Anyone else here do any skijouring?

I'm super interested in this... though the one dog I have that would be really good at it... might not have enough pull (haha my JRT)...

I'd like to train my GSP to pull me - but he's a little bonkers.

Any tips for first timers?

it's a riot. my lab is now 3 1/2. finally getting a bit mature. he was a natural for skijourring. it took very little training. getting him to stay calm has been the biggest issue. my son does this with his dog up in duluth. we need snow, or at least ice, this is the worst winter i have ever experienced.












milo is in love with his cousin. he does everything that chester does. i think this helped in his learning to ski.

I have been skijoring for 7 years. I got the gear at Midwest Mountaineering. You can bring your dog in the store to fit the harness, etc. It helps to train if you can follow another dog when your dog is getting started. The dogs learn very quickly and love to pull. The commands are at:

http://www.urbanmushing.com/commoncommands.htm

I mostly use Hike, Easy and Whoa. The dog looks back at you and know when you are turning. They also look back at you if you are not pulling your weight. It is pretty funny. I have a lab and skijor into the BWCA to fish and camp a couple times every winter with friends. We pull sleds with about 110 lbs of gear and can cover about ten miles a day depending on the snow/ice conditions. I get a bigger kick out of skijoring the BWCA than canoeing.

DW

Do you have to use skate skis or can you use classic skis?

I use classic. I usually ski on a chain of lakes by my house. In general I think you need more of a groomed trail to use skate skis.

quote DW: "I use classic. I usually ski on a chain of lakes by my house. In general I think you need more of a groomed trail to use skate skis."

I know Piragis use to have like belts for the activity.

quote Pinetree: "

quote DW: "I use classic. I usually ski on a chain of lakes by my house. In general I think you need more of a groomed trail to use skate skis."

I know Piragis use to have like belts for the activity."

Alright! I'll try on classics - and just working on finding affordable equipment.

Went down to Midwest today.... looking to spend about $150-180 on the stuff there. Eventually I will need two dog harnesses - as I have a JRT and a GSP.

my dog has much more fun when we are skiing on groomed trails, me skating. the golf course section at t wirth park is very popular with skijourers. your dog(s) must have a bit of control. they have to be able to pass other dogs without stopping to say howdy. "on by" is the most important term that your dog should understand. it means keep going, forward, no screwing around.

it's not about how much fun your dog is having (though it really is). most of my skijouring has been down in the minnesota river valley. there are no real ski trails here. we classic ski in the tracks set down by bikers on surlys. these surly riders have made great trails everywhere down in this valley. the trails rock, the bikers are thrilled to share their trails. it's wild and only a few miles from downtown.

gotta love minneapolis.

another thing. if you are waxing for classic skijouring you will want to make sure that your kick wax is a bit harder than what you would use for typical skiing. you want to make this fun for your dog. if he is dragging you with a soft thick klister, he might not want to do it again. many skiers use very little kick wax when skijouring. much depends on the terrain.

My neighbor came to Alaska from Norway as a young woman. She brought with her the Skijoring skills, she teamed up with another woman, to write a book about it. Amazon.com has used copies pretty cheap. The title of the book is SKIJOR WITH YOUR DOG by Mari Hoe-Raitto and Carol Kaynor.
There is also a group in Fairbanks that may have some good information on the web, I would search www.alaskaskijoring.org and check out their training pages or come on up here as we have pretty nice weather for sledding 7-8 months out of the year.
Boreal Barney

FYI - Midwest Mountaineering has a skijoring clinic Tuesday Jan 19 - check their website.

quote NotLight: "


FYI - Midwest Mountaineering has a skijoring clinic Tuesday Jan 19 - check their website.


"

I definitely will! REI is also hosting Winter 4Play this weekend which I plan on attending!