Equipment needed for Skijoring, Bikejoring and Canicross

The Dog's Harness

The preferred harness for your dog is the X-back harness which is the standard for most sled dog sports. Avoid pet store walking harnesses that ring the chest perpendicular to the spine of your dog. These type of harnesses can restrict chest expansion and inhibit breathing. They also can severely encroach on the leg room that your dog needs to run. Harnesses that have webbing too close to your dogs fore legs can cause chafing and discomfort for your dog. Other harnesses that purport to be designed for skijoring are not as comfortable for the dog as the typical X-back.

The harness in the photo is an X-back. Notice how much room the fore legs of the dog have. The transverse webbing allows for chest expansion.

The X-back wraps the dog's body and allows the dog to pull with the whole body. Harnesses can be ordered with padding on the neck and chest. Other options are reflective strips for night running and closed cell padding that is lighter and will not absorb water. Harnesses can be ordered online for 17 to 25 dollars depending on the options you choose.


The Towline


You should not use a leash for a towline. A leash will be too short and will also be too jerky when a dog is pulling. The line needs to have a bungee section incorporated into the core of the line to smooth out the yo yo motion of the skier and rider. The bungee is a form of suspension that makes it comfortable for the dog and the driver.

The line should be at least nine feet long. You need the extra length beyond the length of a leash so that you have more reaction time in case your dog stops to poop or mark. Without the extra length, you might be in danger of running into your dog. If you have very fast dogs then you should consider an even longer line. The end of the line that attaches to the dog's harness should have a small brass swivel snap. The end of the line that attaches to your wheeled rig or skijor belt should have a loop. Here is a link that will help you make your own lines. For canicross, it is not necessary to have such a long line. You will still like a bungee section. A canicross line should be about seven feet long.

Always attach the line to the front and center of your rig. Do not attach the line to the grips of your bike. This is a common mistake that will make you fight for control of your bike with your dog. When the line is attached at the center at either the stem or the head tube, then your hands are free to use your brakes and control your steering. Do not use your skijor belt as an attachment when bikejoring or scootering. A line attached to your body will get you dragged in case of an accident. If the line is attached to the bike, then the bike may get scuffed and dragged for a short distance before the dogs will stop. Human bodies are much more expensive and painful to repair than a bike.

This is one of the places your dog team can take you. Left to right, Tempo, Flash

The Skijor / Canicross Belt

Skijoring is a relatively new sport and equipment is still evolving. The driver needs some kind of harness that will be comfortable and allow your dog to pull you without the pulling forces digging into your back. Older skijor belts were lightly padded, narrow waist belts. These belts become very uncomfortable after a few miles with hard charging dogs tugging on you. They also tend to make your clothes ride up exposing bare skin to cold air. A newer innovation is a belt that wraps your butt and pulls you at a much lower center of gravity. Leg loops help keep the belt in place . I call these belts "diaper" belts. The diapers do not dig into your spine and are not uncomfortable after long distances. The same belt can be used for canicross.

There are some climbing harnesses that have been adapted for skijoring and canicross. Some of the limitations of climbing harnesses is that often the padding behind the back is inadequate. The leg loops on some climbing harnesses will chafe when used for running and XC skiing.

In the next post I will discuss the skis and the different wheeled rigs you can use to run a small dog team.

This is the road to Relay Peak. There is a fog layer over Lake Tahoe.

Go With Dog
Mike Callahan

Training a Lead Dog, Part 1

Dogs love to run and a dog driver only enables his dogs to do what they love to do. Dogs need guidance to know what is expected of them. Not all dogs easily get the idea of mushing. Some people like to say that this dog or that dog is a born leader. Born leaders are a rare trait as some like to think. There is a lot of myth and hooey about what makes a good leader. Some great leaders are very shy dogs and some are very gregarious. There is no specific personality trait that would help someone sort a lead dog from the rest of the pack. The leader is not always the alpha dog. One thing a good leader does is listen to the driver.

A dog out in front of you on a line needs to be a sociable dog. Dogs that have a tendency for aggression do not make good leaders or team dogs. You want a dog that will run by loose dogs and not want to stop and pick a fight. Aggressive dogs tend to stay that way. Some dogs can learn to be more disciplined but aggression is often an incorrigible trait and difficult to vanquish. For dogs that can be bullies, a muzzle designed to allow the dog to breath while it runs can be used.

The easiest way to train a dog to pull is to use another dog that is already trained. Dogs learn very quickly from each other. Many mushers who have lots of dogs never actually trained their first leader. They often buy an already trained leader and use that dog to train the rest of the team.

This Photo shows my dog Otto training another dog "Copper" at the SNDD fall training clinic. I am behind on a bike with Seamus pulling me. Notice the single file line that I use to train other dogs. Single file formation allows the dogs more room and does not allow petty bickering that a side by side lead might allow.

