Skijoring with 2 Dogs!

Adding a 2nd Dog

If you aren't at this point already, you will very likely be here soon!

Whether you are buying or borrowing a second dog, this post will focus on skijoring with a two dog team.

Dogs being pack animals, for the most part, enjoy the company of another dog. This is true when sleeping on the couch, digging holes in the yard or skijoring. With a well matched team, both dogs will pull equally and enjoy each others company while on the trail.

Here is a list of some things to think about before adding another member to your team.

Too much power.

Don't skijor with more dog weight than your own weight, is a general rule of thumb. If your dogs

outweigh you, it will be that much harder to control them while on skis. Or while you are on your butt being dragged down the trail, or off the trail after a deer.

Is your dog ready?

Are there any bad habits that you are still working on with your current dog? Adding skijor runs is not a good idea until you get those under control.

another dog to your

Peer Pressure

Running an extra dog will want to do everything a little more. Run a little more. Run a little faster. You will be able to go further, and faster.

You might also have to contend with different behaviours. Now that your dog is running in a pack, lose dogs or other teams might become more of a target. Or if those were issues already, your dogs might misdirect the aggression towards the running mate.

Fitness Level

If you and your current dog have been skijoring for years, or even months, the fitness level of the dogs will vary. A good tip would be to run your first dog, get some of the energy off, then add the second dog to the run. Leave the second dog in the car, you don't to accidentally train any bad behaviours while you are taking some of the edge off the first dog.

If you and your dog are used to doing 10 k runs, slow it down, and start back at the start when you add the second dog. You want this to be fun!

Neckline

A neckline will help keep both dogs focused, and going in the same direction around a tree, etc. Before you hook the dogs up together for a skijor, put them in harness, and neckline them, and spend some time walking around on trails, and doing dryland training. Offer praise when the dogs are doing what you want!

Bottom Line

Two dogs is twice as much of everything! Twice as much poop, love, time and money.

Dogs who run together will be friends for life! Once you add a second dog, you won't be looking back, so what are you waiting for?

Scooter!

Scootering With Your Best Friend

 Happy Scooter Birthday Movie

 

 

If you don't have snow, scootering is the safest way to go! 

Look for a scooter that is built for off road use.  You won't be scootering with your dogs on pavement.  So look for something that has knobby tires, and good
brakes! 

If your dog is trained already to skijor, making the transition to scootering is easy.  

Start without the dogs first, take the scooter around, practise shifting weight from one leg to another.  Try the brakes, learn how they act and react.  Take the scooter down a gradual hill, and over a variety of terrain.  Once you have your scooter legs, under you, then it's time to add a dog. 

Even if you run multiple dogs, start with one dog at a time on the scooter.  You need to be in complete control of the dog and the scooter.   Allow the dog some time to get used to the scooter as well, so keep the runs short to start.




Once you have a feel for what you and the dog are doing, you can add the rest of your team.

Helmets

I used to wear a bike helmet, but bike helmets are mostly meant to protect your forehead is a crash over the handlebars.  I have no switched to a skateboard helmet, which allows more coverage at the back of my head, and just as much coverage at the front as a bike helmet.    

 

Balance

Just like in skijoring, you and your dog are a team.   It's not your dogs job to haul your butt around the trails.  So on a scooter, you will need to be able to kick along to help the dog.   From the start, make sure you are comfortable kicking on either foot.  Wear a good pair of hikes, with grip to stay on the scooter, and enough grip to help kick on the terrain you are riding.  

Hills

Just as on skis, it is your job to maintain the proper speed on hills.  Uphill might require you to hop off the scooter, and push it up.  Downhill will require you to keep an eye on the gangline and keep it taught.  

Brakes

My current scooter has an awesome set of disc brakes.   I have loosened the brakes, so they will still catch and hold the scooter, but think of your brakes a back-up emergency device. 

If you need to stop your dogs, you will need to use your voice commands, just like in skijoring.  The brakes are there for control of the scooter, not control of the dogs.  Applying the brakes too suddenly or strongly can injure the dogs shoulders, or tear their pads.   Always give your team plenty of warning when you plan to stop by using the brakes.

Check It

Before you hit the trail:

1. Tell someone where you are going, and when you plan to return.
2.  Bait plenty of water for the dogs.
3.  Check your dogs for signs of injury.
4.  Check your gear, bolts, ropes, straps, lines. Everything should be in order.
5.  Check the weather forecast. Avoid running your dog if it's hot out.

