Pretty soon the Winter season will be upon us, and that often means taking a break from training. If you want to keep your dog (and yourself) in shape, there are many winter sports to choose from. If you have four or more dogs, have a look at sprint dog sledding. Chessies are strong and driven -- they can run very fast for several kilometers. They might not be able to compete over long distances in extreme weather, but I bet they would kick ass in shorter / faster races. If you only have one or two dogs, have a look at Ski-Joring -- You wear a special harness around your hips, where the tugline is clipped on, and the dogs pull you along. You can also tie-off the tugline to kick scooters, kick sleds, bikes, etc. Lead-dog training is fairly easy (compared to field work) and the investment in harnesses and tuglines isn't too bad -- you can even make your own. There are certain design characteristics that go into making a harness and tugline, so if you want to make your own, please do some research first. :-) If you're set on buying a dog sled, a sprint-type sled (lighter and not meant to haul goods) is probably best. A competition sled will be more expensive, but there are very reasonable lighter dog sleds available too. Aside from the usual build quality considerations, make sure the sled allows the handle bar to rack / move side-to-side. This will move / bend the runners, making it easier to steer and go around corners.

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^{Wildwood Chesapeake’s in Sprint race Nov. 27 1970.}

Is anyone running their Chessies on a dog sled this winter? Last year I posted a news item called Try Dog Sledding this Winter... to outline some of the benefits, equipment, and techniques involved. Training a Chessie as a lead dog is much easier than field or obedience work. There are only a few commands, and one of the benefits is getting a fast, strong, and more obedient dog come Spring time. Because Pete was obedience trained before we started the lead dog training, it was a little more difficult -- he really didn't want to be out front. :-) It took a few weeks of hard work, but once we got him on the sled / scooter, he quickly forgot about all those corrections and loved every minute of it. The more difficult and twisty the trails, the more he loves it.

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If you're looking for a winter activity to do with your Chessie, try dog sledding! Chessies are a tough breed that need lots of activity - perfect for dog sledding. We trained ours as a lead dog a few years ago, and now Pete can't get enough. In fact, last winter we ran the same short section of trail a few times for training purposes. He soon figured out when we were heading back. He stopped, turned around, and confronted the sled. Of course we did a little more training to get over that behavior :-), but it's certainly an indication of how much he loves running. But running without control isn't fun for the handler. There are several methods, more or less complete, to teach a dog lead commands. We used Lee Fishback's book called Training Lead Dogs. It's not the gentlest approach, but it makes for a reliable lead dog. Black Ice, the company that sells this book, also sells most of the equipment you may need. We started with a simple Canadian Kick Sled for the first year, and after seeing how much Pete loved it, we bought a K-2 Sprint Sled from SledDogSystems. It's expensive, but you get what you pay for. It's very fast and light -- light enough for one dog. Probably the best harnesses you can get are made by ManMat and sold by HowlingDogAlaska, among others. If you have only 1-2 dogs, get the Wheel Dog Harness -- it's easier on the hips for the wheel dogs. The Long Distance Harness is also excellent for Skijoring, Bikejoring, etc., where the mount point of the gangline is higher up. It also works well as a restraining/safety harness in the car.

Wildwood Kennels ran a team of 8 Chessies in the 70s -- the first competitive Chessie dog sled team. Their webpage shows a great black-and-white picture of their dog team. If you have a picture of your sled dogs in action, send it to us with a short description of your team, and we'll post it on ChessieDB.

And just in case it wasn't obvious... That's me and Pete in this picture. :-)

js.

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