Sledding... sort of??

McYogiMcYogi
edited April 2009 in Shiba Inu (柴犬)
As I am mastering the art of the 3-dog-walk, I have found turning corners to be one of the challenges. I was watching a new "Dirty Jobs" the other night, and Mike Rowe (loooove him!) visited a sledding dog breeder. This guy had quite the facility, and had set records and won races with his teams. I thought, on my walk this afternoon, about trying to teach my "team" some of the sledding terms to at least turn the correct direction or to slow down or speed up... then my imagination went wild.

Has anyone in their right mind thought about strapping on a pair of roller blades and letting their shibas mush them all around town? I don't use harnesses on their walks, but if I harness-broke them and taught them how to pull me and listen to directions, would it even be feasible? Are there places that give mushing instructions in the lower 48? I know they have the energy, and they would drag me along on walks if I let them anyway, so I was thinking that I would just give up and go along for the ride...

If anyone has any information, I'd love to research the idea further. OR, if you have ever mushed your dogs, it's be great to hear personal experiences or advice.

Or, feel free to tell me I'm crazy, too :)

Comments

  • RomiRomi
    edited November -1
    I know Brad always wanted to make a mushing team with his nihonken :) I also think Peggy might have done a little with her Shikoku? I remember seeing pics, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm sure someone can help you out with this.
  • dlrobertsdlroberts
    edited April 2009
    I saw that episode! It was awesome. He visited Martin Booser(sp?) on his "sled dog farm" with 80 dogs. It was a little disturbing at first, but as the show went on you realized how much he loves and cares for his dogs. And more importantly, they are doing what they love to do...RUN!

    Anyway, I get side tracked. I don't know of anyone who has had their Shibas pull them, but I see no reason why it couldn't happen with proper training and conditioning. I'm no expert, but you'll want to be very careful to make sure you don't strain them too much and they are old enough/well developed enough to not cause harm. Your vet will be a good place to start to make sure they are up to the task.

    As for mushing instructors in the lower 48...I don't know of any personally, but having seen dog shows on animal planet where there were mushing clubs/competitions in places like Nebraska or Minnesota I'd bet you could find someone.
  • KaddyKaddy
    edited November -1
    In Michigan I had childhood friends who did train their dogs to mush in the Iditarod, but they did most of the training in the UP - I was never up on the details... I wish I had asked more questions. I believe they had Siberians, and I could totally see the UP of MI being a great training ground.
  • CaliaCalia
    edited November -1
    Mushing is a great sport, while they say you shouldn't do it with a dog under 30lbs, you could probably get away with it if all are connected and properly conditioned.

    I've heard of clubs in the 48 states, but not sure where they are. You can try googling mushing and your state and see what happens.

    "Mush! Revised: A Beginner's Manual of Sled Dog Training" by Charlene G. LaBelle is a great read, and goes over practically everything.

    Here's a list of interesting links and a great pic.

    http://www.seppalasleddogs.com/sled-dog-training.htm
    http://www.sleddogcentral.com/
  • KFontaine04KFontaine04
    edited November -1
    I have actually rollerbladed with Miso. He couldn't really pull me completely because it was just him, but once he got used to the sound of the rollerblades he had SO much fun.
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    Martin Buser has been very successful in the Iditarod.

    There are several scootering type sites that give you directions about mushing/scootering/sulky races and where to buy supplies for the none professional/non sled dog casual owners out there. In the northwest, Daphne Lewis at dogscooter.com (has cane corso), gives demonstrations and attends shows, etc. They do races and meets and stuff like that, so that's something fun to check out.
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited November -1
    I think my weight would be too much for two/three shibas... even on skates... right?
    How much weight can an adult male shiba (like 23lbs) pull himself?
  • tsukitsunetsukitsune
    edited November -1
    Beth - thats an AWESOME picture! Where did you find it?!?!
  • McYogiMcYogi
    edited November -1
    Ahh! Love the picture! Makes me realize I'm not quite as crazy as I thought.

    Thanks so much for all the great links and advice, I looked into dog scootering a little bit more, and it seemed like there were lots of little dogs, certainly around shiba-sized, pulling these little 2 wheeled scooter things. And most of them were only pulled by one dog- I can't imagine how fun it could be with 2 or 3. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I think it would be a great way for all of us to enjoy the outdoors and get the exercise that we need. Yay! I'm really, really excited :)

    AND, of course, there will spammage of any successes, and probably failures, that I have. Thanks again!
  • Darwin67Darwin67
    edited November -1
    I think it would be fun to do it w/ kahlo....that is until she saw a squirrel. X-(

    I must say though, one of my dreams is to try out mushing sometime!
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    That pic is from the back of Gretchen Haskett's book, The Total Shiba, if I recall correctly. It is a really nice pic.

    There is this one scooter I am dying to buy off of dog scooter, the Pawtrekker-if only they weren't so spendy, maybe worth it though.
  • CaliaCalia
    edited November -1
    I found the pic off the web a long time ago and saved it on the comp, can't remember where I saw it though.

    We're planning on modifying a bike so that Tikaani can pull us, and getting one of those dog holder attachment for a bike so Tetsu can walk along side with out having to pull. I read somewhere that a single Sibe can pull a 100lb sled with rider. Shibas, being way smaller and not meant for pulling, I would guess 50lbs per dog would be good.
  • KFontaine04KFontaine04
    edited November -1
    I used to go rollerblading with my two huskies. It was intense and fast and FUN! They knew their sledding commands though and could STOP when I needed them to.
  • BradA1878BradA1878
    edited November -1
    When we lived in an area that had paved roads (Atlanta) I used to let Ahi pull me around on my Rollerblades. It was great fun - but she was frightened of the sound of my stopper, so she would run faster when I tried to stop!

    I'm planning on ordering those bike attachments for Kona and Loa so they can run along w/ my bike this summer.

    ----
  • lindsaytlindsayt
    edited November -1
    I saw a team of mini poodles and a team of corgis pulling grown men on a training sled (had wheels). Smallish dogs can pull if they have the right gear, although I would not expect them to do anything on an incline.
  • TheWalrusTheWalrus
    edited November -1
    It's interesting actually seeing all this about mushing with nihonken because a very popular method of keeping the medium sized dogs in shape over here is to have them pull a scooter. This is mainly the people who have quite a few dogs and they use it to keep them trim for showing, or for off season work outs for their hunting dogs.

    The scooters weigh around 90kgs, and throw a 70kg guy on it and I you're looking at 3 dogs or so pulling 160kgs. Depending on how many dogs they're walking at a time, they actually turn off the scooter and just have the dogs pull. I'll see if I can get some pics of it. It's not sledding or anything, just 3 dogs on a leash, but the same general idea I guess.

    Of course the guys with just a single dog just let them pull bicycles for a few miles. A friend of mine does a 10km pull everyday with his male Kai, and that pup is ripped.
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