You can’t go more Canadian unless you’re drinking maple syrup and are carrying a hockey stick while standing on the sled. It’s fascinating how the whole dogsledding works. And since you are working with dogs, no ride is the same.

THEY ARE PLAYING THE GAME

Although standing on the sled is just about keeping your balance and shifting your weight, it takes time to get to know the dogs and their routines. If it’s your first time on an unguided sled, the dogs will test you. They know you’re new and they will use any opportunity to try to run whenever you’re on the brake. It is vital you show them you’re in charge and they are not going anywhere without your saying.

ALRIGHT, SO I’LL JUST ATTACH SOME DOGS TO MY GANGLINE AND GET GOING?

If you’re into dogfights, yes! We on the other hand carefully put dogs next to each other that we know are a good team. We usually pair them male-female. We also check whether the ladies are in heat and assign them to another spot if necessary. Not checking the females would be a catastrophe (in some ways dogs are like humans; think young adolescents trying to impress the girl).

We mostly run 6 dogs on each team: 2 leading dogs, 2 point dogs, 1 team dog, and a wheel dog. Not every dog is a lead dog! They are the confident and experienced ones.

Another tip if you’re ever going to do this by yourself is they really do appreciate it when you jump off the sled and give them a little help by pushing the sled whenever you’re going uphill. You’ll see the leaders looking at you and thinking “well, this guy ain’t that bad”. They’ll respect you for it. It is when all of this comes together that dogsledding is a magnificent experience.

THEY’RE ATHLETES

Our Alaskan and Seppala Siberian huskies are bred for this. It would be a huge mistake to compare them to your good old golden retriever at home. These are working dogs that love the cold. Most even prefer to sleep outside at temperatures around -30 degrees.

The shortest tour that we offer is a 3.5 km loop that’ll take you up and down breathtaking scenery. This distance is nothing for the dogs as they can run for half a day or more.

THE GOLDEN RULE OF DOGSLEDDING: “NEVER LET GO”.

Unless your hobby is sprinting through thick layers of snow, always hold onto the handlebar with both your hands.

BEING A GUIDE

You are basically a people, dog and gear manager.

Being a guide means working hard and long hours in any weather conditions. There is really nothing that can fully prepare anyone for this job. It’s learning by making mistakes. It’s relying on your team and being flexible at all times. Clients believe you are doing the best job in the world (it can be), but you also have a responsibility to feed and clean the whole kennel on a daily basis, no matter what the weather is like and no matter how long you’ve worked. Having said that, for most it is a once in a lifetime that you’ll never forget.

THE TRAIL MOST TRAVELED BY

Random fact. Dogs out on the trail have a tendency to follow the path of least resistance. This is why we use the snowmobile to make our trails. In case of a blizzard (see picture below), the dogs will use the treeline for orientation. Also, we use the same commands as for horse riding: “Haw” means left and “Gee” is right.

Honestly, This post could go on forever. I really just wanted to give you guys an update and a very brief orientation of what I’ve been doing for the past month.

If you’re really keen on trying this unique adventure, contact us!