I'm really interested in giving this a try, but before I invest $200/300+ in a kick sled or scooter, I'd like to make sure this is something that will really work for us.  Can anyone (i.e. MegC) offer suggestions for an inexpensive work-around that will allow us to give it a try?  I'd hate to drop that kind of money, only to find out that it isn't going to work out for some reason.  Totally on board with a good quality harness, but beyond that ???

Thank you!

The only time I tried "skatejoring" I destroyed a new pair of jeans and bruised myself up within minutes- and that was WITH pads, LOL. Some people obviously have more luck with it but don't say you weren't warned!

I'd suggest starting with an old cheap bike you can live with getting bounced along just in case. Scooters are certainly better and safer in the long run, but this works. I'd make sure the bike is on the small side and/or the seat is all the way down so that bail-outs are easier.

I started with a super cheap toys r us scooter with plastic rims, maybe 12" wheels... the brakes were horrid and it was somewhat death-defying, but it worked.

Skijoring is obviously cheaper than sledding since XC gear can turn up in thrift stores frequently, but you really need to be a competant skiier if you're going to try that. My husband once cobbled together a somewhat sledlike contraption using old skis as runners... it was hard to steer but it did slide down the trail, LOL.

I've run with home-made lines and shocklines for years, made out of easily spliced and cheap yellow polypro.. they need to be replaced after a season or two unlike the 'real' lines that last many years, but they definately do the trick. There's a great page explaining building lines here: http://skijor.hypermart.net/line_article.html

Which reminds me, I need to build some new skijoring shock lines.

I used to rollerblade years ago and loved it, but I was never better than okay.  Given the terrain we have out here--and the speed I'm sure Otto would have me travelling , it might be too much of a "white-knuckle" option for me at this point.  Thanks very much for the idea though!!!

Meg--with regard to the cheap scooter you started out on--what exactly about it made your treks death-defying?  The bad breaks are pretty obvious, but did the rim size of the wheels also have something to do with it?  If I were to go on the hunt for a cheap-ish scooter option for now, what were somethings I'd want to keep my eyes out for?

As far as the harness goes, would I need a seperate harness style to pull a bike/scooter, as opposed to something I might rig up in the winter for Liam?  I remember reading somewhere that you used the X-back harnesses, but I also read that some dogs have had back strain issues with that style when hooked up to a bike (I'm guessing that would have something to do with the angle of the line?).  Could that be alleviated with a longer line?  And what length  would you recommend for someone starting out?

Thanks, I'll definitely go scout that out! 

I do remember reading some of Wagonmaster's posts on the old forum (though not the one you mentioned), and I don't recall seeing any recently--which is a huge shame!  He made some incredibly thorough, insightful posts, and always seemed to be very diplomatic when threads got heated.  Hopefully he'll find his way back here soon!

gsp-fan,

I found the thread you mentioned.  Here's a more thorough discussion, posted by Wagonmaster on the Gun Dog Forum, for anyone else that's interested:

http://www.gundogforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3399

It can be amazingly tough to stop these dogs when they're in high gear, especially when game is involved. That becomes a high-blood-pressure moment when the target is a skunk or porcupine!!!

The little scooter's brakes left a lot to be desired, although they worked OK for 2 dogs if I also drug a boot. I think I actually melted the rims a bit on mine before I gave it away to a kid.

There's a ton of debate about traditional X back harnesses vs the new shorter harnesses, the latter of which are designed with skijoring or scootering in mind. They certainly seem to work for some people so my story is just one bit of info to consider....

I'd always run X backs but decided to try something new. I had a set of short harnesses custom made for Los Tres Horribles, got them all adjusted properly, then hooked them to the #130-140 lb cart headed uphill. This is a standard run close to the house we do frequently... I'll get off to run behind if I have to, but the dogs have to tow the cart regardless.

Within the first 100 feet it sounded like I had a team of asthmatics, and the power loss was quite noticable. I stopped the dogs on the hill, which meant they had to keep leaning into the harnesses to keep the cart from rolling back so I had a pretty clear picture of how the harnesses were working.... which was, in one word: DISASTER. Every one of those harnesses was pulling too hard from the attachment on the back, riding the collar section up, and digging into the throat of the dog!

I tried adjustments ad infenitum, I tried even sending the harnesses back and having them re-fitted and going through this it all over again. They never worked right on all 3 dogs no matter what we tried.

My analysis: In looking at the classic X-back design, you'll see that there are straps going uninterrupted from both the top of the collar back to the tug, and from the bottom of the collar through the chest plate and back to the tug. When an X back harness is properly fitted the pulling pressure comes in on the bottom AND the top of the collar, but this pressure is equalized, and it doesn't ride up or down on the dog. The problem I see with the "short harness" designs is that the pulling all comes into the top of the harness with nothing to hold it down from below, and, logically, will pull that collar section up.... with results like what I saw.

I always have at least 8' of line from me or the scooter to the first dog with a fairly heavy bungie section in between, so any 'lift' on the harness is very, very minimal (if it exists). I never have been convinced this is much of a problem to solve... I tried the short harness mostly because people were raving about performance improvements with them. So much for that idea.

I'm currently using a harness from Alpine Outfitters called the Odyessy... it's a little hard to get on and off but so far I think it fits the best of anything I've tried.

FWIW from the pictures I've seen, it looks like most of the Iditarod guys are back to using more X back type harnesses after a period of experimentation. An interesting point I've seen mentioned here and there is that the short harnesses actually encourage the dog to pull LESS, hence less soreness and the dog not tiring out as soon in a big team... if true, this is quite impractical for those of us with very small teams where all dogs need to be pulling their share most of the time. For an interesting take on this and Mitch Seavey's completely opposite approach- using a design with spreader bars in the harness and gangline that almost seems to hark back to the Gold Rush- see this article from Cabela's Iditarod coverage.

You might also put out a shout on the dogscooter list and see if there's anyone near you that could let you try it with their scooter. That way you can get a better bead on whether it's worth sinking the money into.

Nope. Bo has the attention span of a flea sometimes. Even when he is playing with his favourite toy or chewing something really good, you can see his mind start wandering