Skijoring!

What is Skijoring? It is a way to have fun and exercise your dog during the winter. In fact, people have skijored behind standard poodles , golden retrievers, a beagle/german shepard cross, a rottweiler cross, and of course huskies.

Skijoring originally started in Nordic countries. Being very good skiers, they would have races while being pulled on skis behind horses. Horses are a bit heavy for snow, and it's not very economical to have a horse pull you for long distances on skis, so dogs were used instead.

Many of my cross country ski racing friends are now skijor racing. There are 1 dog, 2 dog, and 3 dog classes. Let me just say, that when you start skiing behind 3 dogs, you are no longer a skier. You have become a full blown adrenalin junkie!

Personally, I like the winter camping with my dogs. Just me hooked to a sled full of camping gear (the plastic kind), and a couple dogs out front pulling. I don't like it when trees that are a few feet away make a whizzing sound as I zoom by.

The gear required for skijoring is a harness for the human (a rock climbing harness will do just fine) a harness for your dog, a rope attachment, and some skis and poles.

This sport requires you to be a bit more of a gear head than bikejoring. This sport also requires that you be quite confident on cross-country skis. If you are not a very good cross country skier, you can really hurt your dog if you fall all the time.

Skis You have many choices when it comes to skis, but there are a few styles you DO NOT want to get. Do not use your best or skinniest racing skis (unless you plan on racing).

Do not use metal edged skis or you can slice your dogs paw if you run them over. I suggest just heading over to a resale sport shop and picking up a pair of wide cross country skis that fit you well.

You may change your mind about all your gear once you get really good at skijoring, but in the beginning just use a good 'ol pair of rock skis. You want to start out with classic skis because you will need the traction to help your dog. You will either need the proper wax or get wax-less skis. If you and your dog really work out, you might switch to skate skis, but if your dog quits on you at all, you will be out of luck with skate skis (or get some really great abs from double polling!)

Poles Get some tough aluminum poles. Keep the fancy, graphite ones for the races. Get a shorter pair because your poles may stay under your arms quite a bit while skijoring. You might not even need them initially.

Gear Skijoring is MUCH colder than just cross country skiing. You do not burn nearly as many calories or do nearly the work to stay warm, so wear that down jacket, wind pants, and long underwear. You will need it at first!

Skijoring Harness You will wear a harness, much like a rock climbing harness for skijoring. A comfortable climbing harness will work, and the fit is much the same as in rock climbing, but with a little bit more room in the leg straps. You can get climbing rope to attach you to your dogs pulling harness.

You will need to learn how to tie a quick release safety knot from your climbing harness to the climbing rope. You, of course, can buy skijoring equipment, but more people have access to climbing equipment than skijoring equipment.

Dog Gear Read these articles on harnesses and teaching your dog to pull

How to choose a dog harness

How to put on a dog harness

How to teach your dog how to pull

Hills Hill work is actually quite advanced for skijoring, so don't try to tackle a hill (small or large) until you have experience. You can really scare your dog if you are not in complete control on hills. There will be plenty of time for hill work, so keep your training in a small flat field for now.

Deep Snow Deep snow is really tough work for a dog. Your skis may float over the snow, but your dog is working really hard. Make sure you give your dog plenty of breaks in the deep snow.

Water Your dog needs extra calories and water in order to pull you around. That said, make sure you feed 4 hours before you plan on skijoring with your dog. This gives your dog enough time to process his meal before he has to work!

Your first few weeks of training you will cover only short distances of a half mile or so. You will slowly build your distances. Once you teach your dog to skijor, there is a whole world of adventure waiting for you!