Mushing in Alaska

3 Hours of day light at the most is the time the Alaskans use to train and mush with their dogs.

We were fortunate to go in summer time where the sun comes up and sets in the south meaning little or no darkness.

That means we went mushing at midnight and the very early hours of the morning.

It's a mushers dream.

In summer time there is little to no snow left. So we did some dry land mushing.

This is good though since that is what we do in South Africa too.

The first time Lynn Orbison told me to choose two dogs to mush with I was beside myself. My stomach was making turns from excitement.

In her yard there is this narrow little road through the woods where you start out mushing to so many paths you can hardly count them.

So I said Lets go!

And off they went...

With a quick Haw turn we were on our way going 32km per hour.

We came to a halt with me giving the cue resting-resting. Oh they listen but you have to turn on the brakes. These dogs just want to go.

But they needed to rest.

Then they start pulling so I let go of the brake and say straight ahead!

We come to a place where we have choices of roads between a Haw, Gee in the middle and Gee.

We took the Gee.

We went by kids on a bike but they did an onby perfectly so I gave them a Haw command but one to early so we took the long way home...

After a few mushing expeditions I soon learned the paths and the dogs and we had fun.

With each Haw or Gee cue they pick up speed very excited to know where to go. These dogs are in their element mushing the dirt roads of Alaska.

When you get home I give them the resting cue again and stop by the water bucket so that they can drink immediately. Of course Glad dips her whole body in the water bucket...

My next team was a little slower, but the team after wards with little Spruce and Scoobi Doo we went 40km per hour, that was a rush!

I learned about pack dynamics and knowing which dog to put next to which dog.

Not all dogs get along...

Some dogs can be a little moody sometimes and you need to know which dog to put next to a dog like that.

If you put a shy dog next to a dog that will pick on her she may decide she never wants to mush again.

If you put a shy dog next to a shy dog you may never get started as not one of them has the leader instincts to start mushing.

So you need to figure out that maybe you need to put a confident dog next to a shy dog, but a dog that still would be gentle.

The "snotty" dog may need a dog that couldn't be bothered with the dog next to him. He just wants to mush.

When you train a puppy it's good to put the puppy next to a confident but yet a gentle soul.

You should know who your leaders are. It should be a dog that is driven to pull and run. This type of dog should want to go and know he’s directional cues.

The leaders tug lines should be tight at all times. Actually no dog’s line should slack. But it happens.

When we went mushing the other day with my Ice and Decota I let them rest and a few seconds later Ice was starting to pull the cart wanting to go forward. That's some of what you want in a sled dog.

The key is to know your dogs. If you can't "read" dogs and know what they want when it is not your dogs then it's best to mush with your dogs or the person who's dogs it is should accompany.

It's not as easy as just hooking up a string of dogs. There are a lot of different personalities that need to be taken into account for your safety and the team’s safety. This will also insure that everybody is having fun.

In these big teams you should know what signs to look for. Some dogs will tire before other dogs. Will you be able to take the dog home if he is not able to go any more?

Teach your dogs to rest...remember you will have to turn on the brakes as they will not want to stop.

What I also found in Alaska is that almost all mushers mush with Alaskan huskies and not the picture perfect dogs we see in movies known as Siberians.

Lance Mackey’s (Iditarod and Yukon quest champion)dad started racing with a Labrador.

So there is no rule that says you have to have a certain kind of dog to mush.

But...

There is of course certain features for a "winning" dog.

Depending on what your goal is almost any dog can mush.

We just need to keep it real and fun.

I saw foster dogs getting another chance at life mushing away in Alaska.

Back to Winter dogs