll hear different sounds.
03:45When we hook up, it's an excited, let's go bark.
03:48When a moose walks by, it's, oh, there's a moose.
03:50When somebody drives up, it's, oh, somebody's coming.
03:52All different sounds.
03:54So the dogs will make a difference when they see a moose versus a car?
03:57Absolutely.
03:58Oh, yeah.
03:59They're talking.
03:59I mean, they're...
04:00What are they saying now?
04:01Right now, somebody's walking around, and they're maybe expecting to be fed.
04:04Could be Barsky.
04:05He wanders off once in a while.
04:07Where is he?
04:14All right.
04:14I mean, real quick, your bio from, you know, I ran into some locals last night.
04:19People, like, know you around here.
04:21You're sort of...
04:21Two or three people.
04:22Yeah.
04:24So you've been running dogs, racing dogs, Iditarod now for how long?
04:28Well, I had 25 Iditarods under my belt.
04:31I'm getting ready to do my 26th Iditarod.
04:33How long is the Iditarod?
04:35Well, the Iditarod is the world's longest sled dog race, and they call it 1,049 miles
04:40simply because it's over 1,000 miles long, and Alaska is the 49th state.
04:44Oh, okay.
04:45So 1,049, it's really about 1,100, but who cares?
04:48You know, what's another 50 miles amongst friends?
04:50Yeah, right.
04:51You've done 25, then?
04:53You've won a few?
04:53Won a few.
04:54Set a few records along the way.
04:56Yeah?
04:56Yeah.
04:56What is the record for 1,049 miles?
05:00Eight days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, and two seconds.
05:02But who's counting, you know?
05:03Only one guy knows that number.
05:12Sled dogs do more than just run races like the Iditarod.
05:15Even today, many native communities in northern Alaska rely on sled dog teams for transportation
05:21during the long winter months, and sled dogs are often used to patrol the Nally National
05:26Park.
05:27All right, so the first order of business here, we have Learjet.
05:29Named because she's amazingly fast?
05:32Well, because I know I'm never going to have my own airplane.
05:35So we named litters after themes, and I have a jumbo jet, and I have a challenger, I have
05:40a citation.
05:41And Learjet, of course, had puppies.
05:43How many pups did she have?
05:44I think she had five.
05:46What we're going to do now is I'm going to, I often, in order to have my dogs really super
05:50well socialized, and she will get a little upset, I will grab these puppies, and I'll
05:55simply stick them in my shirt.
05:58I actually walk around a lot with, you know, I can claim I'm not that fat.
06:04But often I have puppies, and I hand them out to people.
06:08You've got dogs in your clothes.
06:08I've got dogs in my shirt all the time.
06:10In fact, you could take a couple and...
06:12Oh, I'd love to.
06:13If you want to stick them, just so they don't drop out.
06:15Yeah.
06:17Stick them in there.
06:18And as soon as we remove all her pups, she will get a little nervous, and then we'll
06:22leave and we'll go into the basement.
06:24Here in the basement of the main house, we'll be removing the puppy's dewclaws, those single
06:29claws positioned high up on the front paws.
06:31If the dewclaw is not removed when the dog grows up and starts pulling sleds, it can
06:36become a dangerous liability by getting caught on something and ripping loose, requiring
06:41a vet to remove it and stitch the wound.
06:45You got your one still?
06:47I got, I got, I got two dogs in the belly.
06:49Good, I got three, I think.
06:52So where?
06:52I should have three.
06:53Is this your office?
06:54Is this your basement?
06:55We call it the clubhouse.
06:56Yeah?
06:57Why don't we work on your guys first?
06:59These puppies are only two days old.
07:02The nerve endings in their paws aren't even fully formed, so removing the dewclaw will
07:07only feel like a pinprick to them.
07:09But I should warn you, a little prick can still make you squeal.
07:13My puppies hardly ever have rare dewclaws.
07:16Of course, I check gender, make sure the puppy is healthy.
07:19Um, and then we get to the front dewclaws.
07:22These are real strong, warm, healthy-looking pups.
07:26Right.
07:26So what you need to do is you just hold it and kind of isolate with your left hand, you
07:31isolate that foot for me.
07:32Uh-huh.
07:33What I'm going to do is I'm going to, I'm going to attach a little hemostat to that dewclaw.
07:37Uh-huh.
07:38And with another hemostat, I will actually clamp it off.
07:41And it might squeak a little bit, but it won't make much noise at all.
07:50Beautiful.
07:51Pop that little...
07:52It's okay, puppy.
07:55And now I'll do the same thing.
07:57Give me a little more leg here.
07:59A little more leg?
07:59All right.
08:02Beautiful.
08:04Pop that.
08:04And I'll leave that hemostat.
08:05What we do is we don't cut the vessels.
08:08We squeeze them off.
08:09That way they don't bleed.