 

More Scooter Reading

Warm Weather

 

 
 

The snow is gone, and now your dog and yourself are craving a good trail run.   No-Snow-Weather opens up more possibilities for you and your team to get out there and explore some new trails!

You don't need a groomed trail to run, scooter, or bike on with your dogs!  So there are more options!

Water, Water, Water

Soak your dog's kibble the night before, pack some baited water for the trail head, and also for rest stops along the way.  You can't bring too much water for your dogs, or for yourself.   I always water my dogs at home, at the trail head, on pit stops, and when we get back to the truck.  

New Dangers

If you have been running your dog in the winter, you have no doubt enjoyed the relative peace and tranquillity of the trail.  Many other trail users were off hibernating.  With the warmer temperatures, you will need to share the trail with more users, both two legged and four.  Expect to see more animals, loose dogs, hikers, horses, etc.  We even ran into a wedding party having their photos done once fall day!  

Expect the unexpected, and be in control of your dogs at all times.

Ticks

In some sections of the country, ticks are a growing concern.  Check your dogs when you get home, and a few hours after you get home as well. Fell for any small bumps or lumps that weren't there before.   Remove any ticks you find, and keep an eye on the area you removed the tick from for signs of infection. 

Heat Stroke

Dogs can and will overheat very quickly, leading to heat stroke, or even death. Signs of heat stroke can include:

Rapid panting

Dark red gums

Thick saliva

Tacky or dry gums

Lying down and unwilling (or unable) to get up

Collapse and/or loss of consciousness

Dizziness or disorientation

If you even THINK your dog has heat stroke, call your vet right away!  In the meantime:   move the dog to a shady or air conditioned area.   Then begin to cool the dog's body down, by pouring cool, not cold, water on the head and feet.   Offer your dog fresh water to drink.  Seek medical attention.

Don't run your dog on hot days. 

Paw Damage

Please, do not run your dog on pavement.  You are risking damage to the pads, from wearing them down, to ripping them off altogether.  Nails can become torn and cracked.  The dogs joints will also be at risk from pounding the pavement.  It is simply not worth it. 

In addition, pavement holds the heat.  So even if the air temperature seems cooler, it's much warmer on the pavement for your dog.  

The last danger with running a dog on pavement is cars and other traffic.  You do not know how your dog will react in every single situation, a poorly timed squirrel and a truck might mean spell disaster for your dog and yourself.  

Running on pavement leads to increased injuries and heat stress.

 

Before You Go

Before you run your dog on any trail, be sure to walk it first.  Scouting for possible obstacles on the trail like downed trees, logs, holes made by horse hooves, wet patches, or sections with lose rocks.  Fix parts of the trail which are dangerous, and make mental note of those sections you can't fix.  

Always wear a helmet.



 

Your 1st Race!

Getting Ready for your Skijoring First Race!

Welcome! By now you have been out with your dog, you both have an idea of what you are doing, and you are ready for a race!


First things first.  Once you have found a race near you, read and understand the rules. The rules have been generated to ensure everyone has a good time and is safe. Following the rules keeps you, your dog, and the other teams all safe.

 

Be a rule reader, don't ruin someone's race experience.

 

Is your dog ready? 

You love your dog, but not everyone else will if you have a fear biter or an aggressive dog.  Leave dogs who will not enjoy the experience at home.  At no time should you put the public or another team at risk by bringing an aggressive dog to a race. Hire a good trainer, and try working towards racing another year.

Pick a class.

Pick the class that best suits you, and when in doubt, drop down a class. If this is your very first race, find a novice class. You will have lots of fun, and get a little help out of the chute as well. You will be welcomed, and it's a great place to learn!

If you are a great skier, but your dog won't pull, enter a sport, or recreation class, and stay out of Pro. The Pro classes are for the serious racers, some of whom have been training for years. You can join them after  your dog has a bit more experience.

When in doubt, contact the race organizer, they will be happy to help you find the right class for you.

 Wax On. Wax Off.

Wax your skis! Look ahead for what the temperatures will be at the race, and get your glide wax on. If you need to, remove any of the old wax. If you are taking them in to a ski shop, leave some days between waxing and the event, so that in the event something goes wrong, your skis are still ready for race day. If you are waxing them yourself, take the time and do a good job. You want to be confident that everything is up to speed.

