How to Dog Sled
Ever saw a documentary that featured dog sledding and wished you can do that too? Dog sledding has been around for a while, and the dogs that pull the sleds have been bred exactly for that purpose. Here are the basics to dog sledding, and how you can experience it for yourself.
Deciding to take up dog sledding is no small thing. You have to be committed to learning it, taking care of your dogs and refining your own techniques. The best way to get started is to take time to learn about dog sledding by reading books, watching dog sled races and consulting with an experienced “musher”. Ask the musher about the technicalities and practicalities of dog sledding, like what breeds make good sled dogs, how much they cost, where to buy them, how to train them and how to take care of them properly.
dog sled
What are the usual dog breeds for dog sledding? The list of dogs include the Siberian husky, the malamute, the Alaska husky and the Samoyed.
Mushers start grooming their sled dogs at a very young age. Training and grooming include familiarizing the dogs with their collars, pulling the sled and responding to verbal commands. Mushers should also start identifying which dogs lead, which dogs direct the sled around curves and which dogs pull the bulk of the weight.
Make sure that you observe the proper care and feeding of your dogs. They will need physical strength to pull the sled in rough terrains in high speed. Learn how to discipline them, how to administer first aid, when to start training a dog and when to retire a dog.
Become familiar with the verbal commands used in dog sledding. “Let’s go” or “alright” are used to start the dog sled. “Easy” is used to slow down. “Gee” is used to turn right, “haw” to turn left. “Straight” or “straight on” is to keep the direction going straight. “Whoa” is used to stop.
Become familiar with the sled. How it works, how it can get fixed and of course, how to operate it.
Load up the sleigh in advance, keeping in mind the weight limit for it. Install the sled bags very securely.
Make sure that you have the items you need to protect you and your dogs against the extreme cold.
Start practicing with harnessing the dogs and hooking them to the sled. You can then learn how to add gang, neck and snub lines. Decide what kind of formation you will have your dogs take.
Make sure you know your route and where the checkpoints are.