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Irish mushers abroad
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02-03-2011 6:20pm#1My 15 year old son and I went over to England last weekend to take part in the Wyedean Quest, a sled dog rally. It was a fantastic weekend, I ran in 4 stages, Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night and then Sunday morning, 4 miles each stage. Very hard work, but amazing to be out in the middle of a forest in the dark with just the sound of the dogs panting and their paws and the rig's wheels. The dogs were fantastic and I'm very proud of them.
My son won the Junior Quest, they had 2 stages, Saturday and Sunday morning and he and Sky and Indy, the two siberian huskies he ran were brilliant. Not even a pack of pugs running out in front of them on Sunday stopped them:D Again, I am very, very proud of him and the dogs.
Just a few photos of the weekend, taken by Rita Wilson of countryhounds.
Me with 4 dogs on the Saturday morning, all of the dogs except the big grey boy at the back are rescue dogs. Vince, the one eared grey boy at the front is a very special boy, his mum bit his ear off, and part of his nose, and I hand reared him, then he had pneumonia and was very ill. You'd never know it now, he's the happiest dog I've ever met - and he loves the camera.:D
Dan with Sky and Indy, again, Indy is a rescue dog.
We're running this weekend in the Best for my Dog Irisharod at Lough Key Forest Park, near Boyle, Co. Roscommon at a rally, if anyone wanted to come along and watch, its great fun. The rally starts at 8am:)4
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TooManyDogs wrote: »Well done you! So jealous, now I'm wondering if I could convert my agility dogs to do sledding.......
Of course you could, at Lough Key this weekend we'll have border collies, labradors, GSDs and other 'non-traditional' sled dogs running:D0 -
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TooManyDogs wrote: »Well done you! So jealous, now I'm wondering if I could convert my agility dogs to do sledding.......
Well, why not?
I have a dog that does a bit of both.0 -
+1 lrushe
It sends a shiver down your spine to see the dogs doing exactly what they love.
I would have actually had a tear in my eye watching that!! Can't explain.
Well done ISDW to you and your son. What a fantastic sport, for you and the dogs!0 -
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Good for you. I try to get out on the bike at least once a week with one of ours.
Well we were given a baby seat for the bike for christmas so will pack up baba, some of the dogs and start off easy, check how their endurance is for cycling and then move to running. If I get them all going in the one direction I may never have to sweat again..... 0 -
TooManyDogs wrote: »Well we were given a baby seat for the bike for christmas so will pack up baba, some of the dogs and start off easy, check how their endurance is for cycling and then move to running. If I get them all going in the one direction I may never have to sweat again.....
I do the same, and regularly take our one year old son out for a five mile spin, with one of our dogs running ahead of the bike.0 -
ISWD how does one get started with stuff like this?
Amazing to see your dogs do what they love so much!!!
I have a ten week old husky who needs some obedience
training and a way to expel all of her energy!
She is getting the last of her injections etc on Wednesday so
she is gonna be my new gym membership
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kimmyt1987 wrote: »ISWD how does one get started with stuff like this?
Amazing to see your dogs do what they love so much!!!
I have a ten week old husky who needs some obedience
training and a way to expel all of her energy!
She is getting the last of her injections etc on Wednesday so
she is gonna be my new gym membership
I'm afraid patience is going to be the key for a long time yet with you and your pup. The general rule of thumb for any dog is 5 minutes exercise per day for each month of their age. So, when she's ready to go out as 12 weeks, thats only 15 minutes of walking a day. You can wear her out in the garden playing, but be careful not to overexercise her while she's still growing. Sibes can suffer from hip dysplacia, so you need to be careful of their joints.
I'm part of a club, www.tailsandtrails.ie and we have regular meets when we go out mushing, bikejoring, and now that the summer is coming and its going to be too warm to work the dogs, hiking.
I start my pups off by getting them used to an x-back harness when they're around 5/6 months old (although it can be difficult finding a harness that small) and then putting an empty milk bottle behind them on a line, so that they get used to the feel of pulling something. Then I put a bit of water in the bottle, gradually increasing it, so that it gets heavier. I also put stones in the bottle (without the water) so that it makes a noise as they're pulling, so that when they're attached to a scooter or rig, and I have to put my foot down and drag it, they don't get spooked by the noise.
As you only have the one dog, I wouldn't recommend letting her actually start to work until she's a year old. If you have other dogs, they can start working a bit earlier, as they won't be doing much pulling if they're with an experienced team. But, if you come along to some meets, you can meet lots of other sled dog owners (not just huskies, a sled dog is any dog that enjoys pulling) and see how you and her get on.:D0 -
Excellent advice ISDW.
Yep i just have the one, she is enough work at the moment as it is!
Im thinking maybe the sledding would be a little unrealistic with my little madam but maybe dusting off the bike would work.....
Very cool website! ... Will definately look into the idea of getting to some of the meets if there are any in the Dublin area though! 0
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