08:10Uh-huh.
08:11There we go.
08:12All good?
08:13See, it doesn't take very long at all.
08:14I got it.
08:15I've done it once or twice, obviously.
08:17You want to do one or you want me to do one more?
08:19Yeah, I'll try one.
08:22Attach one of those...
08:24To the outside?
08:24To the outside of that nail.
08:26Very good.
08:26And just squeeze it so it clicks shut.
08:28There you go.
08:29See, now you can let go.
08:31Very good.
08:32And now you come...
08:33You want to go underneath the first one with the second one.
08:37There you go.
08:38Out there.
08:39Uh-huh.
08:46And you stack it off.
08:49Beautiful.
08:50That little knuckle out there.
08:53Beautiful.
08:53Uh-huh.
08:56You do the show and tell kind of the...
08:59You know what I...
08:59That's kind of one of your moves.
09:01It is one of my moves.
09:02I try and get the gunk, the snot, the sperm, the nail.
09:06The stinkiest, nastiest...
09:07Whatever it is.
09:08I want it from here right in their living rooms.
09:10Right about like that if I could.
09:11If I could reach right in and put it right in my viewer's mouth, I'd do that.
09:15I am so glad there is no smell-o-vision.
09:17A man can dream.
09:18It's really a tiny incident right now.
09:21If you do it right now, they have hardly any feelings in their feet.
09:24People should do it as a matter of course on any working dog.
09:28Well, what was the purpose of this thing, evolution, back when?
09:31Back when dogs were still climbing trees and scratching and going up, you know, hiding and chasing after stuff.
09:37Right.
09:37And our dogs don't have to climb trees anymore.
09:39So this is slowly but surely going away.
09:41Pointless.
09:42Like our belly buttons.
09:44No, belly button has a bigger function.
09:46Really?
09:46You used to be attached to your mother more than you are now.
09:49Oh, that's, you know, that's largely rumor.
09:51That's where...
09:52No one's really actually...
09:53No one's really proven that.
09:54Martin, I've done a lot of reading and, you know, working for the Discovery Channel.
09:58It's a...
09:59Jury's still out on that whole billicle cord thing.
10:01We might have to actually name this group of puppies after Discovery characters.
10:09Looks like a Barsky to me.
10:11Barsky?
10:12Yeah.
10:13Barsky's a male?
10:14Well...
10:15Qualifies?
10:15Miss Barsky.
10:16Okay.
10:18See, now we got a...
10:19It's hard to say.
10:20We'll have Mrs. and Misters.
10:23That's a nice pup, too.
10:24She's a big, strong girl.
10:26Big, strong girl.
10:27Good hair coat.
10:27Well, we'll name her Doug, then.
10:29Yeah?
10:30That would have to be Jones.
10:34See him?
10:35Little Barsky, little Doug, little Troy in there.
10:38Look at that.
10:38All just pals lying around together.
10:41Just like in real life.
10:44You bet.
10:45Coming up...
10:47No babies.
10:48Keep your babies out of the pool.
10:51I learned the hard, cold facts about Alaskan huskies.
10:54This is like a bad news Easter egg hunt.
10:57And then...
10:59This is bad.
11:00It's the premiere of my big, fat, ugly Alaskan agony.
11:03I can honestly say everybody looks the worst I've ever seen.
11:08A rowdy review of all my rough and rotten jobs north of the lower 48.
11:13I don't know what you're laughing at, Andrew.
11:15You got snot frozen in your fake mustache there.
11:17Yeah.
11:18Learjet, you want your babies back?
11:28Each year, about 15 to 25 puppies are born here at Happy Trails Kennel.
11:34Hey, you girl.
11:35Hey, you.
11:36All the puppies are socialized, walked, and later trained in the harness.
11:41The hope is that they'll have the speed and endurance to compete in sled dog races.
11:45But until they're two and a half, it's difficult to know if they've got the right stuff.
11:50Come on.
11:51Who wants puppies?
11:54Hey, you better teach me those names again.
11:56All right, that was Barsky.
11:58Might have gained some weight.
11:59Jeez.
12:00Here comes Glover.
12:01All right.
12:04Here comes Path.
12:06A little Troy Path right here coming at you.
12:10And got a little Jones here, the bleeder.
12:17And this one is Dirty Mike.
12:23All right.
12:26Where's the sixth one?
12:30There were only five.
12:31Really?
12:32You got one?
12:33You're taking one home, I think.
12:35No, no, no.
12:36No, we got them all, right?
12:37Oh, it just looks that way.
12:40No, seriously.
12:41That's all there were, right?
12:42Five.
12:43Just five.
12:44No, I just thought there was one in there, but that's just little padding.
12:48No, that's just me, I'm afraid.
12:50That's just big living.
12:53That a girl, huh?
12:54Sled dogs aren't a specific breed.
12:58They're basically mutts bred for performance.
