Fall Training: The Trail from Mud to Snow

I’m a dog musher. I work at a lodge in Swedish Lappland for a company called Explore the North. Right now we are coming to the end of a period that we in the world of sled dogs call ‘fall training.’ When you think of dog mushing you might have the classic picture in your head of a team silhouetted against the snow trotting across the tundra. While that feeling is wonderful, I wanted to write an article explaining a little bit more about what dog mushing is. As I always say dog mushing is only 10% standing on the back of a sled and 90% everything else. Check out the video at the bottom of the page for a more in depth look.

I wake up around 6:15. As the days grow shorter it becomes harder to get out of bed. My sunrise alarm clock is a big help especially when we only have 3 hours of light in the dead of winter. My commute is about 20 meters, where I get geared up for the day.

I work with a team of five people during the fall. It would be impossible to do the work we do alone. When we’re ready the dogs are hungry and they are not quiet about it. However, once they’ve eaten, they all join together for a big old howl before falling silent. The silence from 145 dogs is pretty exceptional.

They need to rest their tummies before running, and during that time we take care of any medical treatments that need to be done, chop meat for the dogs, and of course sit down for ten minutes to have a cup of coffee.

Making teams. We have a lot of dogs so we use a spreadsheet to keep track of the data. We want our dogs to run anywhere from 2 to 4 times a week depending on their age and physical ability. By looking at the spreadsheet we can see who ran, how many kilometers, and on what date. From that information we decide who is going to run that day.

During the fall we run teams of 16 dogs in front of what I like to refer to as a jacked-up golf cart, an all terrain vehicle. To prepare for the run we check our ganglines, this is what the dogs will be attached to and we want to make sure it is all in tip top shape before heading out. Keep an eye out for broken neck lines and tug lines. It is very important to make sure that your vehicle has the brakes on before harnessing the dogs, and as an extra I like to tie a safety rope to a tree with a quick release knot just in case they get over zealous.

So with everything set up and ready to go, we start harnessing the dogs. We like to let the dogs stretch their legs before being put on the line, but once their on we’re off! In the beginning of fall training we run only about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) with the dogs. Now, we run about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles). When we arrive back at the kennel we give them a chance to free run again before going back home. After lunch we head out again with another team. We have a lot of dogs remember, we need to train every day of the week to keep up.

At the end of the day the dogs get soup...well ground up chicken and water. They love it, and it’s a great way for them to get extra fat and hydration. Once everything is cleaned and tidied we head home for the day.