We've had Kona for 4 or 5 months now. Early on he was unruly on leash - tugging, stopping suddenly, crossing us with the leash, etc. With some work, he walks (mostly) well on a lead; so I brought out my longboard (46" skateboard) yesterday.

I chose the board over a bike for a couple reasons:

1. If things out of control I can step off the board at will.

2. I was never any good on a bike, but was a sponsored skater when I still had young knees and never really stopped.

Equipment was just a walking harness (D ring on top) and an 8' leash and a Sector 9 46" longboard (VERY smooth ride)

He did GREAT! We had a blast and after a few runs up and down the street we're starting to communicate turns and "go" --- stop is still an unknown word to Kona.

I feel like this is going to be a great way to exercise him, but I'm wondering about:

1. Is this healthy for him? - In skateboarding with a dog, there are more lateral forces in turns (think waterskiing behind a boat) and I don't want to risk injury or impairment down the road.

2. Resources on Skijoring / sledding commands - pretty sure those will translate directly.

Thanks in advance - I'll post pictures on our next session.

I've given some not too serious thought to putting my Alaskan Husky in front of a bicycle a time or two but the roads are way too rutted for me to feel comfortable - he'd probably love it since he runs alongside my jeep with no problems.

You sound like you've hit a good way to get him some exercise. At his supposed age, there shouldn't be too man problems if oyu let him tell you when he's ready to head home. You don't say what you're running on - hard surfaces are going to be harder on him that gravel / sand.

Lots of luck finding the sledding commands - I've seen two different sets depending on whether you're in the UK or the US. Probably be best to go with what you use as long as they aren't so similar that he'd be confused. 'Go' and 'Slow' probably are a bad choice for example.

I think what I've seen here are:
Hike - start moving or speed up.
Left (Haw) / right (Gee) for directions.
On by (every Husky owner knows that one)
I know I've left out a lot so others will ad and correct mine.

Ha, that’s great! You are tapping into something he was bred to do, and you are riding in a way that is comfortable and safe for you. I am sure you guys will be a sensation when you pass people. ????

The bikejoring/skijoring/mushing people will be more helpful! (Sorry, we just walk/jog/hike with our dog.)

besides the commands, there are also questions like paw care ( running for distances?) and gear...(is a backclip harness the best/ most ergonomic for him) and it’s also a good question about the turns, maybe forces could be minimized if you find straighter routes or if you “help” with your feet on turns?

And When it snows, you guys will have to try the snowboard! I am sure your skills will cross over :-)

I tried sandboarding with squirt. She had a blast i fell alot. Im trying to build basically a really big flexible flyer with a brake using 7 ft 100+year old skis. So far the only command squirt knows well is stop. No clue how to train her for right and left. When i used to rollerblade with her i used a gentle leader and horse "neck reigning" i laugh that i tried to train her like a horse but i did notice mushing commands are the same a driving commands. This will be yet another attempt at getting her really good exercise if my back can handle it

I'm riding a 46" skateboard so our surface is asphalt and concrete for now, we're not adding any weight yet  (still on baby steps with that concept).

I'm really excited to begin training him. Our first try was up and down our street. Kona spent more time in the air at first - very excited! Our second try was much better - we circled our block 3-4 times until Kona started to slow. (we normally walk a few miles a day, but I think the excitement was too much!)

@aljones - Thanks for the commands! If it wasn't raining (real rain today - not the usual SoCal "rain"), I wouldn't be typing right now!  

@Shepsky - hadn't factored paw care! So far the back clip works, but our neighbor gave us a training harness with more options (back chest clip, two lines on the sides). Our skateboarding route so far is just around the block, but I'm planning to extend our range with training. We live close to the beach, so that's our usual walk, but the snow isn't too far away! Maybe if some of this snow sticks on the mountains we'll get him up there!

@Lostmanic - Wen our neighbor gave us the harness, I saw the side attachments and thought "reins" and started pondering horsey type commands and cues too!  

Ha ha, so I found that your new activity has a name!
"Skatejoring"!
Here is a quickie article (amongst many in Search) about how one guy sets up for it:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Skatejoring-With-Dogs/

WOO HOO!

I brought Kona out yesterday, got on the skateboard and said, "Kona hike!" - he looked back for a second, as if to say, "You know about this??" and began pulling! It seems his former owner had ideas about this too.

So far we have:
HIKE - ok, so asking a Husky to pull isn't hard - but I'm counting it as a victory!
ON By - pretty good! He seems to think it's more fun to pull than sniff
GEE / HAW - a bit slow in responding to these. I think there's a piece that I'm missing, maybe a signal with the lead.
Easy / Whoa - don't seem to be in his vocabulary just yet.

Overall I'm amazed by how quick we're picking this up! I'm betting that most of the hold ups are behind the lead!

Have fun! :-)

For "Easy/Whoa", maybe train off the skateboard first...
I taught my dog "Wait Wait" (to stop at street crossings and when I pick up poo) just by pulling him to a stop repeatedly after I said it. Now I just say "Wait Wait" and he stops and looks at me until I say "OK" and we start going again.

Between weather and work, I haven't been getting on the board with Kona lately - maybe this weekend...

However, we've been working on his calls on our walks.

Hike, - it means go, so of course he has this one down!
On By - 90% there. He still HAS to stop occasionally
Gee (right) - a bit slow to respond, but getting there
Haw (left) - a bit slower to respond than gee

Whoa / stop / halt / alto / yikes --- we need work here. He knows what I mean, he just doesn't see a reason to obey - especially on the sidewalk on top of the jetty - too many smells and animals to find.

That is great he's picking up on the verbal commands. Verbal in my opinion is the most useful training you can do outside the basic potty training, sit, stay, and don't drag me down the sidewalk.

you would have to do this on a walk or try a slow jog and use Easy: to Slow Down then followed by Woah and just stop. i would try the turn with Gee and Haw on walks too, i would say the word and walk in that direction and if Leo fallowed i would praise him. then you can try Come Haw: 180 degree turn to the left and Come Gee: 180 degrees to the right. i use them when we end up at a died en in our neighborhood. i have also Leo "check for cars" when we get to the end of the streets, i have seen a few people double take when he dose it.