13:00Only the very, very best get to be used in the breeding program.
13:03You only breed the best?
13:04Only the best.
13:05What we breed for is...
13:06Stamina?
13:07Stamina, drive, desire to go.
13:11Desire to go.
13:12That's the thing you really can't put a...
13:15I mean, you can't quantify it?
13:16No, and that's why you see pitch black and pure white dogs out there.
13:20And anything in between.
13:21Well, to a certain degree, they all have a desire to go, as evidenced by the piles of
13:25crap that seem to be everywhere.
13:26Let's go find out about that, yeah.
13:28The desire to go.
13:29The desire to clean it up is happening right now.
13:33So this is the winter tool.
13:36The winter collection.
13:37The winter collection.
13:38This is probably your size.
13:40And it's got a baby warning on there, so don't climb in.
13:44It would take some foolish person to climb in that bucket, wouldn't it?
13:47Keep Barsky out of this thing, will you?
13:51Look at that.
13:53Because that whole thing is, of course, frozen.
13:55It's just really, it's in the wrist, you know?
13:57They say it's in the wrist.
13:58Right, all in the wrist.
14:02Go a fraction, a fraction lower.
14:05A fraction lower?
14:05Where it can take a little bit of snow with it.
14:08All right, because that thing is, that's embedded.
14:09Look at that thing.
14:10That is, that is the hardest piece of poo I've ever seen.
14:13A 20 below, it freezes real quick, doesn't it?
14:16That's a fine.
14:19There you go.
14:21Pretty good, huh?
14:22No, I like this.
14:23So now, see, when you do that, just pass up the fresh ones.
14:26Just leave the fresh ones be.
14:28A little hardened.
14:29And in five minutes, they're ripe.
14:31Yeah, because why you want to deal with that?
14:32You don't.
14:33Exactly.
14:33Yeah, you don't want to deal with the fresh ones.
14:36Dog poo is picked up at least twice a day.
14:41Because a clean living area keeps the sled dogs healthy and happy.
14:44And it's fun to pick up dog poo.
14:50It's all coming together.
14:58No babies.
15:01Keep your babies out of the poo.
15:06You probably don't know what a squeeze-off is.
15:11I have an idea.
15:12Okay.
15:13We take the squeeze-offs, too.
15:15That means every tiny little bit gets picked up.
15:18You don't even leave just a hint of...
15:20No, because if you leave anything behind, come break up, when the snow starts going away,
15:24all the turds we're missing now would show up in the springtime.
15:28Right, right.
15:29Disappointing little dingleberries lurking beneath the surface.
15:32Yeah.
15:33Dingleberries is a whole different deal.
15:34I actually have dingleberry combs.
15:37Really?
15:37Dingleberries are attached.
15:39Right.
15:39They get in there first.
15:40I have special rakes that clean out the dingleberry combs.
15:47Will we be doing any of that?
15:48No, they're pretty clean right now, but I could show you the equipment.
15:53Yeah, maybe things slow down a little bit this afternoon.
15:55I'll have a look at your dingleberry comb.
15:56We've got to pick up all... first.
16:01This is like a bad news Easter egg hunt.
16:03Truly, the yellow snow here takes on a whole new...
16:09I mean, it's very yellow, and it freezes right away.
16:13Look at that.
16:13A pee froze all over the post.
16:15Yeah, we might actually go on pee patrol, too.
16:19You see there's a dog named Colonel over there, and he has initiated his house to the point
16:24where it's getting pretty gross.
16:25Oh, the kernel.
16:27That kernel.
16:27Oh, no.
16:28Colonel, what have you done?
16:31Colonel mustard.
16:33We have special tools for that, too.
16:35Really?
16:36And when you start chipping on that, pee, you want to keep your mouth shut.
16:42It's just going.
16:45So far, this is the only advantage I've seen to 20 degrees below zero.
16:50It really does make the whole poo routine so much simpler.
16:53It solidifies things real quick.
16:56Yeah, now the kernel peed here not a minute ago.
16:59That's right.
16:59And already, look at that.
17:00Look how shiny it is, huh?
17:01Shiny and new.
17:02Yeah.
17:07And if it's slippery like that, we'll turn the tool around.
17:10That's why we don't touch this end.
17:13It's okay, Colonel.
17:14We don't do that every day.
17:22Just in a cold spell, it builds up,
17:24and we like to keep our dogs clean and healthy
17:27and superbly taken care of.
17:31That's quite an accumulation.
17:33It is.
17:33You know, you can run a chain through that,
17:34hang it from a pole.
17:36It'd be a nice pendant.
17:38Look a little like agate.
17:40Sure.
17:41Or the yellow topaz.
17:42It'd be very tasteful.
17:44There you go.
17:45Leave it up here for the kernel.
17:46We'll let him know the house that P built.
17:52Oh, golly.
