Training Your Dogs

         BASICS

In order to be a good musher, you need to be physically able to lift your dog in case it gets injured while training. If you want to be a professional musher, you need to be able to turn left (gee) and right (ha). You also need to know how to go on-bye, start going, line-out, and trot. The usual command for go is ‘mush’, but you can also use the word ‘hike’. There’s no point in hooking up your dogs if they have not been trained.  Do NOT talk to your dog a lot. If you talk to your dog more then the usual commands, the dog will just freeze up, and if it freezes up while running, it could get seriously injured.  The reason I’m telling you this is because: Once, my father and I were running the dogs with the four-wheeler, and my father was talking a lot to the dog and the dog just froze up, and the dog hurt himself a little. Some things that you can run your dogs with are: Sleds, four-wheelers, bikes, scooters, and carts.

FOOD/DRINKS

The best kinds of food would be: Regular dog food, raw meat, eggs, rawhide, and fish. There are a couple of ways to feed regular dog food. You can add hot water to it, and stir continuously for 2-5 minutes. You can also just give it to them dry. A last way you can give regular dog food is by adding some meat on it and stir for 3-7 minutes. A way you can feed raw meat is by putting very hot water to it and stir from 5-10 minutes. The way to feed eggs is very simple. You simply buy them and throw them to the dogs. Simple, huh? In the summer you should give each dog a full bucket of water. Also, refill the buckets every day.

STARTING TO RUN

You should run your dogs once or twice a week. In order to get started you hook up ropes to your Sled, four-wheeler etc. Start by hooking up the dogs in the BACK. Then work your way up. Always have the EMERGENCY BREAK ON! Trust Me! You need it! When you’re ready to go twenty four seven then turn the EMERGENCY BREAK OFF!

RUNNING

In order to run dog sleds you need to know a couple commands: On-bye, left and right (see paragraph one). On-bye means that if there is another dog running free simply yell “On-Bye!” and they’ll leave the dog alone. It’s a piece of cake.

      PUNISHMENT

        If your dog has bit someone or picked fights with other dogs, this is the main deal:

        1 warning-Simple hit on the nose.

        2 warnings-Rather hard hit on the nose.

        3 warnings-Hit them with a pan, or another foreign object.

        4 warnings-Very painful smack with a stick or other object.

The dogs will be hurt, but when I say very painful, I do mean, rather painful. But just because you read this doesn’t mean you can hurt them a lot.

            LOVES

        Your dogs need to be loved. Just because they are working dogs, doesn’t mean it’s all about work, work, work. Give them kisses and hugs. They are working dogs, but they deserve good loves. Scratch them behind the ears and kiss them and scratch their belly. They love it! Kisses and Hugs are dog’s favorite thing you can give them. They like loves even more than food!

      WARNINGS

         Do not have a dog that has no experience in dog sledding race! Don’t just hook up your Poodle and say Mush! First of all, poodles do not have the strength to pull a sled, and you! A Poodle or any kind of house dog won’t work. I prefer you use a Husky, Samoyed (visit types of dogs to find out more.)

      CLOSING

         That is how you dog sled! Thanks for reading all my stuff about training dogs. Have fun. But wait…before I let you go I just want you to know, that I do not know everything about dog sledding. I’m a nine-year old kid, How the heck am I suppose to know everything?