# All about Skijoring



## Jessie.D (Dec 10, 2011)

hello im Jessie.D and very new to the forums.

the title may seem misleading because i know nearly nothing of skijoring, or dog sledding in general. all i know is that i have a dog, and he loves winter and to run. - what i will be eventually asking is about skijoring but for now im gonna chat little bit.

ive always had a love of sledding, atleast watching it, when i had the chance. its always something i thought would be just amazing to do with a pack of dogs. 

however, i dont have the space or time for 6-12 dogs. i however have the time for my dog Leif. Leif is a wonderful Golden Retriever, hes not too old yet but that hasnt stoped me form working him with his basic obedience such as sit, stay and walk on heal.

i decided not to long ago that i would start partaking in Skijoring with him since he loves the winter and always wants to run and pull every chance he gets. so my next task as been teaching him GEE and HAW right and left. and my task after that is to learn to ski... this may be hard for both of us. :doh: 

so my question is dose anyone here skijor or bikejor, skooter, mush, dryland mush with their dogs? what has been your experience. tell me how you first started out and what you found works for you. im a greenhorn looking for answers. 

thanks!


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## MusherChic (Nov 6, 2010)

Hey Jessie.D! Welcome!

There is actually a handful of people on here who bikejor, skijor, scooter, and sled with their dogs, myself included. 
I race a 4-dog team and we compete in races all over Michigan in January and February. I bikejor as well in the spring and fall. I use the bike for leader training or running my retired Alaskan and GSD. I used to use it for training the race team in the fall but I got a rig last winter and I use that now. 

I got started in this sport about 6 years ago. I was at a local race I had grown up watching when I was "bit by the bug" as they say. I had to wait 4 years before my mom finally let me get my own sled dogs though--before that I ran with my GSD and my mom's Aussie mix. I also did lots and lots of research in that time learning about the sport and the different dogs and races and so on and so forth. 
So, lots of research and a mentor (you can do a search for mentors in your area on the website Sled Dog Central) is what worked for me. lol When I was finally able to get my own dogs I knew what I was doing for the most part. 

I have tried skijoring in the past but I just can't get my legs to work right with the skis. lol The last time I tried I sprained my wrist right in the middle of the racing season so I decided that was enough of that. I can't get hurt during racing season. 
I'm sure if I really worked at it and maybe took some lessons I could do it but for right now, I'm satisfied with my sled. 

So all of that said, I can't really help you with skijoring, I have no experience with it, but I can point you in the direction of some websites and books that skijorers I know have used that may help you out. 
Ski Spot Run is a good book and you might be able to find it on Amazon.com but it's also sold at Black Ice
Skijor Now is a good place to get info and equipment (although it is pretty expensive...they're more geared for the competitive racers)
The website I mentioned above, Sled Dog Central, has lots of sled dog info on it and a forum with experienced mushers and skijorers who are more than willing to help beginners (they helped me a great deal!). They also have a list of kennels and equipment suppliers from all around the world. 

I hope I've helped somewhat. lol This is an extremely fun sport and I warn you; it's extremely addicting as well! The saying about horses being like potato chips; "you can't have just one" can be said about sled dogs as well. My mother and I know from experience. She swore we wouldn't get any more dogs that what we had (4 pets at the time) and now we have 9! 
Ahhh the power of persuasion...


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Hi Jessie, as MusherChic said there are a handful of people here who participate in musher-y sports. This will be my first winter skijoring (if we ever get some ^%[email protected]! snow!), I started dryland training (canicross, scootering) this summer in preparation.

I highly, highly recommend the book "Ski Spot Run". It is a good guide for how to get started from scratch. It's written for beginners for sure but doesn't talk down to you. You can get it online or if you have a good outdoors store in your area they probably carry it. 

Other good resources are:
Skijor NOW
Skijor USA
Alpine Outfitters

Alpine Outfitters in particular has a good "getting started" section that I found helpful in getting the names of various equipment sorted out.

Also, Sled Dog Central has a list of mentors that you can get in contact with, organized by where you live. 

Also just do a Google search and see if there is a local skijor club in your area - you might be surprised!

Good luck. I'm really just a beginner myself, but happy to help with what I can.  So far the scootering and canicross has been a blast, and I can't wait to get behind mine on skis.


