My Avalanche Rescue Dog Could Save Somebody's Life, Here's The Nutrition She Relies On

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“There’s no greater joy than playing with your dog, especially in the snow,” says Sugar Bowl Ski Patroller Zach Stein.

Stein is the proud owner and handler of Donner Summit Avalanche Dogs’ Alice, a three-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever that has more energy than she knows what to do with.

As Stein and I chatted on his tailgate, perched beneath the iconic peaks of Donner Pass near Lake Tahoe, Alice whimpered with excitement from her crate positioned behind us. After a few minutes of chatting, Stein opened the crate to let Alice romp and explore in the newly fallen snow.

Alice is extremely athletic. Hailing from a long line of duck hunting and competitive dogs, she’s lean, fast, and can jump further than I’ve ever seen a Labrador before. If my family’s sluggish, big-headed, beloved 75-pound Labrador is a tractor, Alice is a Ferrari.

As she charged through the snow, her wild, but excited face popped around the corner of a tree to check on Stein after a couple of minutes. “You’re good, go play,” Stein encouraged. Alice took off down the slope towards a small stream trickling down the mountain.

Stein, a 10-year veteran patroller at Sugar Bowl, became interested in working with avalanche dogs a few years into his tenure, but the process isn’t as simple as signing up. “If you want to be part of the avalanche dog program here at Sugar Bowl, you start digging caves,” Stein chuckled.

In-bounds avalanches, and especially burials, are rare at modern ski resorts, but Stein and Alice have to be ready to respond at any moment, five days a week. To stay ready, Alice engages in various drills, practices, and training sessions to stay sharp.

One of these drills, which happens to be Alice’s favorite, is the search game. “She doesn’t know she’s working,” says Stein. “We call her a working dog, but she just thinks of herself as a dog that wants to play. That’s why the search game is so rewarding. She knows that using her nose to find the buried subject or item will lead to playing tug, which is actually her favorite game.”

Stein believes that Alice sees her job as the ultimate way to play every day. Whether it’s romping around with her best friend and fellow avalanche dog, Grauple, or patrolling Sugar Bowl with Stein, she’s always engaged and ready to go.

Stein says Alice’s willingness to engage has allowed them to develop a deeper connection, but it didn’t happen by accident. “The way that I trained engagement with Alice as a puppy is anytime she decided on her own to look at me, sniff me, or come up to me, she got food. It’s kind of a blessing and a curse, though. Because of it, she’s full-on engaged with me at all times.”

Alice spends five days a week from November to April running, digging, and working in the snow with Stein. While she loves it, Stein knows the importance of keeping up with Alice’s health. Rest is essential, but according to Stein, Alice still needs exercise on days off, such as long walks or playtime with her best bud, Grauple.

Keeping her on a regular meal schedule is important, too. Alice eats at 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. every day, and she benefits from the fresh, natural ingredients included in ORIJEN™ FRESHPREY recipes.

Knowing that Alice is always on the move, Stein loves that ORIJEN™ FRESHPREY recipe’s first five ingredients are all animal ingredients, steam-cooked, and human-grade to help Alice feel and look good. Alice’s favorite flavor is the Turkey, Salmon, & Duck Recipe.

Alice and Stein are certified to the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association standard, which exceeds American standards. Alice is trained in finding bodies under the snow, but she can also identify articles of clothing. “It’s basically a stinky sweater that we put underneath the snow to simulate a deep burial,” says Stein. “A lot of organizations stop at a human in a cave, but we do deep burial training due to our snowack. The average burial depth is a meter and a half.”

Alice’s training doesn’t stop once the snow melts, either. Stein keeps her trained with weekly article-finding drills in the backyard and keeps her active with fun summer activities like swimming, trail running, and hiking.

“I still have to keep Alice’s physical fitness and health in mind throughout the summer. We participate in a local ‘Working Dog Wellness Training’ course that involves a series of stretches and exercises for both Alice and me, and Alice loves to swim in Donner Lake whenever possible. Just because winter is over doesn’t mean Alice’s active lifestyle stops.”

Stein doesn’t work without Alice, and vice versa. In fact, Stein says that they spend nearly every second of every day together, whether they’re working or not. It’s why Stein refers to Alice as his “best friend” and speaks emotionally about their bond.

“We have something really special,” says Stein. “We have a bond that is built around trust. She knows that I’m going to keep her safe and not expose her to dangerous situations, and I know that when I need her to perform, she’s going to work for me.”
If you want to help your dog to be as fit and healthy as Alice, consider feeding them ORIJEN™ FRESHPREY recipes.

Who knows, your best friend might even thank you for switching to the delicious, healthy ingredients of ORIJEN™ FRESHPREY recipes. You can thank Alice and us later.

Related: Meet Dasha, Solitude’s Adorable New Avalanche Rescue Dog In Training