Dogs on Wheels
a quick guide to scootering, rig running, and bike-joring
So you don't live in Alaska, you don't have a dogyard full of 100 huskies.
Never fear, mushing is still for you.
With one (or two) dogs and a set of wheels you... and most importantly, your dog... can have a blast on the local trails.
The advantages of a small team are:
You'll need:
Training (for recreational mushing and laid back trail teams):
Mushing on a bike or scooter or rig gives dogs an interesting place to run (trails) with supervision (you) to keep them safe.
Weather: most dogs run safer, farther and faster the colder it is. Northern types often run best when it is truly cold, below 0. That doesn't happen much in PA. When and how far you run depends on your breed, your individual dog's heat tolerance, the humidity, the amount of shade, and whether there is water nearby for them to get into (streams, lakes etc.). You can do a short sprint (a couple minutes) or weight pulling in summer. A lean wiry German Shorthair with it's big air-cooling flappy ears will go better in warm weather than a heavily furred, bulky Malamute or Newfoundland. A shaded trail may be fine for a summer run, if it is early morning and there is plenty of water to jump into. Or you could run at night. You might use a cooling vest. Use a trail that crosses through streams. Be wise, consult your vet and other experts. Play it safe, stop when your dog needs to (they'll want to keep running!) and always carry enough water.
Below, photos from our "dryland mushing" runs to show you how it works.
Never fear, mushing is still for you.
With one (or two) dogs and a set of wheels you... and most importantly, your dog... can have a blast on the local trails.
The advantages of a small team are:
- Portable: you don't need a dog truck, just your car or minivan.
- Trails: any trail that allows dogs and bikes is yours. That's most local trails, rail trails are especially nice because they are level and straight.
- Feeding: one or two dogs is easier.
- vet bills are smaller
- easier to control (running a twelve dog team through tourists, bikers and dog walkers is right out, your two dog team will collect smiles and interest)
- your gear fits in one bin and you don't actually need that monster truck after all...
You'll need:
- a set of wheels; a basic Wally World bike will do, or find one at a yard sale, or drag that one out of the basement. You can also buy specially made dog scooters or rigs. Many people like scooters because you stand nearly on the ground and can just step off if the dogs need correcting (or suddenly go SQUIRREL!!!! and dive off the trail). The advantage of a bike is that you can pedal to help your dog in races, on long treks, on hills, or if you have a small dog. With a bike, you can also be the "chassee", pedalling in front of a new dog pulling a bike, giving him something to follow/chase. Or you can bike along with a newbie driving your rig (with a leash on your dogs). There are also various dog rigs, gigs and carts you can buy. "Carting" is a whole 'nother sport (from European working dog roots, and it generally needs a big dog), a cart has shafts, like a pony cart. Mushing has arctic roots, and the dogs are simply pulling a vehicle with no shafts. The vehicle might have two wheels, three or four. I have not yet seen a unicycle.....
- proper sledding harnesses; you can find those online. typical styles are x-back and H-back. There are also some shorter half harness styles. DO NOT USE A PET STORE WALKING HARNESS!!! OK, I did that with Max the Hobbit Husky (a 16 lb Schipperke)... but he was basically running in the line and keeping the line tight, not pulling hard. I've also done it with Leggy... "pulling" a bike (I can pedal, so the dogs aren't pulling hard). A walking harness isn't designed to allow your dog to pull comfortably the way a sledding harness is. A properly fitted sledding harness lets your dog pull as hard as he wants and run as fast as he wants without injuring him.
- a gangline: you can get one online, or make one, it's a rope, but has to be strong enough for your team. Also the snaps have to be light and strong enough, so I just get my stuff from outfitters who know how to build these things. A couple of fids (like marlin spikes or crochet hooks, these tools help you repair line) to repair your lines when your dogs bite through them is nice.
- a pool noodle: yes, really. It holds your line up off your wheel.
Training (for recreational mushing and laid back trail teams):
- ...is easy. Introduce your dog to the harness, make it a game to put it on, associate it with fun stuff like treats... or eventually, a run!
