Skijoring: Cross country skiing with dogs
The dog must enjoy pulling. Huskies are famous for their love of pulling but pulling is fairly natural to most dogs – if they are helped to learn it gradually.
By Chad McGrath  It had been a long climb, but Ely and I were at the top. Below us, beyond the mostly snow buried stonewall, Lake of the Clouds stretched to the east, frozen, still, beautiful. There was no one else here, and there hadn't been for several days. That's how it can be toward the end of snow season in the Porcupine Mountains. I hugged Ely and congratulated her on doing such a good job. The ski up Lake of the Clouds road would have taken twice as long
without her. In fact, since I was skate skiing on a very narrow, rutty, old snowmobile path, I might not have made it at all.
Several times on the way up I wondered how the ride down would go. From here back to the parking lot figured to be the most technical – lots of trees, and two curves. But it was short and I had a good, clear run out into the parking lot. Ely was rested and took off like a shot. The skijor line stiffened and I jerked into action. I dodged a tree, then another,
made the last turn, and sailed, way too fast, into the parking lot. I sat down. Ely looked back. I can never decide if that look I get from her when I fall is just puzzled or disdainful.
The next part of the trip was the most difficult. The road makes a sweeping curve to the right and the downhill pitch is steep. Worst of all, I knew from our trip up that the trail was more like a narrow, bumpy,
bobsled track then anything else. It wouldn't be possible to snowplow. Then we were off, Ely tugging like a trooper, my heart thumping like a machine gun.
I don't know how fast we went down that hill and around that curve, but I know Ely had to move and let me by. It was all she could do to keep up. I worried about getting tangled in the tug line as she drifted further behind me. Finally the concave bobsled track shallowed a bit and I could use one ski as a break.
We had made it. The rest of the six mile skijor was a gradual down hill: Easy, even relaxing. And the views of Lake Superior were awesome. Ely may not have appreciated the view, but she did like the easy run, without much pulling.
We made it back to the base of the downhill ski area on Michigan Highway M107, where my friends were waiting, in about a quarter of the time it took us to go up hill. Ely got another big hug and a hunk of cooked
deer liver as a reward for her wonderful performance.
Such are the wonders of skijoring. Ely is a 4-year-old, 42-pound, brown-eyed Alaskan husky with a cream-colored coat the consistency of lamb's wool. She's a great skijor dog. But don't think that you need a husky to skijor. Almost any dog over 30 pounds can skijor. The classic blue-eyed Siberian husky strikes an imposing and aesthetically pleasing pose in front of a skier, but Goofy the house dog can do the job. As
usual with an animal, its relationship with you is the most important thing.
The dog also must enjoy pulling. Alaskan huskies, like Ely, are famous for their love of pulling. But pulling is fairly natural to most dogs, if they are helped to learn it gradually. Don't go out and expect your dog to pull your full weight the first time you harness her up or she'll learn to hate pulling. Give her only a light load for
the first few times. Either ski along, taking most of your weight off the pull-rope, or have her pull something light, while you coach.
Other than you and the dog, there are three other essential items you'll need for skijoring: Skiing equipment, pulling equipment and a place to skijor.
Almost any skiing equipment will work. Some people even use downhill skis. However, to get the most
from the sport, cross country skis work best. The skis should match your level of ability. Narrow, racing type skis are the fastest, but also the most difficult to balance on. Either striding or skating skis are fine; both allow the skier to propel herself and assist the dog(s).
One question asked by beginners is whether they should use their poles. Sometimes it can be easier to not
have to worry about poles. On the other hand, lots of folks like poles for the balance they provide and they can help slow you up when the dog(s) haven't quite got the hang of the "whoa" command.
Before you let Fido do any pulling, you'll need some pulling equipment. The minimum piece of such equipment you'll need is a harness. You don't want your dog pulling with a line attached to her collar: That's
too hard on her neck. A harness is padded and fits not only around the neck, but also behind the front legs. It crisscrosses over the dog's back, ending near the base of the tail, where you attach the pulling or skijoring line. Most of the pulling weight is distributed across the dog's shoulder.
The skijoring, or tug line, can be as simple as a piece of rope. But if you are going to do much skijoring, buy
a pre-made one. (See For More Information) A pre-made skijor line consists of a brass snap, which connects to the harness, a bungee cord, 10 to 15 feet of rope, and a quick release snap for attaching to your skijoring belt. The belt is a padded affair that goes around your waist. It gets connected to the skijoring line by the other half of the quick-release snap.
There are many refinements on these basic equipment items, but these will get you started.
Finding a place to skijor may be the most difficult part of the sport. Dog sledders sometimes maintain trails on their property and are often willing to let others with an interest in dogs run them. Camp Nicolet near Eagle River, Wis., is one such trail. It is maintained exclusively for dog sledding and allows skijoring. A donation is requested.
Unfortunately, snowmobile trails are one of the best options skijorers have as places to skijor. Open
sections of trail, often on rivers and lakes, are best because of the visibility. Frozen bodies of water in general are good places, if the snow isn't too deep to prevent effective skiing. Regular cross country ski trails are usually not an option because dogs are generally prohibited. Sometimes a system may open up to skijoring on a special day, something that has been done at Nine-Mile in Wausau, Wis.
There is at least one trail dedicated to skijoring. Located in Watersmeet, Mich., it's run by Sylvania Outfitters, 906/358-4766. It consists of two loops, Woof and Dog Leg, that together are about four kilometers. A donation is requested.
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