17:53Now that's, look at that.
17:54That's pretty darn good, all right.
17:57Clear up the bottom here.
17:59With very little practice,
18:00you would be a great mineralogist.
18:03Well, a man can dream.
18:07When we come back, I'll be freezing my a** off.
18:10Ready for some soup, you guys?
18:12And while my butt freezes,
18:13I'll be learning the secret ingredient of dog soup.
18:16What kind of meat is this again?
18:19Please, sir, I want some more.
18:22Then, I'll freeze my a** off.
18:25Oh, that'll do it.
18:25Okay, we're off.
18:27And while my butt chills,
18:29I'll be learning about the dirty little thing
18:30you must always avoid when driving a sled dog team.
18:34If you run over that, that just doesn't look good.
18:36Run over that.
18:37All right.
18:38And later.
18:39Hey, it's me, Mike Rowe.
18:40Well, guess where I am.
18:42Alaska.
18:43Takes 18 hours to get to where we're going.
18:45And then, we're going to come back another 18 hours.
18:48I look back at my favorite Alaskan dirty jobs.
18:51Can you eat off that thing?
18:52Sure, they're tougher here, but more flavorful.
18:55Not any fun in the mouth.
18:56So, see, now we're almost done cleaning.
19:10We will now take the poop sleds to the poop pile.
19:14Okay.
19:14And we'll dump them out.
19:16Great.
19:17That's your demerit.
19:19Oh, I missed that one?
19:20That's the squeeze-off that you missed.
19:22That's okay.
19:23I missed the squeeze-off.
19:25In a winter wonderland.
19:26The dog poo is added to the compost pile.
19:30In the winter, the pile is inactive.
19:33Husky poo.
19:35Coming at you.
19:36But, come spring, when it thaws, straw and grass clippings are added, and the pile degrades
19:42into a dark, rich mulch that can be used as fertilizer.
19:45You know, I do believe the pee is worse than the poo.
19:47Oh, it is.
19:48Definitely.
19:48Like, running away.
19:49Yeah.
19:49Yeah, hands down.
19:52Good.
19:52And now for job security, we've got to feed them again.
19:57Just so that whole cycle, that whole cycle can continue, of course.
20:02What do they eat?
20:03Mostly commercial diets, but we make special soups for them.
20:07We cut up beef, and we put it in hot water, and we soup them.
20:12That way they drink real vigorously.
20:13Yeah.
20:15But we've got to go over to the meat shed and do some cutting first.
20:18Let's go to the meat shed.
20:19Go do that.
20:19Well, this looks like a likely place to hang meat.
20:25Hey, that's where I hang my moose when I kill them in the fall.
20:27Oh, yeah?
20:28You got one every fall?
20:29I try to, yeah.
20:31Yeah?
20:37You know what's weird?
20:38I think it's warmer in here than it is out there.
20:40Yeah, it is right now, for sure.
20:43Yeah, we're only at...
20:45We're at 10 degrees in here, and we're probably at 10 below outside.
20:49Hey, that's a good one.
20:50You have to come inside the freezer to warm up.
20:54Nice and warm in here, isn't it?
20:56It's meat.
20:58It's what's for dinner.
20:59What kind of meat is this again?
21:01That's stinky beef.
21:04Ground cows.
21:06Stinky beef.
21:07The dogs get two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, but in the winter, they get a third
21:13meal, soup, a mixture of this frozen beef and hot water.
21:21System.
21:22This meat is USDA-approved ground beef.
21:25Want to try one?
21:26Oh, yeah.
21:27But to prevent resale to humans, the meat producers mix in charcoal, a harmless additive
21:32that makes the meat unattractive to people.
21:35Dogs couldn't care less.
21:37Just put all the force in this direction.
21:40In case you slip, you don't slip towards the blade.
21:43You would slip away from the blade.
21:46That's all we need for now.
21:49Great.
21:50So we're basically going to make a soup out of this.
21:52Yeah, we're going to make four buckets of soup.
21:57Grab a handful of meat.
22:00Just throw it in the bucket.
22:03And I'll start the hot water.
22:05All right.
22:06When the dog's water bowls freeze over, the only way to give them liquids is by serving
22:11them this warm hamburger soup.
22:13That's very good.
22:16If we put too much meat in there, then the hot water doesn't thaw it out.
22:20And then they have too many chunks.
22:25The souping is real easy.
22:27We'll feed from the bottom on up.
22:29That means you dip low and you come up and you have some chunks.
22:34So each dog needs some chunks and needs some liquid as well.
22:39Right.
22:39All right.
22:42Ready to go up there?
22:43I'm ready.
22:44Watch your head.
22:45Yep.
22:49Ready for some soup, you guys?
22:51Show you on the first two dogs.
22:55Foot, foot, huh?
22:56I think I got it.
22:57When it's this cold, these dogs can metabolize up to 10,000 calories a day.