Get your stuff together

Skis
Poles
Boots
Race gear (Something light)
Standing around gear- Snow Pants, heavy coat, warm mitts, comfy boots, warm hat.
Skijor belt
Harness
Gangline
Baited Water
Dog bowls
Paw Wax
Poop bags
Leashes
Handler- Ask friends or family to help you handle your dogs. In a perfect world you will have one handler per dog.
Camera

The night before

If you feed kibble, soak it!.   Don't be changing their diet right before a race, but do soak it in water before you feed them. You want your dogs to have enough water in their systems, so they are ready to perform on race day.

Take the dogs for a quick walk, so they have a chance to go to the bathroom. But don't take them out to exercise them too much either. You want them to have enough energy to go go go ! 

Get a good nights sleep for yourself, and your dogs.  Follow your same nightly routine, this will help relax you and your dogs.    Set your alarm, and leave plenty of time to have a good breakfast and arrive at the mushers meeting. 

We always pack the truck the night before with skis and dog gear.  Then we have a bag by the backdoor that we can grab in the morning.  When we wake up early for a race, we want to just roll right along, and not have any stress of looking for a missing mitt or equipment. 

At the Race...

Read and understand when the classes will be starting. Know your start order. Find out where in your class you are starting, and then wait. Enjoy watching the other teams get started, watch and learn. Leave your dog in the vehicle while you wait. Even in a mid-sized race, you might have an hour or two to wait before your turn. Let your dog rest in a crate in the car, so he is ready for the event.

Do not make the rookie mistake of taking your dog out too early to the starting line. It frustrates your dog having to wait around that long, and it also gets in the way of people trying to get to the starting line with their own dogs.

Do give your dog some baited water before the race and a chance to pee and poop. Some dogs may not want to go at the race site, so it's a good plan to stop somewhere before the race, be sure they have gone before you left home.

It's time!

When its time for you to race, ask your handlers to help you get to the start line. This gives you time to worry about getting your skis on, and your Go-Pro turned on.

 

There might be all sorts of things on the race course your dogs have not seen before or experienced. Be ready for that, and remember that everything is training! If you plan to have a long racing career with your dogs, the first race is all about building experience. Keep it fun and up-beat. Praise your dogs and enjoy it!

After the Race....

Thank your dog!   Give her some water, check her feet, and give her lots of prasie.  Put her somewhere to rest, and give her a chance to pee.  

Say Thank-you. Lots.

People have worked very hard to put this race together, and on race day sometimes tempers flare, and emotions are high. So go out of your way to say Thank-you to the organizers and volunteers. If it wasn't for them you wouldn't be racing.

 

Have fun!  

 

I would love to hear about your first race experience!

My Dog Won't Go!

My Dog Won't Go!?!?!

Dogs run because it's their instinct to, it is innate in many dogs.  They keep running when it's fun!  Your job is to keep it fun!

The issue of a dog not running is very broad, this article will touch on the most common problems.

Let's first assume you are on a safe, and decent trail.  The dog's instinct is to run down that clearly defined trail.  If there has been other dogs down it, that's the trail your dog wants to follow.  I took the pack for a walk the other day, about 30 minutes after a friend had been skijoring in the same area.  The dogs caught the scent, and wanted to follow the trail with dog scent on it already.  So take advantage of this! 

 

Use a trail that smells and looks like a trail to your dogs.

Now, lets look at your end of it.  Skijoring is a team sport.  Dogs and people working together.  Your dog will provide momentum, but, as my friend Lorne likes to say to his skijor student's "It's not your dog's job to haul you around the trail!".   So put in some time on your skis, and be a team member your dog can brag about! Your dog will pull better if this is a team sport.  

Still won't go? 

You have a few options here.

 Your best option is to find another dog you can hook your dog up with. Learning from another canine can really do the trick! Make sure the owner and dog are both experienced, you want your dog to learn good habits here. If the goal is to skijor with your own dog, then don't rely on this trick. Run your dog a few times with a seasoned pro, on the same trail. Once your dog gets what's expected, head out and try it on your own! Once your dog is pulling, offer praise! You want to make this fun!  Keep it short and happy! 

The Rabbit Trick. Many newbies find that using the dog's chase instinct is a fast way to get skijoring. Ask  first, some people are working on their own training goals, and may not want you tagging along on their run. Some dogs may whip back and connect with your team. So communicate that you want to chase them to get your dogs pulling. If the team is much faster than you, your dog may become frustrated and think he's too slow to keep up. You don't want this to happen, so make sure the team  keeps a decent pace.

If you are reading this, and are the rabbit, also think about your own training goals, and ensure that running at a trot is what you want for your team. Too much time trotting down the trail, might mean your dogs don't go as fast as you like, when you like.

