Winning Sleddog Races

Racing Sleddogs are special in many ways. They are very different from the average pet. They love to run fast and they love to pull. They can really move! And they dont' seem to get tired for a long time. A good dog team is such a treat! The really good dogs are world class athletes. They can accomplish amazing things in terms of speed, endurance and the ability to overcome adverse conditions. They truly deserve a lot of respect.

Sleddog races must have first taken place after the trapping season was over in the spring. Trappers naturally were proud of their dog teams and they wanted to prove who had the fastest dogs. The way to find out was to race and compete. To this day sleddog races are the major event at spring festivals in numerous northern communities in Canada and Alaska.

Attend as many races as possible, preferrably with the participation of top mushers and top dog teams, at least two day events. Some of the best ones are the Fur Rondy in Anchorage, the Open North American Championship in Fairbanks - Alaska. the World Championship in The Pas - Manitoba, the race in Cross Lake - Manitoba, and the Canadian Championship Dog Derby in Yellowknife - NWT

Talk to as many top mushers as you can. They are a wealh of very good information and as a rule are willing to share it. This would definitely be a step in the right direction. Good mushers also tend to have good dogs, occasionally some might be for sale. Winning mushers and winning dogs usually go together. Just as the Knowledge is important, so is the Genetical Makeup of the dogs essential.

Acquire Good Dogs. I cannot emphasize this enough. Good dogs can do amazing things. They also tend to be a lot easier to train. They eat just the same amount of food and occupy the same amount of time as the average dogs.... The difference is in the performance... And it's a whole lot more fun... What a lot of newbies tend to do is they get someone's unwanted dogs for free... Or worse yet, they buy cheap dogs from a musher who has consistently achieved poor results. Or they get their dogs from the dog pound...I should know, I have done these things with rather predictable results.

A good book to get you started is "The Speed Mushing Manual" by Jim Welsh. You should also read "The Complete Mushing Manual" by Julie and Micky Collins