mushing ^.be

Welcome at my website/blog ! It's all about sled dogs and racing in Belgium.
You can find information about clubs, organisations... a little bit about me and my dogs and some random thoughts on mushing.

Fall is coming, time to start the new training season !

Late summer or early fall when the weather cools down enough it's time to start training again.
Watch the temperatures! Either train at dawn or wait till sundown and don't train at all if the temperature is over 15° celsius otherwise the dogs are in considerable danger of overheating and dehydration.

Start with very modest distances (especially if you train yearlings!)
The objective in fall training is not speed, but to get sleddogs in good physical condition and to establish control over them.
When you first hook up the dogs, they are likely to be out of condition,
their muscles and ligaments are at their most vulnerable state and easily injured.
It is at this very same time that they are at their most eager and undisciplined.

You want to have total control, and you want to arrange things so that the dogs cannot run fast.
An All Terrain Vehicle (ATV), also known as a 'four-wheeler, or quad' is the most common training vehicle for fall training because they have brakes that make it easy to slow the dogs down.
If you use a heavy rig (or training kart), carry a handler on the rig with you; this will slow the dogs down a bit and and you have someone to hold the brakes while you slowly walk forward and sort out tangles or move dogs from one position to another.

Stop frequently to give the dogs a breather and to give them the idea that they are expected to stand quietly at stops.
If you don't convince them during fall training that stops during a run are a normal event and that good order is expected,
you aren't likely to manage it on snow.
The dogs are likely to be noisy and rowdy, but don't let them get you rattled ! Be quiet, confident and methodical.
The more order and good discipline you can establish at this stage, the better for everybody.

Switch your dogs around a lot and try out new lead prospects alongside an experienced leader.
Now's the best time for experimentation, while you have maximum control.