My dog goes, for a bit, then stops! 

 

Good! Your dog is pulling! Your job now, is to learn when the dog stops, and stop before. This not only shows that stopping is your idea, not the dogs, and gives you a chance to keep it fun! So stop, take a break, and don't start again until the dog shows he want to go. Barking, pulling at the harness are all signs your dog wants to go! Wait for the signs, you want an excited skijor dog!

 

Leash Laws

 

Dogs who have been trained to walk nicely by your side will be a little confused about getting out front and pulling.  If your dog is so well behaved that he always trots along nicely at your side you can start teaching him what is expected by doing a good line out command first.   Line out entails having the dog walk to the end of the gangline and facing off down the trail.   Offer your dog praise when he does this for you!  He will catch on quickly.  

 

Dogs who have been given corrections with their leashes might also have a harder time starting out pulling, as soon as they put their body into the harness and pull, they may initially stop and thing they will be corrected for tugging on the leash.  Use a gangline with a good bungee sections that stretches enough for your dog.  The thicker the bungee for the larger the dog.  

 

Pace

 

Some dogs are more likely to differenate between pulling and walking, if you change the pace a little.  If you start out your dryland training at the same speed as your daily walk, the dog might think you are simply out for a normal walk with some funny gear on.  Do a slow jog or trot.  You don't want to run, and lose control when your dog suddenly starts to pull.

 

 

Don't over do it. Keep runs short and fun, and build up to speed and distance over time.  

A good trail: The basics.

Hard Enough.  Wide Enough.  Safe Enough.

A good trail is Hard Enough, that the dogs do not have any punch through on the snow.  If there is a crust overtop, and yourdog hits the crust, while pulling forward, they are likely to sustain damage to their shoulders or legs.  A preventative injury, which could cost you the season.  Look for trails that are hard packed by walkers, snow machines, or groomers.

A good trail is Wide Enough, that you can get your skate on, run your dogs past any other people or teams and has trees far enough away that you don't end up dead.  People whose dogs stop to smell the roses, will also be happy with trees that are too far off the trail to prove tempting to pee sniffers.

A good trail is Safe Enough.  Think of things that can endanger your team, and yourself.  Know the area.  Are there hills? Thin spots of ice?  Lose dogs?   Traffic?   If you haven't skijored the trail before, ask around first or ski it without so you know what to expect. 

Be Safe Out There Kids.

Trails- Where to run?

Winter Trails

There are going to be 5 basic types of trails that you will run into out there.

 

Groomed Skate Ski Trails

By far the best trail to find if your skijoring technique involves skating behind the dog.   These trails are wide, and smooth.  Groomed to look like corduroy, your dogs paws will do just as much damage as your poles to the trail.  A great choice if you have permission to use them! 

In Winnipeg, various skijorers, led by our fearless leader Susie,  have worked together to get the permits required to run on groomed skate ski trails.  The trails are located in Bird's Hill Park.

With any shared trail always work to avoid tension tension.  Be polite, pick up after your dog, and go with the flow of traffic.  

 

Classic Ski Trails

Classic ski trails look like 2, or 4 lines running through the woods.  The lines, or grooves are for the skis to track in, so the skiers can get a good kick and glide.   These are unacceptable skijor trails, and should be avoided.  

The potential damage your dog will do to the trail is not only unfair to the people who want to ski it, but also to the groomers who have spent a lot of time getting it into good shape.

As a further note, your dog will likely run in the groomed tracks, which will throw off their gait, and make skijoring that much less fun.  

Snowmobile Trails

Another passable option!  Look for snowmobile trails along a river, or next to a wooded section.  The idea being, you need room to get off the trail QUICKLY should a snowmobile come down towards you.  We don't skijor on any official snowmobile trails, but rather use the tracks made by snow machines along rivers.   The tracks are often pushed down enough that there is no break through for the dogs, and some are wide enough to skate ski in.  

Service Roads

Another great option for skijoring is service roads through campgrounds, or near parks.   They often don't have any salt or sand down, so they are safe for your skis!   If the roads have been plowed lightly, they are good to go!   Just be careful of workers or machines operating in the area.

 

Walking Paths

Another excellent choice.   Some walking paths though parks and wooded areas, are plowed, but not salted or sanded.  Which make for a perfect spot to skijor!   A tip would be avoid the area during peak times, and attach a bell to your dog, or yourself.  To give people walking plenty of warning you are coming.   Expect to run into lose dogs on some of these walks, always remain friendly, and explain your dogs are working, this isn't play time.