Skijoring anyone?

[AdoreMyDogs]

Hi. I have always been interested in mushing and sledding, although, I have never done anything with my interest. I just got a pair of skiis and I am interested in teaching my dog how to do skijoring (sp?). I printed out all the comands from the website www.chinookwind.com and it seems pretty fun, but I have some questions if anyone knows anything about it:

First of all, I have an aussie mix, he's about 50 pounds and he's about 7 years old. He could learn many of the commands in a matter of minutes, he's very, very intelligent and eager to please me, however, I am not sure if I should do that with him. Is he too old? Is he not big enough? They stated that the dog sould be at least 35 pounds but is 49 pounds big enough? If anyone has any knowledge on this sport please respond. I don't want to buy his pulling harness and all the rest of the equipment if he is too old or small. I don't want to hurt him. He's very healthy and fit, but he is around 7 years old.

Thanks for any info, of if you have seen any good websites with many FAQ's on skijoring please do share

[This message has been edited by AdoreMyDogs (edited November 27, 2000).]

[lhg0962]

I don't know a thing about what you are asking, but I certainly hope at 49 (7 in dog years) that I will be able to learn new tricks! I'm approaching that age too fast for me! Surely, if your 7 year old dog is healthy, he should be able to learn some new, energetic moves! Good luck and keep us informed!

[ownerof3dogs]

Thats funny that you should bring up this subject. I want to buy the equipment and start my dog in it. I have hooked my dog Zues (Rotty/Border Collie X) to inner tubes and been pulled He's 59 lbs. He loved it, when I pulled out that harness he would run around in circles.
I don't think your dog is too small or old if he's like most Aussies he's probaly full of energy. but you'll have to build up his muscles so he doesn't pull one. If you need too.

[ktreva52]

I also don't know anything about the sport, but would advise that you talk to your vet and have the dog given a clean bill of health before you start a new thing with him. Then, as Ownerof3dogs suggests, you will need to build up his muscles for the activity. That's okay, you'll probably have to build up your own as well. I seriously doubt he's too small or too old to go out and "play" with Mom. If the skijoring doesn't work out after you teach him to pull, he could still pull a small wagon around or something like that and be the neighborhood dog taxi. I'll bet he'll enjoy the challenge of something new and as long as you have no dysplagia problems or other skeleto-muscular problems you'll probably have a great time together. Keep us posted on how you make out.

[Elizabeth]

A good website to look up is www.sleddogcentral.com .They also have a lot of links for equipment and a great page with questions under "SDC Talk".

[AdoreMyDogs]

Wow, thanks for the cool link! One of the mushers lives 5 minutes away from me, I emailed them with some simple questions I had. I have never known any mushers in real-life. It's exciting! Maybe I could watch them sometime, I have not ever seen that in person either, only in books and on t.v.

I am starting to train Graham (while on foot) some of the main commands and he's doing great. If it were not 15 below zero I would train him while i'm on my roller blades, but it's too darn cold an icy for them!

I still have not gotten his harness and the rest of the equipment (other then the skiis) but we'll see.

Thanks again

[ownerof3dogs]

I have already asked my mom for skijoring equipment for Christmas

[AdoreMyDogs]

All of the skijoring equipment is on my Christmas list too I really can't afford it at this point (we're saving for a house) but we'll see My family knows I would love to do this with Graham.

[AdoreMyDogs]

Too bad Graham does not have all his skijoring equipment, we are having a severe blizzard today through tomorrow. They say 14-16 inches by tomorrow afternoon. We've had 12 inches fall already and it's not done yet. I took Graham for a walk as soon as I got home and he was in his glory! I forgot how much he loves the snow. His inner child (inner puppy) sure comes out when the white stuff falls from the heavens

I put his harness on (it's just a cheap, normal one, not made for alot of pulling) and he really helped me through the huge, deep drifts of snow, pulling me just enough to help me through all the snow. And to think I doubted his ability to do this sport with me I just hope I can get all of his equipment because I am very confident he'll be able to keep up and he'll LOVE it!