23:04Get you some meat, sir.
23:05That's a total ripoff.
23:07Of course, they can't eat all those calories at once, so they need to be fed at regular
23:11intervals.
23:13Mmm.
23:14Rule.
23:15Please, sir.
23:18I want some more.
23:20Some of these dogs have fast metabolisms.
23:22They burn more calories, so Martin feeds them more food.
23:25Other dogs have slower metabolisms.
23:27They get less food.
23:28Martin knows every dog's food needs.
23:31He doles out the appropriate amount.
23:35Coming up, see me cold.
23:38And see me learn the art of dog mushing.
23:41Holy crap.
23:43And later.
23:46Wind, snow, freezing temperatures.
23:50Alaska.
23:51Every job in Alaska is tougher.
23:53I've been up right now for about 40 hours right now.
23:57Especially the dirty ones.
23:59Hey, whatever happened to dirty jobs?
24:01The crew sunk in the mud.
24:02It's the Dirty Jobs Survival Guide to the Alaskan Wilderness.
24:05When I vomit, it would be directly on the back of your head.
24:13So the chores are officially over.
24:19At least for the time being, yeah.
24:21Now, is the fun about to begin or the work?
24:23I can't decide.
24:24No, the fun is about to begin.
24:25This is the fun.
24:26The reason we do all these chores is about to begin.
24:29But there are some basic instructions.
24:32The first sled you and I will go out on is sort of an instructor sled.
24:36And you'll be driving in the front.
24:37And you'll be standing here.
24:39And I'll be standing in the back.
24:40And I'll assist with the steering.
24:42And I'll tell you, lean left or lean right.
24:44Okay.
24:45This is a foot brake.
24:46Foot activated brake.
24:48Are there reins?
24:49Are there...
24:50The only way we steer the dogs is voice control.
24:53So there's no...
24:54There's no reins.
24:55There's no lines.
24:56There's no...
24:57So all you can do is slow them down.
24:58All you can do is slow them down.
24:59By going, whoa, whoa.
25:01Or easy.
25:02Or easy.
25:02Easy is a command for slowing down.
25:03Or you can also stand on this.
25:04Correct.
25:05All right.
25:06When I start asking you to get dogs off the chains, it's easiest to bring them in what
25:11we call two-wheel drive.
25:14This is what we call two-wheel drive.
25:16Uh-huh.
25:16And that would be four-wheel drive.
25:18But if you bring them on four-wheel drive, they'll probably pull you to the line.
25:21So lift them off the ground.
25:22Feel free to lift them off the ground.
25:24And they'll just kind of walk along you.
25:26Okay.
25:27Two-wheel drive.
25:28Put her here.
25:30This is the wheel position.
25:32This goes over their head.
25:33Then the head goes through this.
25:35We turn the harness around.
25:37Put the foot through.
25:39Put the other foot through.
25:40Then last but not least, we need to take the collar out.
25:43And that's it?
25:44And that's it.
25:49Mayu, what you doing, girl?
25:51Come on, you're making me look like a chump.
25:53Not there.
25:55That's okay.
25:55Go like that first.
25:57And now you do the head hole.
25:59There you go.
26:02Get in there.
26:03Get that head in there.
26:04And now you rotate that down.
26:06Perfect.
26:08And now she needs to put her feet through the holes there.
26:12There you go.
26:13Perfect.
26:14Sorry, sweetie.
26:17There you go.
26:17And then last but not least, we'll move the collar out of her net, out of the way of the harness.
26:22I make it look easy, don't I?
26:26There you go.
26:27There you go.
26:28There you go.
26:32Did you get her?
26:33I got her.
26:33Good.
26:34So now we've got a full complement that we want to take.
26:38So that means we've got to do one quick pick up here.
26:42Otherwise, if we run over that, that just doesn't look good.
26:45Run over that?
26:46Oh, right.
26:46We have the tools for that.
26:49You're going to wait for that to freeze?
26:51No, not now.
26:52Excuse me.
26:54Sometimes you've got to take them when they're fresh.
27:01And I have you stand on here.
27:04Okay.
27:05The very last thing you do is you pull on this.
27:09Yeah?
27:09Ready?
27:13It's a big moment.
27:15You good?
27:16Yes.
27:17All right, here we go.
27:20Ready?
27:21Ready?
27:24That's why we do it, man.
27:35Wow.
27:50I've got to say, it's kind of beautiful.
27:54Dog power, huh?
27:55No kidding.
27:56They are amazing, aren't they?
27:58Easy, fellas.
28:00Now, do they run the same basic speed?
28:03Like they have got like a general pace or is it a lope or a trot?
28:08What do they do?
28:09Well, the speed is trained into them by me.
28:14I try to teach them to go about 10 miles an hour.
28:17They could go much faster, but we teach them to go slow and steady.
