How to get Pack Dog title

OF COURSE there is tons of paperwork, flaming hoops to jump through, forms in triplicate to be notarized ... ;-)

Here's the official scoop:

Pack Dog

1. Dog must carry a daily initial weight equal to a minimum of 30% of the dog's weight. This weight shall not decrease except by normal consumption of items such as food or water.
-- in other words, 80 lb dog starts with 24 lbs of food & water distributed among packs

2. Pack trips must be on natural terrain such as hiking trails or cross country.
--not on streets

3. OPTION 1: Dog must pack a minimum of 30 miles. Each trip must be a minimum of 10 miles per day or an overnight camp out with a 5 miles in and 5 miles out. A minimum of one trip include an overnight camp out.
OPTION 2: Dog must pack a minimum of 40 miles. Each trip must be a minimum of 10 miles per day.
4. Elevation gain may be substituted for mileage in the following manner: 1,000 feet of elevation is equivalent to 1 mile of flat terrain. Elevation gain will be figured as the difference between the highest and lowest points of the trip.
-- not an issue in TX?

5. Packing requirements shall be spread out over a minimum of 2 trips.

6. An impartial witness must sign the form to be sent to the Committee verifying proof of distances and dog competing.
-- e.g., Park personnel at entrance to park ...

As for ILP, the important thing is apparently to get the photos just right -- show the snowshoe paws, the tail waving like a plume over the back, the dark brown eyes, etc. --- in other words, demonstrate that your Mal conforms pretty closely to the AKC standard for Mals -- http://www.akc.org/breeds/alaskan_malamute/

Photo instructions:
Two recent and clear color photographs of the dog;
o one full front view showing the facial characteristics of the dog;
o one view showing the full side profile of the dog standing on a flat surface (not grass).
(ALL PHOTOS SHOULD BE TAKEN AT EYE LEVEL IN A STANDING POSITION,
INCLUDE THE WHOLE DOG IN THE PHOTO. DO NOT SHOOT DOWN ON THE DOG.)

Form (pdf) http://www.akc.org/pdfs/ilpform.pdf
On p. 2, under If this dog was acquired from a National Breed Club Rescue organization, both TAMR and TVA qualify -- you can ask your TAMR or TVA representative if they can vouch for your dog, as they know the breed very well, and can tell a purebred at 60 paces ;-).
On p. 3, Briefly state reason for obtaining an ILP: you can list To compete in Companion and Performance Events

Note that, once you have your ILP, you can compete in Obedience ( ;-)!!) Agility, Lure Coursing and other events, including weight pull and carting.

The Magnificent Ghost is in surgery

Today my little Ghost (75 lbs of grey and white dynamite) is at Love Pet getting the icky growth on his leg removed. While he's under, they will also give his chompers a sparkling cleaning -- I've decided not to have his broken tooth pulled, since it doesn't seem to be bothering him. And after much soul-searching, I've also given the okay to remove his extra dewclaws in the back. I know! Terrible! But they hang out to the sides and get caught in everything. I figure some pain and discomfort now is better than him tearing one off later. He has to wear the Elizabethan collar anyway for the growth removal.

The crucial thing will be the histopathology. I'm just terrified that it will turn out to be a sarcoma, like hemangioperisarcoma ...

Positive thoughts to little Ghost!