Dog Sledding Vacations  

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Hands-on experience

Realize dog sledding vacations offer a hands-on experience.  You have to harness dogs, lead them to the sled and snap them to lines.

These actions have to go fast, as sled dogs seldom stay put and wait. They want to go, while you plough through a foot of snow to harness another dog. Their jumping and barking can be intimidating.

On the other hand, when joining a guided tour, you won’t be on your own. The tour guide will give you a hand when needed.

Your physical shape

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Basic dog sledding information and techniques

Never, ever, let go of the sled! All the rest you’ll learn out there.

If you let go of the sled, no one is in control of speed and direction, and the dogs can get injured. An abandoned dog team will not stop by itself.
You, on the other hand, won’t get injured from holding on to the sled, even if the sled has tipped over. 
A capsized sled, with you holding on to it, is too heavy to drag for the dogs. They will stop in an instant as long as you hold on. Once the dogs stop pulling, you can get back on your feet again. 

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First time on dog sledding vacations?

If you’re a rookie, it will be beneficial to first try it out before you book a dogsled expedition or a multiple day tour.

Several outfitters offer half-or full day dogsled experiences. You receive instructions how to mush yourself, followed by a trip. Experienced guides always accompany these runs.  When it’s your first time on a sled, the most mellow dogs are chosen. The trail will be ‘broken’ and the dogs just follow the track.

Some outfitters offer summer runs by using carts instead of sleds.

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Dog sledding gear

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Dog sledding terminology

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Position of dogs

• Lead:  the first -usually 2- dogs. Lead dogs must be intelligent and obey commands.
  
• Swing:  the dogs – usually 2- immediately behind the lead dogs. Swing dogs help turning.
  
• Team: the dogs in between swing and wheel. On a short trip and with little weight to carry, team dogs can be left out. For long distances races there are up to five pairs of team dogs (10 individual team dogs), which makes a unit of 16 dogs. Imagine the power of this squad!
  
• Wheel: the last -usually 2- dogs. Wheel dogs are the ones that steer the sled. They have to be the most honest working dogs, the ones that always keep tight line. 

A standard dogsled team, used for dog sledding vacations, counts six to eight dogs in total.

My story

I would like to share my dog sledding experiences with you. In 2006, I followed a 3-month, full time training to become a dog sledding guide. Based upon movies such as ‘Eight Below’ I was sure I would love dog sledding. However, I had never been on a sled before. It worked out as a very challenging episode in my life...

From the start, I was overwhelmed by the power and noise of the dogs. They were all jumping and barking at their spots, hoping to be picked for running. That alone intimidated me.

Next step was harnessing the dogs. I had to squeeze a highly excited dog in between my knees while putting the harness on. It was hard, belief me! Once a dog was harnessed, I snapped the dog to the gang line, where it had to wait until I was ready with the rest of the team. Oh my gosh, these dogs are so eager to go! As I wasn’t fast enough, dogs were bursting with impatience and some managed to chew their harness or neck line.

As dogs are highly sensitive animals, they felt my anxiety while out on the sled. It seemed the dogs were laughing at me; they didn’t obey any of my commands, and I was not at all in control of the dog team.
I could yell ‘stop, stop’ at them, but they just ignored me and dragged me around, where ever they liked to go. I seriously considered quitting this dogsled adventure, as I was afraid and intimidated.

I mentioned my feelings to my trainer. He said it was all in between my ears. As long as I would feel insecure, the dogs would just play tricks with me. They were testing me. Once I could tell myself I was in control and not the dogs, the team would respect me and accept me as their leader. I tried this by using affirmations and it worked! I told myself  ‘I can do this, I’m in charge’. Since then I was improving and in control. The dogs finally accepted me as their Alpha female!

In the end, it was a great experience. I love the dogs and the sport.
I did work as a dog sledding guide for three seasons.

Why do I tell you my story? 
Take a good look at yourself before booking any dog sledding vacations or expeditions.

Ask yourself, am I a natural leader or a follower? If you’re the latter, are you able to change your mindset into being the leader for a dog team?
If you’re not sure, start with a -half- day trip to see how you feel. 
Don’t buy any dog sledding gear before you know how it’s like to be a musher.

On the other hand, once you get the hang of dog sledding, you probable become addicted to it!

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Goosebumps

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