Is anyone here into training sled dogs?

Question

I am only thirteen but i would like to know what i can do. i probably wont be entering any races. it would just be a fun thing for me to do. my old dog (a husky/shiba x) pulled a little plastic sled, you know the ones they make for kids to ride down hills, i attatched her to one of those and she pulled my little sisters everywhere! she loved it too. i really would like to get my new dog into pulling sleds. what equipment should i get and how do i get started?

Answer 1

You're right about any breed of dog being able to pull a sled.  Not all dogs will be competitive but that's OK.  I know one former musher who had a lab on his 8 dog sprint racing team.  I also know several hunters who harness their hounds and bird dogs in front of sleds in the winter.  

You can get an excellent harness from Nooksack racing supply as well as ganglines,  snowhooks and other hardware.  Their web site is nooksackracing.com.  Another good web site is sleddogcentral.com.  You might find a deal on a used sled in their classified ads.  A good mushing sport for one dog is skijoring.  That is when your dog pulls you on cross country skis.  The dog wears a regular mushing harness and the skier wears a special belt that the towline attaches to.  That keeps your hands free to use the ski poles.  

Answer 2

You need a good harness -- you never want the dog pulling weight using a collar, and the walking harnesses they sell at the pet stores aren't built correctly for the job.

My favorite sledding equipment supplier:

http://www.adanacsleds.com/

Depending on what you want to attach your dog to (another plastic kid's sled? A real sled?), you may need more equipment. Excellent resources for beginners:

http://www.ooowoo.com/JUNIOR/index.html

http://www.sleddogcentral.com/beginners/...

For Tim:

You can buy dog scooters off the net. Here's a little intro to the sport:

http://www.sleddogcentral.com/scootering...

Scooter info, sales and equipment:

http://www.dogscooter.com/

http://www.digglerstore.com/scooters_dog...

Answer 3

I can't wait to get started! I have 3 Huskies and I'm dying to get my hands on a 'doggy scooter' so I can run the rural mountain roads of Western NC.

I just can't seem to find a scooter or plans for one. We don't get enough snow to use a sled so if anybody knows where I can get a scooter let me know!

Answer 4

It's not wise to start teaching an older dog to pull. This can cause alot of stress and sudden changes on a dog's system. especially when theres only one dog pulling.

http://www.dogteachers.com/sled/