Ski joring

[ibbowhunting]

any body ski joring with there hunting dog to keep them in shape? if so what are you using for a harness and tether I found a couple joring systems online $$$, I'm thinking of trying it with my britt because winter don't want to end

[Sharon]

Not to change the subject , but be cautious. I'm kicking myself for letting my setter run hard in this icy , deep snow. Looking at TPLO by the look of it.

[bonasa]

Same harness for the dog as my bike joring but I switch the 6' lead for a 20' check cord that I tie around my waist. A weight lifting belt may be better but i have in my lined overalls and jacket so the cc doesnt bite into my obliques so much.Two hands free to hold the poles. Only problem is sleds on the trails during the weekends. My harness is one of those red ones from the supply house, not the best but doesn't choke or abrade the dog.

[slistoe]

Make sure you have brakes on the dog before you start out!!

[Fun dog]

Standard skijor lines are 8 feet. You want the line long enough to clear the ski, but not so long you wrap around trees and other objects. They make all sorts of fancy equipment to skijor with, but just a harness and line should work. Very important is to have some way to quickly separate you from the dog should the need arise. A quick release like they use on horses works well. You can check out www.howlingdogalaska.com for skijor equipment.

[legallyblonde]

I skijor my GSP's to keep all of us in shape in the winter. I'm lucky to have some great trails to do it on, and a local mushing group that helped me learn. We have a lot of dog sledders here in Michigan, and I got sled dog harnesses and lines from them. I bought a skijor belt for myself from a local pet store that carries them because one of the managers is a sledding/skijor husky person. I highly recommend it

[ChetB]

I skijor my GSP's to keep all of us in shape in the winter. I'm lucky to have some great trails to do it on, and a local mushing group that helped me learn. We have a lot of dog sledders here in Michigan, and I got sled dog harnesses and lines from them. I bought a skijor belt for myself from a local pet store that carries them because one of the managers is a sledding/skijor husky person. I highly recommend it

That's a pretty cool photo! As for me, the older I get, the less I like snow!


Chet

[ibbowhunting]

I skijor my GSP's to keep all of us in shape in the winter. I'm lucky to have some great trails to do it on, and a local mushing group that helped me learn. We have a lot of dog sledders here in Michigan, and I got sled dog harnesses and lines from them. I bought a skijor belt for myself from a local pet store that carries them because one of the managers is a sledding/skijor husky person. I highly recommend it

how may miles do you go in a trip and do you always use two dogs or have you done it with just one dog

[Fun dog]

I have seen ski joring from one to eight dogs. Eight dogs was insane and out of control. I also know a crazy young man that hooked up twelve and went snow boarding. He did take a snow hook to stop with.

[Nutmeg247]

I bike-jor and do canicross regularly. I've tried skijoring on roller skis and just can't handle the speed or unpredictable behavior with my pup. Got my harness etc. from www.howlingdogalaska.com also. Fun, unless the dog starts loafing on uphills...

[legallyblonde]

I skijor my GSP's to keep all of us in shape in the winter. I'm lucky to have some great trails to do it on, and a local mushing group that helped me learn. We have a lot of dog sledders here in Michigan, and I got sled dog harnesses and lines from them. I bought a skijor belt for myself from a local pet store that carries them because one of the managers is a sledding/skijor husky person. I highly recommend it

how may miles do you go in a trip and do you always use two dogs or have you done it with just one dog

When we are in shape and going regularly we will do up to 8-10 miles. It is one heck of a workout for the human....you ski almost harder I think to keep a good pace with the dogs. I don't like going when it's soooo cold, single digits, because I do sweat pretty good and it doesn't feel too good in the frigid temps. Right now we are going only about 3 miles because I am still recovering from the worst case of the flu I've ever had and my lungs can't yet handle much.

I can run with 1 but prefer 2. The solid liver GSP pictured above actually lives with my ex-husband, but I get "visitation" under the divorce order so I take him out when I have him--he's definitely my best puller. When I don't have him I take my younger GSP and my Australian Cattle Dog together

[Fun dog]

Here's a fun skijor race. Especially check out about 6:50 where she wraps around a tree. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fv0cu7SVNQ

[ibbowhunting]

I went out for the first time to today with my older britt, how old should a dog be before pulling and or roading?

[Fun dog]

We usually start our pups at 6-12 months, but we are talking easy, slow, and short. Their bones are still growing and you don't want to overdo.

[Senah]

A comment and a question. Firstly, we have a gun dog vet, and she and her colleague were HUGELY aggressive about making sure we didn't run out dogs until at least 18 months. Repetitive motion on the joints (jogging, skijoring, wearing a pack) has ruined many good dogs' joints and the damage is not repairable. So, we have waited until 18 months to run him (though we obviously go hiking and snowshoeing etc. with him).

Question is for those who skijor what type of skis do you use? Are you re-purposing cross country skis or is it better to get a specific set?

[legallyblonde]

I just have some general cross country skis I got used for $40 for the whole set. Turns out they are actually pretty nice Fischer skis and when I took them to a ski shop to look at getting new ones, they recommended just getting new bindings and boots.

Most people I have seen skijoring just have cross country skis...I'm not really sure what else you would use?

[Senah]

Well, within the cross country ski category there are multiple types of skis - skates, back country, and cross country. Within those groups there are skis that you wax and others that have metal edges. The diameter can vary hugely. I'm interested in why people chose specific types and how they've worked out.

[legallyblonde]

Clearly I am not a ski expert When I decided I was going to skijor I had never ever done any sort of skiing except water skiing and bought harnesses for my dogs first. I later bought skis used and tried it out for about a week and was too impatient and hooked up to dogs LOL! Needless to say it was not pretty. I've been doing it every winter for 4 years now and fall down a lot less.

When I've gone out with my local mushing group I'm one of the few skijoring; most have sleds. The few others I have seen skijoring have had regular cross country skis like mine. Mine don't have metal edges and don't need waxed. That's about all I know

[Nutmeg247]

Well, within the cross country ski category there are multiple types of skis - skates, back country, and cross country. Within those groups there are skis that you wax and others that have metal edges. The diameter can vary hugely. I'm interested in why people chose specific types and how they've worked out.

Do you know where you'll be going? I'm obviously not out on skis much down here in NV, but in MN where I was for a couple years many XC trails and seemingly all of the local skijor events were for skate skis.

I can also see that people might get upset if you run your dog over a well-set classic or "diagonal" track, but it would be better to ask someone local how they view that kind of thing. Generally snowshoers and skate skiers are asked to stay out of those tracks, and a dog could be similar.

[ibbowhunting]

I went to three local area ski trails this weekend to check them out all of them had no dogs allow signs at them, we end up using private snowmobile trail close to home seemed to work ok, as far as I can tell there are only 3 state aid trails in Minnesota that allow ski joring