The urban musher who is limited by the number of dogs they can have does not have the luxury of buying a trained leader. If you have only one dog then you still can train your dog to lead. It will take a lot of patience and a lot of time. The time that it takes in the long run will be only a small part of your dog's life compared to all the years that you will be rewarded from having a trained lead dog. To accelerate your dog's training it might be helpful to seek out someone with a working team and arrange for your dog to run with a team. One such opportunity is the Sierra Nevada Dog Drivers Fall Training Clinic held every October near Truckee. There you and your dog can gain a lot of knowledge in a short time.

Once you have trained your leader, you can hook up your next dog with the first dog and the new dog will learn profoundly faster.

This dog in the photo is "Flash" in his younger days.

Flash was a cull from an elite competitive mushing kennel. He was the result of an accidental breeding between an old retired leader and a very young untested female. His looks are typical of the Alaskan Husky breed. Flash was my first dog that I trained to be a leader. Although he is from a top kennel he was acquired as a puppy and never had the opportunity to run with a team before I acquired him. In spite of his pedigree, it took a long time for me to train him without the help of other dogs. He went on to lead me to two ISDRA gold medals and a silver medal at the BC championships in skijoring.

In my following posts I will detail methods that you can use to train your dog to get out in front and pull.

Go with dog.

Mike Callahan

Introduction to Micro Kennels

This is my first post to this blog.

I am Mike Callahan. I have been a competitive dog driver since 1995. I have five international medals in skijoring as sanctioned by the International Sled Dog Racing Association. (ISDRA) I am the past president of the Sierra Nevada Dog Drivers. I have competed in skijoring and dryland races in Alaska, Canada and several states in the good ol' USA. I hope to convey the methods needed and to discuss the equipment to help you and your dog to become a working team.
I have a small kennel of five dogs. Three are German Shorthaired Pointers,( Otto, Mojo, Seamus) and two are retired Alaskan Huskies. (Flash and Tempo). These dogs are the stars of this blog.

Flash is an Alaskan Husky and is fifteen years old now. He weighs 60 pounds and was my first lead dog

Tempo is ten. Tempo was a cull from another musher. She is an Alaskan Husky. She weighs 60 pounds. Tempo is also retired from racing.

Otto is five. Otto was a cull from a hunting kennel. He is 58 pounds. Otto is my main leader now.

This is Seamus. (Pronounced shaymus) Seamus was adopted from a shelter. He is about three years old and weighs about 50 pounds. Seamus is also a lead dog

This is Mojo. We adopted Mojo the same day we adopted Seamus. Mojo weighs 45 pounds. Mojo has huge attitude for his light weight. He is also a good lead dog. He pulls like a banshee.

Why this Blog?

I want to introduce the public to the sport of dog mushing on a micro level. You do not need a large number of dogs to enjoy mushing. Most people who live in the city or suburbs can not have a large team of dogs. Only one dog is needed to enjoy dog power while skijoring, (Mushing on XC skis), bikejoring, (Dogs pulling a mountain bike), scootering, (Dogs pulling a dog scooter), and canicrossing (Dogs pulling a runner). Your dog will love the opportunity to get out and run. The sport of mushing allows your dog to run under your control. You can go where leash laws are in effect because your dogs are connected to you with a line.

Walking a dog is too slow for most dogs. The speed of the walk is dictated by the human. If it was up to the dog then the dog would most like to run. The use of a wheeled rig will enable you to run your dog and really fulfill your dogs life. The most common wheeled rig for running dogs is a mountain bike.

This photo was taken at the Sierra Nevada Dog Drivers fall training clinic in 2007. I should have been wearing a helmet in this photo. Mountain bikes offer good control and stability. Until your dogs are well trained then you should only use two dogs at the most while bikejoring.
The other popular rig for running a small team is a dog scooter.

This is my team at a race in Chico CA in 2006. This scooter is made by Diggler and is very popular with the urban mushers. Your rig must have good brakes. V-brakes or disc brakes are the best. When your dogs pull hard then your brakes will allow control. When you have substandard brakes then mayhem could be your next moment. Another method to run dogs is skijoring.

This photo of me, Seamus and Mojo was taken by Mark Guillory at the Chester Sled Dog Races in 2008. Skijoring requires you to be a good XC skier before you hook up to your dogs. That narrows down the demographic profoundly. If you can not ski well then you might spook your dogs from too much falling. If you are not able to stop effectively then you could run over your dog and cause an injury.

Canicross is running with a dog pulling you. With a good dog you can profoundly improve your mile times. The dog is connected to you with a skijor belt so you can run hands free. Canicross is the dog sport that is most likely to grow because people love to run with their dogs.

This photo is of Robert Stradley at the "Not So Great Serum Run" in Fairview Park this past December in Costa Mesa CA. The event was put on by the Southern California Urban Mushers.

Training a lead dog

The most intimidating obstacle for all beginning mushers is how to get your dog out in front and pulling. Every musher needs a "Lead Dog". In the future posts I hope I can convey the methods to you all for training your dog to be a leader.

Go With Dog

Mike Callahan