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Hi fellow animal fanatics! I'm pleased that you have taken interest in my topic. Now, does anyone know how to train a dog to pull a sled? or any good sites that explain how to? Please let me know. My friends and I are planning on training our pups to pull sleds, not for show just for fun. Also, I would like to mention, I want true information not something you came up with. Although, if you came up with something and it worked with your dogs, then, I'd be happy to hear it! Thanks for your help. I hope for those of you who do not know how will find out through my topic. And again, thank you very much! :)

Try this as a starting point, Emily. And good luck!

http://www.sleddogcentral.com

Alright! Thanks Sep!

I'm going to try that too, but do you have to start your dogs as puppies? My dog is 2 so..

Well, it may take more time and harder training but, it can be done!

Wouldn't know. It never snows here anymore.

trt google! haha

As I stated above. No answers that aren't researched or have an actual purpose. I was aware google was available.

my dogs are sled dogs and if you want to learn how to train a dog to pull a sled first you have to buy a harness so the dog gets used to the way a harness feels on them
then your dog needs to learn mushing turms like hike is to get the dogs started, gee is to get the dog to turn right and haw is to turn left and then to get the dog to stop you say woa or easy
then get a sled and put somthing heavy on it then put a leash on the dog and get him to follow you then after doing this for a while the dog will know a bit more what to do
take the dog for a sled run while taking him for a walk and let the dog learn these trails after doing this for about a month maybe even less the dog will learn the trail and know the terms and know what to do you can even enter him in races if he learns well i trained my husky how to stay on the sidewalk when she goes for walks so when i take her for a walk she wont go for a walk even if i drop the leash she just runs on the sidewalk

Now, I don't have my own huskies (yet) but I know many people who do. Actually, my mom's old boss has a team of errr, eight huskies, last time I checked. And it really isn't that hard to train a puppy to pull a sled, but it gets harder as they get older.

A good idea for training them when they are young, is to hook them up to a bale of hay to pull around. At first you bribe them to pull it with bits of food (such as raw steak or such) and then eventually they will get used to pulling it. It takes them alittle while. Give it time.

And then you would have to teach them the commands if you want them to pull a sled. You know, huskies are working dogs, and will pull til they kill themselves.

Teaching them right is important. And watching what you say around them is important too. Unlike some people, the proper term is generally 'Hike' not 'Mush' when asking them to run. I would say a good way to teach them (and yourself) the terms to use them all the time. No, that isn't such a good idea. It could confuse them, and make them think other things.

I am not a husky expert, but if I were to get a husky I would be ready for everything. Once we move, my mom said I can have my huskies. I shall start out with two middle-aged huskies (or other breed. >.>) and bred puppies with them. And start from scratch.

My life is within the value of these dogs, as much as wolves are. I tend to not lead you in the wrong direction.

Oh, and banshee... anyone can teach there dog not to run off when you drop the leash. Even my german shepherd who runs away constantly knows how to do that. =]

--Mayaaaaa

no what i meant by

take the dog for a sled run while taking him for a walk and let the dog learn these trails after doing this for about a month maybe even less the dog will learn the trail and know the terms and know what to do you can even enter him in races if he learns well i trained my husky how to stay on the sidewalk when she goes for walks so when i take her for a walk she wont go for a walk even if i drop the leash she just runs on the sidewalk

as in she knows where to go when she pulls a sled and here gee and haws that is very usefull for dog sledding and yes she does run away when you drop the leash but i trained her where to go....and my tips realy did work it only took a few months to train my 13 year old husky and the other dog who is 9....there fast for there age

I can't remember my very first web sources for mushing but as BaltoSeppala pointed out http://www.sleddogcentral.com is one of the big centerpoints of the mushing world. As for racing in such maybe in the future dogsled.com is a good site to watch the bigger races unfold.. result wise and such.. just for fun at least. One site I do remember for training I used was http://dogscooter.com/dogscooter/trainfaq.html. I don't get very much snow here in VA.. atleast not as much as I would like so I have a dog scooter and just purchased a gig since I adopted another dog to run with. This link will show you waht a gig looks like. http://www.risdonrigs.com/Home/WHEELEDCARTS/tabid/3364/Default.aspx

A place that I really recommend for harnesses and lines is Alpine Outfitters. They're located in Washington state and I still get my equipment in a timely manner all the way across the US. Link here http://www.alpineoutfitters.net There are other great equipment suppliers out there as well.. many of which are listed on sleddogcentral.com so there's the tie in of the center of the dog sledding world A nice touch I like from Alpine Outfitters was I get each dog's name stitched onto the harness and collars for free.

The way I trained my first husky was basically starting her with commands. Taking her on walks and leashed runs saying the commands mentioned earlier like hike when I wanted to go and when approaching a turn like a street I would say either "on by" to go straight ( this is also the command for leaving something alone while running.. like a spot they would like to sniff on the side of the trail ) Haw when turning left and Gee when turning right. They soon pick up on the connection of the commands and what they're doing. If they try to do something opposite of what you said then stop correct them as turning them the right direction while saying the command then continue. By the time the commands were down her harness had arrived so I latched the line I had aquirred from a local recreation musher to her harness and some weights. This created the friction and weight of what I had been told to use.. logs.. I just didn't have any logs on hand at the point, lol. It's just to get them used to the feeling of pulling and having something making noise behind them. Aft er all of this basic training I had aquirred the dog scooter and she picked up to running on the back trails like it was second nature. Me barking out the "on by" command a little more then I like but she gets the point very soon on in the runs. Now that I have a second husky as well I get to start the training all over again .. this time I'll learn from any mistakes I made in the first time around.

Just a training hint in general.. Be consistent, patient, and try not to go long periods without training or some sort of reinforcement. It will take a while with some dogs.. Huskies are especially known to be stubborn so just be calm and collected during the process.. After all, it's supposed to all be fun for both you and dog. Remember that first and foremost. If it's no longer fun for either of you, the run should end.

This hobby is VERY addicting and can get very expensive so this is your warning, lol.

Don't hesitate to PM or if you PM I'll give you my email and I'll be glad to discuss this all further with you.. if not just to keep in touch with how your training's going.

Best of Luck!