28:21The 1,000-mile race, why sprint?
28:23That's right.
28:25Contrary to popular belief, most dogs can run with any other dog.
28:29But just like humans, some definitely have personalities not suited to each other.
28:34I mean, really, how far can they run before they need a break?
28:38In the long races, we typically go 60, 70 miles, and then we shut them down for six to seven hours.
28:45The shorter races, I've done as many as 110 miles in a stand-up, non-stop, go, go, go, all the time.
28:51How long does that take?
28:53About 10 hours.
28:55Unbelievable.
28:56Coming up, I lead my very own dog sled team, and my dogs give me a thoughtful party gift.
29:07Holy smokes.
29:09Then it's hypothermia.
29:10For 25 below zero, you're sweating.
29:13A second look at all of my awesome, yet awful, Alaskan assignments.
29:18Look, do me a favor.
29:19If we're going down, just put it straight into a nose dive and hit it as hard as you can.
29:23All too soon, it was time to turn our dog sled around and head back home.
29:38Good dogs, huh?
29:39Those are some good dogs.
29:41Aren't they amazing?
29:42Ho!
29:43All right.
29:43All right.
29:44All right.
29:46All right.
29:48All right.
29:49Ho!
29:50Ho!
29:51Wait.
29:52Ho!
29:53They tore a tree right out of the ground.
29:55Ho!
29:55Right there.
29:57A team of 11 dogs can easily pull a driver, plus up to 150 pounds of equipment and supplies.
30:03Good dogs.
30:04Ho!
30:05I'll just get rid of that tree real quick.
30:07Good boys!
30:08Good boys!
30:09I'll just get rid of that tree.
30:11The dogs tore the tree right out of the ground.
30:14Little tree like that won't stop us.
30:16Ready?
30:16I'm ready.
30:17I'm ready.
30:17See, they're not used to turning around that quick.
30:24Good dog.
30:25Sled dogs have a long history in Alaska.
30:27They carried the mail, delivered life-saving medicines, hauled supplies for villagers, and
30:32became the heroes of Jack London's timeless tale, Call of the Wild.
30:37What's the coldest you've ever seen?
30:40Coldest actual temperature was 63 below.
30:45How do the dogs deal with 60 below?
30:47It's just unbelievable.
30:48You know, they are just so amazing.
30:51Because of their metabolism, of course, they stay warm way differently than we do.
30:56But still, it's phenomenal that they can stay warm in those temperatures and do their work,
31:01you know, keep doing it.
31:03On a daily basis, they humble me.
31:05It's just, I'm so fascinated by them, even after 30 years of driving them.
31:12I call this the magic carpet ride, being able to be out there, just you and your buddies,
31:17just you and your dogs, going for hours and hours and hours, silently gliding over the trail.
31:22Good dogs.
31:29Good dogs, huh?
31:30Got to set that brake again.
31:36There we go.
31:38Well, whether it was true or not, Martin figured I'd mastered the basics of dog sledding.
31:42So he gave me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead my very own dog sled team.
31:48Okay, you ready for this?
31:50I'm ready for this.
31:51Are you ready for it?
31:51Ready to go to Nome?
31:53No.
31:53How long would that take?
31:55Oh, about nine days.
31:57Make sure you have your foot on the brake.
31:59As soon as I get going, you pull on that black little forward and just follow me.
32:05But keep a foot on the brake just to keep it moderate.
32:09Remember, don't let go.
32:11I'm following you.
32:12The dogs follow you or I still got to go to eat a hold up.
32:14Yeah, you still have to tell them, but they'll follow me pretty much.
32:19Good luck.
32:20Hey, guys.
32:22Ready?
32:22It's difficult to properly describe the experience of dog sledding.
32:49It's bitter cold, weirdly quiet, with only the panting of the dogs to remind you that you're not alone.
32:56You almost feel like you're in a scene out of the classic movie, Dr. Zhivago, which is partially set in the snowy Siberian countryside.
33:03The only thing different is that because the dogs never stop running, they poo on the go.
33:10And the poo bounces up into your face when they run through it.
33:14So you're constantly dodging these little poo pellets.
33:17And that's not quite like Dr. Zhivago, really.
33:20But other than that, it's almost the same thing.
33:23Pretty much.
33:24That's little Ajax.
33:34So where was he in the string?
33:36He was your lead dog.
33:37And he has a propensity to get sore shoulders anyway.
33:40Uh-huh.
33:40So after a run like this, we often take our fingers and massage them real gently.
33:47I really do love your dogs.
33:49Well, you got to for all the work that they do.
33:52Well, thanks, Ajax.
33:54You got my thanks.
33:55That was really, really great.
33:56You did great.
33:57You're a natural.
33:58I appreciate it.
33:58A few more weeks and we'd have you run a race.
34:00A few more weeks and you'd be chipping me off of these houses like frozen urine.
