Member-only story
Can Dog Sledding Be Dangerous?
We were way too fast going into the turn, the cart I was driving was small and a little unstable. “Whoa! Whoooaa!!” I screamed, grabbing on to the handrails for dear life! As we took the turn, the cart tipped over and I went flying off!
Struggling to breathe I looked around for my dogs, luckily I had tied myself to the cart so as not to lose my team. Slowly standing up I brushed the dirt and dust off my pants. Straightening my back I flinched, but taking deep breaths I decided to give it another go.
Early Training Days
Waking up at five in the morning for training sessions was extremely challenging. Neither me or my dogs had any experience with dog sledding and we were completely new to the sport.
Using an old tire I hitched up to the lead line, we made it down gravel roads, while running beside them teaching them commands as in “Gee” (turn right) “Haw” (turn left) and “Whoa” (to stop)
After a month we took it up a notch and I upgraded to a small cart that I had stored in the shed. Going down dirt roads and fields to avoid cars and people we made progress step by step.
Finally after hard months of training I harnessed them up to the sled and we had our first ride together. Unbelievable results!
