ChessieDB Weblog : Try Dog Sledding this Winter...

Try Dog Sledding this Winter...

Posted on June 19, 2008 at 12:05 PM in categories Dog Sledding

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.

Comments

Posted by on October 23, 2010 at 05:36 PM

This past Spring I bought a helmet-cam and took some video of Pete and I on a scooter run around the park. It's a lot of fun and an excellent way to train your dog for a dog sled. The video gives you some idea of the simple commands used: Gee, Haw, Hike, Whoa and Easy. You can also add Gee-side/Haw-side, Gee-pass/Haw-pass if you want to get fancy. :)

Posted by on October 24, 2010 at 11:54 AM

About harnesses...

In the video I posted earlier, Pete is wearing a "Distance Harness" from Howling Dog Alaska. On a scooter, bike, ski-joring setup, etc., the tugline comes out from a much higher angle, so a standard X-back harness would not work properly. When the tugline (aka gang-line) is attached to a sled, it's angle is lower and pulls the X-back harness down on the dog's hips. By comparison, the tugline on a Distance Harness attaches in the center of the back.

There's also a third kind of harness designed for the two dogs closest to the sled (aka wheel dogs). In this case the angle of the tugline is so low, it can pull down on the X-harness too much, so special Wheel Dog Harnesses were developed. These harnesses are longer and the tug line attaches behind the dog instead of above their hips.

js.

Posted by on October 24, 2010 at 02:12 PM

About kick scooters...

Kick Scooters (or Kick Bikes) are better known in Europe. They also have winter models called Kick Sleds, which look like simple dog sleds, but are not meant to be pulled. Wikipedia has a page on Kick Scooters and Kick Sleds.

If you have only one dog, a good kick sled might be a better alternative to a real dog sled. The K2 dog sled I mentioned above is 23 lbs, and with one dog this is plenty for a good cardio work-out. A quality kick sled with snow runners would probably be a better alternative for one dog (lighter and less expensive).

If you live in a northern region, you can also look around locally for dog sled manufacturers. There are plenty of "backyard builders" making quality sprint-type dog sleds.

js.