34:05I will leave you to the urine and your dogs.
34:08There you go.
34:08Thanks a lot.
34:09So long, Ajax.
34:09Thanks for coming by.
34:11Anytime.
34:11See you next year.
34:12All right.
34:14Oh, boy.
34:19Coming up, Frostbite.
34:21In Alaska, the tiniest task is always ten times tougher.
34:26What's the temperature down here?
34:27Seriously.
34:27Minus 20 to 25.
34:31Yeah, still freezing.
34:32I return to the scene of the crime for a look back.
34:35You want to come?
34:36No, thank you.
34:37A Dirty Jobs mailbag.
34:39Next.
34:47Mail call.
34:48Pulled this off the website from Plant Whisperer.
34:51She writes, dear Mike, what is it with you in Alaska?
34:54I mean, seriously, it seems like you're up there every other day.
34:56Why?
34:57Is it really that beautiful?
34:58Is it really that majestic?
34:59Is it really that unforgettable?
35:03Just curious.
35:05Yes, Plant Whisperer.
35:06It is unforgettable and unbelievable and undescribable.
35:11Actually, that's indescribable.
35:14Point is, you won't forget it if you go.
35:16And if you're doing a show about adversity, you got to go.
35:20Again and again.
35:22And again.
35:22I can't tell you how many times I've been to Alaska, but I can tell you that Alaska is big.
35:29Over 650,000 square miles.
35:32It's like a quarter of the size of the lower 48 states.
35:36It's got some of the roughest terrain on the planet.
35:38So getting anywhere is an effort.
35:40Like the time we made our way to the Yukon Delta Wildlife Refuge to check on the health of Canadian geese.
35:47That's where Alaska's famous Bush Pilots came in.
35:50They fly business people, tourists, and nervous film crews all over the state.
35:55I'll tell you what.
35:58If you do anything too fancy, when I bomb it, it would be directly on the back of your head.
36:02Right on the back of my head.
36:03Yeah.
36:03Yep, yep.
36:04Bush Pilots are all about safety, but the speeches are all delivered with a sort of knowing sadness.
36:10A little container in the back there, and there's some survival getting there.
36:12I am so strapped in.
36:14If we're dying, what's the point?
36:15Honestly.
36:16Maybe there's no point.
36:17Look, do me a favor.
36:18If we're going down, just put it straight into a nosedive and hit it as hard as you can.
36:22I'll be in this posture for most of the time.
36:25So that's a 1959 de Havilland?
36:28Beaver.
36:29Yep.
36:29It's a beaver.
36:30It says Army on the side.
36:31I'm going to go ahead and guess.
36:33I've got it from the military.
36:34From a museum.
36:35A museum?
36:36Yes.
36:37We're going to fly in a museum piece?
36:38Yes, we are.
36:39Antique Bush planes aren't any easier to get into than newer models, and antique safety measures seem even more pointless.
36:46All right, here's your exit, rotate the handle off, push out.
36:49Up and out, got it.
36:50Oh, boy.
36:51Getting from point A to point B in Alaska by boat also takes just a little longer, especially for commercial fishermen heading out on the Bering Sea.
37:00It takes 18 hours to get to where we're going, and then we're going to come back another 18 hours.
37:04Alaskan waters can be some of the most treacherous, and Alaskan fishermen some of the hardest working in the world.
37:10How long have you been up, Josh?
37:1220 hours.
37:13I've been up right now for about 40 hours right now.
37:16How's it feel?
37:17You can only get so tired.
37:18To add insult to injury, some of the hardest jobs in Alaska are also the coldest.
37:24Hey, what's the temperature down here?
37:25It's like minus 20 to 25.
37:28It's pretty impressive for 25 below zero.
37:30You're sweating.
37:31Yeah.
37:32I don't know what you're laughing at, Andrew.
37:34You got snot frozen in your fake mustache there.
37:36Yeah.
37:37While cleaning up a diesel spill in frigid Dutch Harbor, I learned the hard way that in sub-zero temperatures, oil and water actually do mix.
37:46They're like little slices of heaven, aren't they?
37:49They really are.
37:50They're like snowflakes.
37:51This is bad.
37:52Scooping up icy oil in a tank with virtually no oxygen actually kind of sucks.
37:56Would I do it again?
37:58No, thank you.
37:58Even the simplest tasks are more difficult in Alaska, like emptying a dump truck.
38:05Why is it that in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, nothing is simple?
38:09Like maybe the pole or some, I don't know.
38:12There's some sort of bubble over this town.
38:14Yeah.
38:15But there's like a hex on it.
38:16Everything that's simple is 10 times harder.
38:19Well, not everything in Alaska is 10 times harder.
38:22I mean, how difficult can walking be?
38:29Alaska's Yukon Territory has some of the gooeyest mud anywhere.
