For someone with Sleddogs

Ace Of Hearts

Hiya yall! Ace of Hearts is back! I was just wondering about sled dog racing training tips. My brother and I are wanting to start out our own sled team, and I was wondering if anyone had any helpful tips other than me searching through the web. Any suggestions on sled dog racing? Thanks!

Curbside Prophet

American Huskys are the best sled dogs.

ilovemychihuahua

Oh true true, huskys are the Number One Dog sled, thing.

OC_Spirit

What kind of tips are you looking for? There''s so much I could say about dogsledding that its better if you narrow it done with specific questions Theres everything from different breeds to different sleds to different harnesses to different set-ups and then you have nutrition and training methods and even housing!!! Ahhh so much LOL

To start you off though heres an article I wrote a short while back:

Logically to get involved in this sport you're going to need some equipment. I will admit that it is rather pricey to get started however the good thing is once you've got everything you need, you dont have to keep buying continuously because the equipment is long lasting (well provided it isn't destroyed by the dogs!)

To start off with, you'll need dogs. ANY breed of dog can get involvedin this sport from ankle-biting Corgis, to elegant Poodles. It isn't JUST the Northern Breeds that can do it. It's up to you to decide which breed you are most compatible with and why you are getting into the sport. If you're just doing it for fun then your options remain fairly open, however if you're seriously considering heavily competing and going for the top then you'll want to look into breeds that are a little speedy but can also withstand the harsh winter conditions that sledding takes place in. A few of the stereotypical breeds involved are Siberian Huskies (what I personally run), Alaskan Huskies (a mix of sibe and greyhound or pointer), Alaskan Malamute, Eskimo Dog, Samoyed, etc etc Each breed was developed for a specific purpose so their running styles differ.

Once you have your dogs you'll need to get them fitted with harnesses. Now you can't just use any old harness that Petsmart sells, you have to get a harness specific for pulling or you'll end up with a ruined dog since general walking harnesses put pressure points on the wrong spots of a dog. Not only do walking harness differ from pulling harnesses but there are also several different types of pulling harnesses. Everything from x-back, to h-back, to hound harnesses, and more! You have to review each harness and decifer which one suits your needs the best. I personally chose the X-back harness because it evenly distributes the weight across your dog's body giving him optimal pulling power and it's a great all-purpse harness.


Not an essential, but a racing collar does come in handy! It has a nice large ring whch makes it easy to find when hooking and unhooking dogs, it gives you something to grab when leading a dog a short distance, and your dog's tags aren't attached to it so when he's running they aren't flying everywhere.


cont''d...

OC_Spirit

Of course you'll also require a sled. This one is going to take a little more time to contemplate because it's almost as complex as buying a car! You need to figure out first what type of pulling you want to be doing. Are you going to just putt around town? Are you wanting to race? Do you want to do sprints or mid-long distance? If you just want to have some fun and are running a small team I'd recommend a kick-sled. If you're wanting to do sprints then a sprint sled is recommended and if you're doing mid-long distance or are running a larger team a toboggan sled would suit you best. Once you have chosen which you're going to be doing you'll have to sift through hundreds of models of sleds to find the one you are most comfortable using. Some are light and flexible, some are heavier and stiff, some are made of aluminum and are on a pulley-system so you can flex it quicker. I use a sprint sled made by Chatmac called a Gremlin. Perfect sled for the beginner sprint racer!


One piece of safety equipment required if you want to race (or even if you don't race but don't want to lose your team when stopped) is a snow hook. This is like your emergency brake on your car. When your team is stopped, you stick this in the snow so they can't take off on you.


Now for the confusing part, all the lines!!!! Your main line is your gangline and that's what runs up the middle of the pairs of dogs and connects to your sled (the mixed black and blue one). Off of this comes the tuglines (long solid blue) and necklines (short solid blue). The tuglines are what attaches the dog's harness to the gangline and the neckline is what attaches the dog's collar to the gangline so he can't veer away from the team (no tension at all unless the dog goes out too far)


Tugline attached to harness


cont''d...

Puppy & Dog Forums

 

OC_Spirit

neckline attached to collar


OC's sporting the neckline that would between two leaders since it obviously can be attached to the gangline since they're up front


Your best friend in sledding is going to be a good solid caribeener. They come in so handy in many different ways! Connecting dogs to lines when ropes break, connecting the snow hook to the gangline, connecting the gangline to the bridle on the sled, etc etc


Another little best friend on the trails are hand warmers!!! Just open, shake and dethaw those fingers!

OC_Spirit

Here's a full 2-dog set OR an attachment to add another pair of dogs (these would be the leaders). Notice how the neckline is not attached to the gangline.


From behind (please try to avoid your heart getting broken by looking into the eyes of the soulful OC after he figured out we actually weren't going sledding)


And finally the most important thing, the box to carry everything!!! This box is only this tidy once during the season and that's before its ever used! LOL I wanna get myself a nice trunk that I can decorate and has a lid to close



Something I forgot to include in my orginal article is that most races have a rule that in order to compete you MUST have a dog bag on your sled. This is to carry a bit of gear (such as an extra leash or a couple necklines in cas of an emergency) and its where you put an injured dog that cant pull or run anymore. A sled bag is the blue thing that is on my sled sitting behind me and the boys

siberian husky lover12

I have a siberian. They are also great for racing, due to there lightwieght but strong power! We are getting a few others in and my brother is building a sled. I can get you the links i found, on it.

Ace Of Hearts

Thank you very much OC. Would you consider a V-harness for summer racing?? Like putting something like a seeley-slider sled on wheels for umm.... about three dogs?? or is there another type of harness that you recomend for this? I just do it for fun, and once I get the hang of it I want to host my own dog-sled race in town down main street. thought it would be a fun way to introduce sleddog racing in my town. I already knew line set-ups, but I was wondering if you knew a site that would be good for ordering the rigth kind of harness for my summer fun racing. Thanks again! You've been a big help.

Ace Of Hearts

lol Curb. My little racer is a 11 month old Akita/BC/Austrailian shephard/Newfie/Chow/Blue Heeler/possibley German Shephard
The other racer is my bro's dog, Cali, a half St. bernard half Malamute. I think they'll make a great team along with my other dog, Buck, a cowdog/Cheakipeake cross.

Puppy & Dog Forums