Posts Tagged: Winter

By: Dani Gunder VT at ZimmVet

As many of us Minnesotans know, truly the best way to survive our cold winters is to find something enjoyable about them! Luckily there are plenty of winter sports for anyone and any interest- today we’d like to highlight skijoring; a winter activity that keeps us humans in shape and is such a positive way to exercise our dogs in winter! A positive way to look forward to our colder and darker months-

Skijoring is best described as a combination of dogsledding and cross country skiing; together we have a mushing event harnessed directly from dog to person and together cross wintery terrain for both hobby and competition.

The perfect skijoring dog can be any shape size or breed! And as people we can classic tour xc ski or skate ski for a quicker and more whole body workout! Some of the best skijoring partners enjoy working with their human, do not mind the winter elements, and can benefit from winter or consistent exercise. I’ve personally worked with aussies, mini aussies, and husky mixes in this sport and can honestly say size is not of biggest importance!

Ideally, we as the dogs’ leaders into this adventure are already confident and sure-footed on any type of cross country skis. And if not, we recommend hitting the trail without Fido for a bit. Once you are ready to help teach your 4-footed pal come back for the next session:

It’s important when introducing your dog to this sport that nothing we do is too much or too scary for them. Introduce equipment alone very slow and gradually, keeping things short and positive. When your dog has made some positive associations that our equipment itself is cool, then we can get strapped up and let them freely experience the sound/movements without being tied to us and ideally in a safe/secured fencing like backyard. Taking our time once your dog is fully used to equipment and skiing be sure they have a properly fitting and type of harness designed for pulling. Over time equipment will be no big deal and possibly our dogs are excited about. Many people cross train in warmer months with other omnijoring sports. Nothing wrong with some dogs needing more time and confidence.

Cue training will be important since as we ski our hands are full and we rely a lot on vocal commands. Familiarize your pup with “line out, gee, haw, easy, and woah” commands.

Next we can hit the trail! If you have the connection and ability, pairing your dog with an experienced skijoring dog will be very helpful. It’s even more easy for
Your first few outing to go out to groomed ski trails. Remember this all takes time and patience. Over time you and your canine compadre will be looking forward to snow and winters together to further advance your skills/technique and to explore all the amazing trails!
Happy skiing!