# Interested in skijoring..but no dog suitable for it



## Aiota (Jul 21, 2012)

Hello! 
I have been browsing these forums for a while to gain knowledge about my dog when I came upon a thread about skijoring. It sounds exhilarating! I love to ski normally, but I have not cross country skied. I am very interested in the sport, but poor Jax couldn't pull me along, he is far too small. :laugh: Could I somehow get involved or try it without having a dog capable of doing it? I live in Northern Chicago, and found a nearby skijoring club, but it is more oriented about teaching lessons. I have already had little fantasies of huskies pulliing me about skis . I hope an experience in it, or advice from you guys, could bring me down to earth! Appreciate any advice!


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## odiesmom (May 31, 2007)

years ago I had a siberian/arctic wolf mix who was from Iditarod stock ! One day my neighbor came over and asked to borrow my dog so he could skijor. He taught her well then I bought some skis and started doing it myself. Maybe yoiu can borrow a dog ? Check that club and see if anyone wants help in training or exercising thier dogs . BTW it is a BLAST !!


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## Aiota (Jul 21, 2012)

odiesmom said:


> years ago I had a siberian/arctic wolf mix who was from Iditarod stock ! One day my neighbor came over and asked to borrow my dog so he could skijor. He taught her well then I bought some skis and started doing it myself. Maybe yoiu can borrow a dog ? Check that club and see if anyone wants help in training or exercising thier dogs . BTW it is a BLAST !!


Yeah thanks! It might be worth a chance to ask, my neighbors who have horses told me I could take them for rides if I wanted to, though I have had no experience so I didn't take them up on that. Maybe people would be willing to let their dogs be exercised by others too. 

Just out of curiosity, does breed play a big part in skijoring? For example, one of my favorite breeds are an Alaskan Malamute, but would it be more fun skijoring with a husky because they can pull faster?


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## odiesmom (May 31, 2007)

Aiota said:


> Yeah thanks! It might be worth a chance to ask, my neighbors who have horses told me I could take them for rides if I wanted to, though I have had no experience so I didn't take them up on that. Maybe people would be willing to let their dogs be exercised by others too.
> 
> Just out of curiosity, does breed play a big part in skijoring? For example, one of my favorite breeds are an Alaskan Malamute, but would it be more fun skijoring with a husky because they can pull faster?


My Sadie wasn't too big and she did great at pulling. Alaskan huskies have alot of stamina and are raised to pull but if you are just doing skijoring for fun about any breed big enough to pull you would work fine. Huskies, other than purebred sibes, are basically mutts that have been bred to be sleddogs.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

Pretty much any dog over 30 pounds can do skijoring if they have the heart. I do it with my 35 and 50 pound aussies. My other 37 pound aussie will probably join me this coming winter.


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## odiesmom (May 31, 2007)

BTW if you are ever interested in getting a husky they are always looking for homes for retired sled dogs up here, they would be great at something like skijoring and I am sure would ship to the lower 48


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## Aiota (Jul 21, 2012)

Keechak said:


> Pretty much any dog over 30 pounds can do skijoring if they have the heart. I do it with my 35 and 50 pound aussies. My other 37 pound aussie will probably join me this coming winter.


Yeah, unfortunately since Jax will only be around 15 pounds max I couldn't do it with him. I can't wait to do it in the future though, or like Odiesmom suggested maybe "borrow" a dog, haha.  



Keechak said:


> BTW if you are ever interested in getting a husky they are always looking for homes for retired sled dogs up here, they would be great at something like skijoring and I am sure would ship to the lower 48.


This is something I would definitely consider in a couple of years when I'm ready to add another dog to my life! It would be so nice as a beginner skijorer (not sure if correct XD) to have a dog that already knows the mushing commands. Heck, I would even consider doing bikejoring with an experienced dog. While I know it's extremely early, would you recommend any specific sled dog rescues? I was searching for them myself but couldn't find one specifically for retired sled dogs. I'm sure there is a huge difference from just doing a search online to actually living in Alaska and being surrounded by mushers/sled dogs.


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## odiesmom (May 31, 2007)

Well when you are ready I can look into it for you, I know several mushers


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## malamutelove (Dec 6, 2010)

I urban mush and going to start doing skijoring with maggie my malamute in the winter.


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## malamutelove (Dec 6, 2010)

Aiota said:


> Yeah thanks! It might be worth a chance to ask, my neighbors who have horses told me I could take them for rides if I wanted to, though I have had no experience so I didn't take them up on that. Maybe people would be willing to let their dogs be exercised by others too.
> 
> Just out of curiosity, does breed play a big part in skijoring? For example, one of my favorite breeds are an Alaskan Malamute, but would it be more fun skijoring with a husky because they can pull faster?


 You be surprised how fast me and my malamute go. Though if you want race I don't think a malamute be the best fit. 




Keechak said:


> Pretty much any dog over 30 pounds can do skijoring if they have the heart. I do it with my 35 and 50 pound aussies. My other 37 pound aussie will probably join me this coming winter.


yes this is true! I know people that mush with their pitties. You don't need an sled dog to actually mush!


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## Aiota (Jul 21, 2012)

malamutelove said:


> You be surprised how fast me and my malamute go. Though if you want race I don't think a malamute be the best fit.
> 
> 
> yes this is true! I know people that mush with their pitties. You don't need an sled dog to actually mush!


I just plan on casually skijoring, nothing competitive, but I can admit I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie and once I got comfortable with it I would love to go fast! I was watching videos of it and how fast do you actually go? I'm curious about it through a skijorers perspective! Would it be a world's worth of difference if I skijored with an alaskan husky versus a malamute? Or do both go at satisfactory speeds?


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## malamutelove (Dec 6, 2010)

Aiota said:


> I just plan on casually skijoring, nothing competitive, but I can admit I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie and once I got comfortable with it I would love to go fast! I was watching videos of it and how fast do you actually go? I'm curious about it through a skijorers perspective! Would it be a world's worth of difference if I skijored with an alaskan husky versus a malamute? Or do both go at satisfactory speeds?


 Well, I bikjore right now. I need to get a good pair of cross country skis. My downhill skis haha won't help me! Now maggie knows the commands and will pull me so I won't have a problem her picking them up with skijoring. Now it depends on the day will maggie. Alaskan Malamutes are still stubborn northern breed dogs. They are stronger and can pull a heavier load than a husky. Some days We go so fast, I feel like I am going to crash my bike. Other days we just trout a long. I have never mushed with an alaskan husky so I wouldn't know the difference. I just sense you would go faster just because some of them are bred to run run run and do it fast. A malamute is bred to pull the heavy weight. It is a rush though!


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## RedGermanPinscher (Jun 22, 2012)

My Dycen is somewhere between 20-25 lbs. And measures around 18inches (finally got him to stand still for measuring thought he was closer to 20.) And he just recently started pulling my 5 year old on her trike. Combined weight of trike and child is may be 40 lbs tops. He loves it. And yes, I lead and she pedals..


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