A little back story to start with . . . We got a pretty decent snow this last weekend and my brother, sister and I decided to take all the kids sledding. Since Saphire loves the snow we took her along also. The older kids were having a blast sledding down the hill but it was a little too scary for my youngest niece (2 1/2) and nephew (3). Well Saphire had on her harness and my brother had a piece of rope in the truck so we hooked her up to one of the sleds to see if she would pull the youngest two around a bit. And she did. It was great to watch. When they would scream with delight she would pull a little bit faster. She just took to it naturally and loved every minute of it. Plus when we got home she was the calmest she has ever been.

So my brother and I decided to build a cart with wheels for her to start to learn the fine art of pulling. I have spent the entire week doing research on the specifics and have invested in an x-back harness and proper tow lines and my brother and I are getting together on Saturday to discuss the final plans for the cart (it should weigh about 30 lbs when finished).

The problem is that after reading all of the information I could find online about sled dog training, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. Now mind you I have no intention of training for the Iditarod or anything remotely close. Just looking for a new way to exercise Saphire and let her enjoy life the way she was meant too. And since she is still two weeks away from her first birthday (and the cart isn't built yet), we won't be starting today.

I know from what I read that I need to build up her endurance and start slowly (we will start with just the cart and and weight and distance from there). And I think I know what basic commands to start with.

However, I am looking for some first hand advice from others who have done similar things. I have learned that there is a big difference between reading about doing something and actually doing it so I came to my trusted husky friends to borrow their experience.

Carting is generally for multiple dog training, as carts tend to be heavy. Scootering and biking is more acceptable for single dog training and equally as fulfilling and fun If training in team positions you can start as early as 8 months in harness, if you are single dog training this dog pulls the entire load on it's own and should not be taken on until 18 months at minimum. This is due to the risk of damaging growth plates. You can start at any time working with directional commands, and this is as easy as saying the commands while out on walks. You should have a really solid foundation in these commands before you hook up to any rig or you might be in for a very wild/dangerous ride. Always make each training session a positive one and end each run with them wanting more

I started running Denali at 18 months old next to me on the bike on a Springer to start him learning commands. After that I put him on a main line attached to the front of my bike and gave that a try. From there I added a second dog, then a third, now we are running a 4 dog team on sled/cart with a veteran lead dog purchased from Tumnatki Siberians, will be adding the girls this month and starting to train for mid-distance 6 dog races. It's fun, it's addictive, and a wonderful time to spend with the dogs.

HuskyMom09 wrote:

Carting is generally for multiple dog training, as carts tend to be heavy .

This is why my brother and I are building a custom cart. Everything we have looked at that can be purchased commercially is too heavy for one dog to pull. But what we have planned should be no more than slightly heavier than a bicycle. However, I want something with a wider base for more stability. And the plans for what we are building looks like a tricycle! HA HA.

Basically, its a simple conduit frame with handle bars and a seat attached. We are still debating what to use for wheels because we want something that will run through our many local grassy fields easily without tipping over. Right now we are looking at various different kinds of bicycle tires as we figured this would be the lightest weight option.

As for commands (keeping in mind we are only a week in at this point), we have been working with the line out command this week as the websites all say this is the most important first step as it keeps the line from becoming tangled in the wheels. Basically, I put on her harness and tie the line (right now just her regular harness and a rope because the x-back and lines I ordered have not arrived yet but I figured the concept was the same) to a stationary object and teach her to keep the line taught but not so much so that it is putting any strain on her. It was a little confusing at first but after a few days of trying she seems to understand what I want her to do.

We will start working on the other commands on our walk tonight as I hadn't even considered that option!

Next question, everything I have read says I should start slowly building her strength and endurance and that I could start at 1 year doing that. Any ideas how to do that without pulling something? Or is it that 1 year is when they start for a team and since she is alone I need to wait longer? Or should I try pulling something lighter weight first (i.e. the plastic sled we used for the kids with a little weight added like bottles full of water or bricks or something?

My friend uses this adult trike to train her team, she runs 4 dogs also.


This is what one of my other friends uses to compete with her 2 dog team

As for starting slow and building endurance, you can do that out on your first few runs. You'll want to keep in mind they have never done anything like this before so keep the first run to 1-2 miles and keep the speed lower. Once they get to the point they are still pulling through the brakes at 1-2 miles on the return and wanting more they are ready to bump up to the next mileage.

The trike is very similar to what we are building but we are going for something a little smaller and as a result a little lighter weight.

I figured I would start by attaching the cart to her with the line and then putting her leash on and then just go for a walk with her pulling it to get her used to pulling something and to work on commands. Then slowly add weight for the next couple of months until she is 18 months to help develop her pulling muscles. Then when she reaches 18 months we can start teaching/learning to pull with a rider instead of a guide. Does this sound like a good idea?

It's not how I've trained any of my dogs, if you are walking/jogging/running right now they are developing decent enough musculature to be put in harness. Keeping the mileage and speed down will build the rest. I have found that more often people that walk along side their dog as they are teaching them to pull end up with dogs that are confused when it's time for them to be in front all alone adding to the already high stress that a lead dog is in. To each his/her own though