Cross Breeds

GETTING INVOLVED IN DOG SLED RACING?

How does someone become involved in dog sled racing in Canada? What step does a person have to take? How do you train with the dogs? What training steps are to be taken? Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. Loki ❆ Wolfchild Thank you I really appreciate your help. Thank you very much dewclaw I am sure your advise will help us in this process. Harlee be a Sled dog - Thanks for the advise I will try my best to find local dogsledders and a mentor. I am speaking to one at this moment.

Public Comments

1. Your best bet is to find a mentor...someone in your area who runs/races dogs, and can help you get started. Sled dog clubs are another good way to get involved, but they are sometimes hard to find. A couple of good resources for you from sleddogcentral.com Beginners Information... http://sleddogcentral.com/beginners/welcome.htm Find A Mentor: http://sleddogcentral.com/beginners/mentor_list_canada.htm There are a couple of other mushers who stop by this section sometimes...I'll star, and hopefully they will chime in with more ideas.
2. I will chime in Loki, Your right, as a total newbie there is soooooooo much to learn, I could not even begin to type it all here. The sled dog central links Loki gave you are good places to start, and look around the site. If there is not a club near you there may be an equipment supplier near you, who could hook you up with local mushers. Also do you know what kind of racing you want to do, a lot of the answers to your question can depend on that. Also I would comment that you need to start mushing sled dogs before you are ready to even think about racing them. Mushing is the actually running and training of sled dogs, and that is a great fun thing. Plus you will need to know how to properly care for sled dogs. Mush With Pride is a good source of information for that: http://www.mushwithpride.org/ Once you know how to run a team, then start learning about how to race them. Basically when you race you are still using everything you know when you run dogs, plus all the additional information needed for racing. And having been a non-racing musher for years who got into racing, let me tell you Yes it is a whole new ballgame when you go from mushing to racing. Also as you get involved in mushing you might consider volunteering at a local race or event, or even handling for a racing musher. Both give you great experience and an up-close look at mushers and teams while they are racing. I learned a great deal about managing my team at checkpoints from watching others do it while I handled on the Yukon Quest. As you break into the sport you might also consider trying to get a position as a handler (kennel help) with a racing kennel. The pay sucks but you can't beat the experience. Here are some additional resources I recommend. If you want to learn about mushing, you Have to read this book: Dog Driver, by the Collins twins http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Driver-Guide-Serious-Musher/dp/0931866480 seriously I would make it required reading for all new mushers if I could. George Attla's "Everything I know about Training and Racing Sled Dogs" is hard to find, and out of print. Some parts might be dated, but overall this book is Gold. Attend local mushing symposiums. I know there are some in Canada, and many Yukoners come to ours in Alaska. and make sure you are ready, mushing is totally addictive. An old mushing joke goes.... So you want to be a Musher: .. 1. Burn a $100 bill—right now. Preferably while standing outside in freezing temps. No freezing temps, then just burn the money and move on to step 2 2. Visit your local butcher and pay to sit in the walk-in freezer for a couple of hours. 3. Soak your gloves and begin storing them in your freezer. Don't worry you can defrost them in your pants and work with bare hands for at least ½ hour daily in freezing temps. 4. Fasten a tight, wide-rubberband around the top half of your head before you go to bed each night. 5. If you wear glasses, begin wearing them with glue smeared on the lenses. 6. Slam your thumb in a car door. Don't go see a doctor. 7. Find the nearest ice rink and walk across the ice several times holding two leaping, lunging, screaming, 80 lb. Sleddogs by the back of their harnesses. 8. Take a large amount, like 40 pounds, of meat and defrost it in your living room or kitchen every day. 9. Buy a new pair of gloves and immediately throw one of them away. 10. Plan a romantic vacation that you know you can never take. 11. Go to your local feed and gear store and just give them your credit card. 12. Fill a blender with ice, hit the pulse button and let the spray blast your face. Leave the ice on your face until it melts. Let it drip into your clothes. Do this in a walk-in freezer if possible. 13. Dress up in as many clothes as you can and then proceed to take them off because you have to go to the bathroom. Again do this in the walk in freezer if possible. 14. Do all your chores outside in the cold and dark. Acceptable chores include carrying 2 full five gallon buckets of water, carrying 2 full five gallon buckets of poop, carrying 2 full five gallon buckets of cooked rice and fish, chopping 50 pound frozen solid blocks of meat into even neat little snack sized chunks. Spill anything and you must start over. 15. Eat only foods that are already frozen solid or can be cooked with just boiling water. 16. Have at least one conversation daily with each of your friends about poop, diet, and digestion. Repeat all of the above every day for a month, if your OK with it then you just might make it as a musher.
3. I found about sled dogs through Loki, I run my lab now. It doesn't even snow where live! You should should look at those links Loki gave you, thet're helpful. Even if they don't live near you all the info you can get is helpful. My best advice would be to find a group of dogsledders near you. Personal experience and a mentor are vital! It is also fun to have friends that dogsled! Again, I never would have sterted mushing if I didn't find a local group.(Their dogs "trained" mine too)