Please Note: This training guide is meant to serve only as a guide. All sleddogs differ, and care should be taken and judged in the context of the particular dog involved (its breeding, behaviour, needs, age and so on). Many guidelines differ, and that is not to say that one set of guidelines is incorrect and the other is correct. If these guidelines can serve to make you and your dogs’ lives better, then it is doing the job for which it is intended. All of the subjects are covered in a very general and basic fashion, and further reading is recommended on all issues. Prior to getting involved in Sleddog Sports we recommend that advice and training be taken from professionals in each specified field. We welcome you to share your ideas and information with us and wish you happy reading and even happier mushing!

The Irish Federation of Sleddog Sports wishes to thank Mush With Pride for their kind permission in using their Sleddog training guidelines on our website. Please be advised that these guidelines have been edited, and no responsibility can be taken for errors or omissions. For the full unedited version of these guidelines, go to www.mushwithpride.org

Planning Your Dogs'

Training Many training principles are specific to the type of activity your dogs will be involved in, and there are hundreds of other variables, such as climate, terrain, age of the dog, breed of the dog, and so on. But all forms of mushing, with all the different variables, are wonderful ways of forming a close bond with your dogs.

In general, training can be thought of as falling into three categories: physical conditioning, mental conditioning and stimulation, and education. When you are planning your training for your kennel, think carefully about your goals and your dogs' abilities. Simply counting miles, for instance, can be deceptive. The type of conditions that the dogs encounter are important too-steep hills, extreme temperatures, or wind. New mushers should consult books and experienced mushers for help. But also use common sense: would you ask yourself to do the equivalent of what you are asking your dogs to do?

General Principles

Physical conditioning: Do not expect your dogs to do more than they are ready for. Watch each individual. Dogs work as a team, but they have individual needs and abilities. Don't be afraid to be conservative, and don't worry about how far your neighbors or friends are going. Never push a dog to go any farther or faster than it is happily capable of going.

Have fun and build relationships with your dogs. Small teams are better for training. Depending on your preference and the size of your kennel, training teams might include only three dogs or as many as six to ten. Dogs can only run at their own pace and must never be pulled, whether by mechanical or other means.

Each dog needs some form of physical conditioning all year long. Provided your dogs are in good health, light training in the summer is fun and beneficial. Equipment options include a bicycle, cart, dog walker, four-wheel all-terrain vehicle, or a leash. For some dogs and mushers, running a few dogs loose may be an option. It is important always to use proper harness sizes and gangline lengths. Also with each run, check each dog for foot problems or injuries.

If you mush dogs in the summer, be sure the dogs are well hydrated before and after the runs. Wetting them down beforehand with a hose or with creek or lake water can be a good idea. It is best to exercise sled dogs during the coolest time of the day, and even then watch carefully for overheating. Signs of heat stress are heavy panting with an open trachea, gait change, wobbly legs or other sign of weakness, and vomiting. If you are concerned that a dog might have heat stress, remove the dog from the team and carry it in your sled.

Check its temperature with a rectal thermometer as soon as you finish the run. Dogs routinely have temperatures of 103 to 106 degrees F while running, so don't be surprised by this (normal is 101 to 102 degrees F). However, recheck it every fifteen to thirty minutes. If the dog's temperature is still not normal an hour after the run, call your veterinarian, since you could have a serious problem. If you need to cool a dog down, in summer wet it with cool water, or in winter pack its body in snow; continue to monitor its temperature.
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