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## Jessie.D (Dec 10, 2011)

thank you two for the wonderful answers. i have been doing lots opf resurch on the subjects but i haven't realy looked for books yet but you guys gave me a great starting point as to what to look for.

so far i know my dog isnt old or strong enough to pull anything so for now untill he gets a little older and his bones stop growing (he was born june 22 this year). i probably could get him to pull something light and somewhat noisy so he gets used to what the harness feels like and having sounds behind him but were just working on his ge haw whenever we can for now, especially on walks.

i would definatly like to hear about some starting out failures or triumphs and maybe some what not to dos and so on, i dont want to do anything wrong, but like anything starting out its all about trial and error.

thanks so much so far


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## MusherChic (Nov 6, 2010)

> i probably could get him to pull something light and somewhat noisy so he gets used to what the harness feels like and having sounds behind him but were just working on his ge haw whenever we can for now, especially on walks.


That's a great start! 



> i would definatly like to hear about some starting out failures or triumphs and maybe some what not to dos and so on, i dont want to do anything wrong, but like anything starting out its all about trial and error.


This sport is definitely all about trial and error. Although you can learn stuff from books, other mushers, etc you actually have to do things to learn. It's very hands on.

One mistake that comes to mind is when I first started running I would constantly talk to my dogs and encourage them "Come on guys! Hike , hike! Good dogs, good dogs! Whoohoo!"
If you do this enough your dog(s) will tune you out and any commands you give will just get lost in a jumble of "blah blah blah".

There is no better triumph (at east in my book) than a dog taking a command like Gee or Haw for the first time without any help. When my GSD first went Gee and Haw without my help I felt like I had won a million bucks!
Ok, not really, but it was a great feeling nonetheless.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Jessie.D said:


> i probably could get him to pull something light and somewhat noisy so he gets used to what the harness feels like and having sounds behind him but were just working on his ge haw whenever we can for now, especially on walks.


Perfect, that's how I started with Squash this summer. Just getting him used to moving in the harness but not really pulling, and starting to work on the verbal commands. 



MusherChic said:


> One mistake that comes to mind is when I first started running I would constantly talk to my dogs and encourage them "Come on guys! Hike , hike! Good dogs, good dogs! Whoohoo!"
> If you do this enough your dog(s) will tune you out and any commands you give will just get lost in a jumble of "blah blah blah".


Me, too. I'm still WAY too chit-chatty although I'm getting better at being quiet. I always want to be telling them when they are doing a good job, but the fact is at this point that if they're getting to run, THAT is their reward and they know they're doing a good job. I need to save my voice to tell them things they don't know. ;-)


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## waterbaby (Jan 20, 2009)

This will be my 3rd winter skijoring with my dog (once we get a little snow and once I'm no longer pregnant!). She's a lab/chessie mix. This spring we also started canicross to keep her condition up and I started bikejoring for a few weeks in the fall when I couldn't run anymore.

Definitely use this winter to get used to being on skis. And make sure you get skis appropriate for the type of skiing you'll be doing. Most people that compete in skijoring use skate skis on groomed trails. Skate skiing is so much fun, but there is definitely a steeper learning curve and a bigger monetary investment for good equipment. Then there's classic skiing on groomed trails and a variety of lightweight skis to go along with that. They tend to be easy to find used. Then there's a gradient of touring from basically touring on groomed trails to backcountry skiing, for which you want a fatter, shorter pair of skis with or without metal edges. Light touring skis are usually easy to find used as well. Touring still uses the classic kick and glide ski style, but is kind of more like canicross/snowshoeing on skis. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you can get yourself comfortable on skis, it's actually less work for your dog to pull you on skis (on groomed trails!) than for you to do canicross or any other dryland mushing. Just because the skis don't really add any weight and you reduce friction by gliding on the snow. Now, I wouldn't want a young dog plowing through any kind of depth because that's rough on them, but if your dog can float up on the snow, there's no reason why you couldn't do a bit of skiing this year.


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## Jessie.D (Dec 10, 2011)

i for sure try skate skiing befor any other kind, mainly because i am a skater at heart. i did alot of figure skating when i was younger and even now when i get the chance i go out and skate for fun it just comfortable for me to be on them so that same motion would be much more natural for me to take up i would /assume/  - as for mentors and such im looking at people from manitoba canada and sask. canada cause thats closer to where i am and so far im finding lots of people. i didnt think there would be many but there are lots!

and to be honest, im out of shape. ive been working on my cardio but i cant barly run anything so thats this winters goal for me along side taking the dog for his daily gee haw lesson on his walks. im doing this for the main reason it will work both of us out and i know well enjoy it

i definatly thank you for telling me not to talk to my dog much, that's defiantly a good tip cause im one to give lots of praise and encouragement, but i would probably over do it.


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