38:33To navigate in it, you need a unique set of land legs, or goo legs.
38:39Point your toes down a little bit.
38:44Hey, whatever happened to dirty jobs?
38:47Ah, the crew sunk in the mud.
38:48In Alaska, beside your land legs, goo legs, and snow legs, you also need your bobcat legs.
38:56I've operated dozens of bobcats on dirt, asphalt, and liquid cow feces.
39:01Ah!
39:02Ah, but Alaska's icy slush has a whole new ballgame.
39:08And of course in Alaska, beside your land legs, ice legs, snow legs, and bobcat legs, you've got to have your sea legs.
39:14I can honestly say everybody looks the worst I've ever seen.
39:19How many times have you been pooped?
39:21Six.
39:21Six, really?
39:22Uh-huh.
39:23Oh, my God.
39:24Seven if you stick around a little longer.
39:26And of course, once you start heaving, you realize sea legs are mostly about where you're standing,
39:31and how fast you can get out of the way.
39:34It's not puke, it's blood.
39:35In the Alaskan wilderness, sooner or later, you'll have to deal with the complicated issue of poo management.
39:43This is our turd burner, run by heating oil.
39:47Shoots the flame out about two feet.
39:49You should see what it was like getting it out of a beaver.
39:52I beg your pardon?
39:53Getting it out of the beaver.
39:54Oh, the plane, right?
39:55Yeah, the plane, yeah.
39:57This particular load of poo is unusually intense.
40:01Ah, damn it!
40:02Let's just call it a little bit of Barsky.
40:07There she goes.
40:08Oh, that's immediately.
40:09We're burning Barsky's poo to perdition.
40:12The end circle is about 1,200 degrees.
40:14You can cook a panache on that thing.
40:18Oh, see, it's bubbling up real good.
40:19Gonna be good in no time.
40:20Oh, yeah.
40:21Way out here in the wild, the phrase, what goes around comes around, takes on a new level of irony.
40:28That's the same gloves move, though.
40:31That's exactly right.
40:32That's exactly right.
40:33That's exactly right.
40:34Unlike low-tech wilderness turd burners, Alaskan fishing boat turd burners are more sophisticated.
40:40They just break down more often.
40:42The Incinolet Model WB.
40:44All my questions are really pointless because the diagrams are really explaining everything.
40:48Yes, of course.
40:49Basically, you're crapping a bag.
40:51This is a magic sack.
40:52Your poo and the bag are transformed into ashes, so cleaning the toilet becomes essentially just like cleaning a wood stove or a fireplace, except the logs being burned are of an entirely different composition.
41:06That's the ash pan.
41:07That's the ash pan.
41:08That's the ash pan.
41:09But those aren't ashes.
41:10That's the ash pan.
41:11Oh, look at that.
41:12Pops right off.
41:13This, my friend, is one blower.
41:16That's a blower in the Incinolet.
41:18Hurrying to fix the Incinolet, I start to feel a little pressure.
41:23Fortunately, not the same kind of pressure the men waiting to use the Incinolet are feeling.
41:29Whew!
41:30This is just above and beyond.
41:32Washing an electric turd burner in the snow.
41:34That's a new one.
41:35Not any fun in the mouth.
41:39Well, look at that.
41:41You can eat off that thing.
41:42Or you can crap in it and set it afire.
41:44And set it afire we did.
41:46Gotta make your breakfast steaks every morning.
41:48I'll let you know.
41:49The good news?
41:50We fixed the Incinolet.
41:53The bad news?
41:54We fixed the Incinolet.
41:58Yeah, the Incinolet is ready for action.
42:06It is true, life in Alaska is tougher.
42:09I'd like a large, benti, chai macchiato with a little bit of vanilla.
42:15We'll get that right up for you.
42:16Nice people.
42:17But even in Alaska, you can always get yourself a simple cup of joe.
42:21Here you go.
42:22All right, thank you.
42:24All right, have a good day.
42:25You too.
42:27Every now and then, people ask me, Mike, they say, what exactly do you mean when you say you're looking for a dirty job?
42:32And I say, well, dirty can mean anything.
42:35It can mean disgusting.
42:36It can be gross.
42:38It can mean difficult.
42:40It could be dangerous.
42:41It could be cold.
42:42It could be warm.
42:44It could be downright hot.
42:47If you got one, I'd love to hear about it.
42:51Sooner than later, before I go out in flames.
42:54Would you mind?
42:55Discovery.com forward slash dirty jobs?
42:59While there's time?
43:01It's peaceful.
43:03You can feel the quiet, dude.
43:11Coffee.
43:12Gonna need some coffee.
43:13Gonna need some coffee.
43:14How many of your shows don't make it on the air?
43:17Counting this one?
43:18You may wipe your nose.
43:20You wanna show me your other puppy there?
43:21I'm just hanging on to whatever little shredded dignity's left.
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