The dogs on our dog sled tours are amazing. When people come on our trips they always ask how hard it is to train them. Well the basics of running and pulling are genetics. It is amazing to take some puppies that have never been put in harness and hook them up and they go. I like to compare it to a Labrador. Have you ever met a lab that does not chase a tennis ball? Have you ever met anyone training the lab to chase the tennis ball? Now the details such as giving it back you train, but the basics you do not need to.
It is the same with the sled dog pups. We need to work with the dogs on details but the basics they are born with. To introduce the pups to running we hook up 4 older dogs in the front. We than harness the pups behind them and than slowly take off. They jump around a lot but they go forward. We travel a total of two miles on this first run.
Over the next year we will run them and slowly build up their miles. In the winter on sleds and in the Spring and Fall on ATV
