You've seen sled dogs and you think it'd be fun to train your dog to mush. Mushing, or sled dog driving, is a fantastic sport and a wonderful way to work with your dog. But it takes time and commitment to train. Any dog weighing more than 35 lb. can pull, but some breeds are better than others. Most of sled dogs come from Northern Breed stock, such as Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Canadian Inuit Dogs and Samoyeds.
You'll need to decide whether you want to run with a team or with a single dog and whether you want to go kicksledding or skijoring (wherein your dog pulls you on skis). The good news is that any training you do will apply to larger teams as well.
Things You'll Need
- X-back harness for sled dogs made to fit your dog
- Collar
- 6-foot leash
- 10-foot leash
- Place to train
- Kicksled or very light sled
- Gangline
Instructions
Choose an area to train where there are forks in the trail so that you can give right and left commands.
Put a collar and harness on the dog. Clip a 10-foot leash to your dog's collar and a 6-foot leash to the tug loop on the back of the harness.
Start going forward saying, "Hike!" If your dog isn't sure whether to lead out, encourage him to go forward with praise. Do not touch your dog if your dog turns around and comes back. Instead, wait for your dog to turn away, and then give your dog praise. Step forward, and encourage your dog to go forward.
Teach your dog to go left and right. Approach a fork in the path and give the appropriate command ("Gee" for right and "Haw" for left), and gently guide your dog in the direction you want to take.
At every intersection, give the command for the direction, or if you want to ignore a trail branching off from the main one, use the command "On By" or "Straight," and go straight ahead.
Practice stopping. Use the word "Whoa!" as the command to stop.
Practice these commands every day for at least 15 minutes for a month or until your dog is reliable with each command.
Hook your dog up to a very light sled or kicksled on snow with a short gangline and practice the commands with the sled.