Dog Training Product Reviews

I'm sure that some folks think I may be crazy! You know, it's like over 30 degrees C in mid-August here in southern Ontario, Canada, HOT, HUMID, basically UNBEARABLE weather and here I am thinking about getting ready for "Fall Training" my sled dogs and the upcoming Sled Dog Racing circuit. Why, you may ask? Good question! Here's a tip, that good looking, fast, successful dog team you will see tearing across the lake or through the forest this winter, will have actually started their sled dog training program months earlier.

Here a the basics for those who may have attended a race or two, maybe have some dogs of their own and may be thinking about getting started in training dogs or an exciting sport like sled dog racing:

1. First of all, there's a lot of work involved and a large time commitment to be weighed into the decision to get started. "Fall Training" is a great way to get a feel for the time and effort that are required, BEFORE you actually have to make your final decision.
2. Second, you need to have some dogs at your disposal. The typical breeds used for competitive racing are the Alaskan Husky, a mixed northern breed crossed early on, from native Indian and Eskimo dogs of the far north. Pure bred dogs like the Siberian Husky and Border Collie would be next on the list, but lots of recreational mushers use all sorts of mixtures to make up their teams, even poodles. In any case this problem of having enough dogs leads to another decision you must make at some point.

3. That decision is, you need to decide what type of sledding you want to get started in.
(a) Recreational sledding may be just the ticket for you if you're just starting out with a limited number of dogs, time and money to devote to the sport. If so, I recommend you seek out a mentor who may live not too far away. Your mentor would ideally be someone deeply involved in the sport, has many dogs available and who enjoys sharing the knowledge of the sport that only experience can bring.
(b) Competitive racing has three basic categories. Easiest to get started with is "Sprint Racing". Usually 4-6 dog teams with races from 4-6 miles in length. If you want to spend more time with your dogs on course or in training, then "Mid-Distance" races may be for you. They are usually 6-8 dog teams and the races are 25-50 miles in length. Next is "Long Distance" usually made up of anywhere between 8-16 dogs, depending on the race, and races are run in stages over several days. Each stage can vary in length but 50-75 miles per stage would not be unusual.

With all this in mind, you can quickly see that if you're going to get the dogs physical ability to the various levels required for the level of sledding you have chosen, it's going to take some time and effort and money in like proportion to be properly prepared. That's where "Fall Training" comes in and that's why we need to be thinking about sled dogs and our sport in mid-August. So hey, I'm not really crazy after all! Just thinking ahead.

For this post I wanted you to get your thinking process started as well, so I'll close with a promise to bring you some "Fall Training" do's, don'ts and must haves in the next week or so. In the meantime, give this some hard thought and we'll pick it up again shortly.

Professional Dog Trainer and Sled Dog Sprint Racer presents personal reviews of a very large selection of dog training products available on the web and compares then all in a side by side format that evaluates and rates each one for cost and content quality and effectiveness. Purpose