- get your wheels, lead your dog ahead of someone riding/pushing your wheels (to make sure the dog isn't afraid of the wheels).
- commands: take your dog for some walks, teach basic commands: let's go!... on-by (leave the squirrel alone!)... and most importantly WHOA!!!... also: stay or wait. Gee (right) and haw (left) can come later, and can be taught on a trail (fun) or in your backyard (keep those sessions really really short); come to a turn, say the word, help the dog make the turn (work from behind them, as you would when driving a rig). Teach "line-out" (a wait/stay where the dogs stretch out the gangline and stand still waiting for you to get back on the rig) by harnessing your dog, and hooking the harness to a fencepost... say "line out" , go in front of them with treats, and reward. Repeat. Eventually they should line out when you are behind them, as you would be when you go to get on your rig.
- you need a good whoa, but you will depend on your brakes a lot, unless you're running poodles (an Iditarod in the mid-80s featured a team of standard poodles, they did not come in last)
- more important is WAIT or STAY while you line the dogs out and run back to your rig/bike/scooter. They need to stay facing forward and stand still while you get on the rig. This will be important when you are on the trail by yourself and there is no trail help to hold your dogs. Carry a tie cable in your backpack in case you have to temporarily tie the team.
- follow that bike! hook your dog up, let them follow someone else jogging or riding a bike, have the biker give some treats if necessary. Make it easy for them at first, gradually let them pull harder
- get a buddy! you can also hook the dog up with a more experienced dog if you can find a mushing group
- pulling 101: you can have your dog pull a plastic kiddie sled in the yard for practice (put some weights in it)
- Don't lose your dogs! I run with a flexi-lead attached to my lead dog's collar. This is dangerous with a large strong team as you never attach yourself to a team than can pull you across the ground (first rule there is, Never Let Go!). With a small recreational team, they will stop if I fall; two dogs, lead on collar, they'll stop, and "go ahead, try to drag my sorry butt down the trail on your collar". You can also use a quick release for that lead; I use a dive belt with its quick release buckle. If you are running more biddable dogs, like labs or goldens or weimaraners, good for you, they'll come when called. Keep a cable tie handy for tying the team on the trail, and a rope for anchoring the rig or bike. To anchor your team: leave them in harness, cable tie dogs to immovable object (they can't chew through a cable), use a strong rope attached to your gangline to anchor rig to immovable object. Never attach anchor line to the sled, rig or bike, your dogs might pull the rig apart... You can also just unhook dogs and cable tie to large, immovable object. We use well adjusted semi-slip collars which will not come off over the dog's head.
- ALWAYS MAKE IT FUN, ALWAYS REWARD WITH WHATEVER YOUR DOG LOVES...they will eventually realize that harness = RUN and get really excited
- stop and rest when your dog tells you he needs to, offer water often. I often throw some tasty kibble into the water so they will drink it. Sometimes they don't drink as much as they should. I offer treats on the trail, because what they are doing when they run is recreating their natural instinct for running in a pack and hunting. Your treats are the "kill". But most dogs run anyway because they LOVE TO RUN!
Mushing on a bike or scooter or rig gives dogs an interesting place to run (trails) with supervision (you) to keep them safe.
Weather: most dogs run safer, farther and faster the colder it is. Northern types often run best when it is truly cold, below 0. That doesn't happen much in PA. When and how far you run depends on your breed, your individual dog's heat tolerance, the humidity, the amount of shade, and whether there is water nearby for them to get into (streams, lakes etc.). You can do a short sprint (a couple minutes) or weight pulling in summer. A lean wiry German Shorthair with it's big air-cooling flappy ears will go better in warm weather than a heavily furred, bulky Malamute or Newfoundland. A shaded trail may be fine for a summer run, if it is early morning and there is plenty of water to jump into. Or you could run at night. You might use a cooling vest. Use a trail that crosses through streams. Be wise, consult your vet and other experts. Play it safe, stop when your dog needs to (they'll want to keep running!) and always carry enough water.
Below, photos from our "dryland mushing" runs to show you how it works.
