sled dog training... > GSP Forum

Unanswered Active Topics

Forums Search

Forums > General > Training

Subject: sled dog training...

Prev Next

You are not authorized to post a reply.

Author

Messages

canter21

SH
Posts:43

01/11/2009 5:29 AM
so, all this snow has me thinking....it would be great to have my gsp pull the toddler's sled...both would have fun....both would be tired at the end of the day, making everyone go to bed easier, including me questions: pup is 6mos old this week....how old does she have to be to start pulling training safely? ie: for her physical development.....is there a chart for how much weight is safe depending on dog's age/weight... she definately outweighs the 2 yr old now ... child =28lbs, pup about 40 so far... are there 'training sleds' out there? that i could control from the ground, walking behind pup? so sled doesn't slide into puppy if we stop suddenly etc..... any good basic book to help with this process? thanks!

carlower1

Kansas

MH
Posts:1253

01/11/2009 10:26 AM
Canter I had exactly the same idea you had about the same time last year, and did a LOT of research. First you don't want to do any "road" or "weight" work until after your dog is a year old. BUT you can start getting her used to the idea. ... Starting now.. everytime you go out for a walk or do leash work, you start on your commands, Which for sled pulling is "line out" (which means walk to the end of your line) Gee= left, Haw = right, Whoa = slow down, Halt= stop, Circle gee = circle to the left, circle haw= circle to the right, and let's go = your start command. Also now is the time to get her used to the idea that on a leash she walks next to you in a heel position, but when on her harness she gets to walk in front and put her weight into the walk. Once she is a year old, you can get a walky dog or attachment like that on your bike and work with her beside you, then as she gets better with her commands, you can move it to the front and get her used to pulling you. There is an e-list on yahoo groups for people who do love Djoring and sledding with their dogs. Also you can search through youtube and find several videos, a lot of which include GSP's. In fact there is a man who is trying to get Ski djoring into the Olympics and his website (I can't remember what it is) has almost all the skiers teamed up with GSP's. He is in the Netherlands, or someplace like that. Meg has been doing the sled/djoring thing longer than me, and I have learned a LOT from her. Maybe she will have more to contribute. Carrie

canter21

SH
Posts:43

01/12/2009 1:03 PM
thanks for the reply.... i'll start on working those commands into Lola's vocabulary..... it's funny... gee & haw are horse commands for the same.... but i'll probably use 'easy' for slow down & 'whoa' for stop out of very old horsey habit ....... that'd be cool if skjoring is added to the olympics... can you see the inspiration it might be to lots of people, to work with their puppies... i know of folks who do it with their horses too ...

canter21

SH
Posts:43

01/12/2009 1:06 PM
A lot of winterfun with Enrico Otto Langels and Enrico Caruso i found this picture online of a german Trakehner stallion doing the skjoring.....it looks sooo fun..... (this horse ended up being imported to the US, lived in vermont....one of the leading sires of his breed in the US & Germany).....

carlower1

Kansas

MH
Posts:1253

01/12/2009 5:57 PM
I used a lot of horse techniques when working with Wachter,... mostly because I didn't know any better... Had some of the dog people jump down my case because they are such different animals but HEY.. They worked!!! Carrie

Chucksmyboy User is Offline

Alaska

Posts:7

01/14/2009 5:53 PM
I hope this doesn't screw you up now but Haw is left and Gee is right. I had 70 Iditarod sled dogs for many years, and my GSP was a participant in the team. I also bred him into my husky lines, for the recovery time and shorter coat. The GSP is a natural sled dog! I started out walking Chuck on a leash and harness and he picked it up right away. Now I skijor with him all of the time and he loves it! Let me know if you need any advice in training him. Definately start him early. I always started my pups pulling light loads (like a small tire) at about 6 months, then gradually worked my way up to going faster and farther, with heavier loads. Make sure you have a proper fitting harness... also go to sleddogcentral.com and there is a forum just like this on there.

carlower1

Kansas

MH
Posts:1253

01/15/2009 5:20 PM
LOL chuck... As far as Wachter is concerned.. We are going to have to stay backwards Carrie

You are not authorized to post a reply.

Forums > General > Training > sled dog training...

ActiveForums 3.7