October 18th and 19th we were in Bayfield, WI again for the 2006 Apostle Islands Sled Dog Symposium put on by the Northern Wisconsin Dog Musher's Association. Eric (and others) always puts a lot of time in to this event and it's been interesting these first 3 years.
This year's theme was “Dryland Mushing”, which is basically mushing without sleds. While this sport is huge in Europe, and growing on the east and west coasts, it's still relatively unknown here in the Midwest. That's really too bad since it's much more accessible than traditional mushing. Dryland mushing easily be experienced using simpler equipment, fewer dogs, and it doesn't require snow! What's more, just about any breed of dog can participate in the fun.
With as few as 1 to 3 dogs you can have fun using scooters, small carts, or even just biking or jogging with your dog. Carts, or “rigs”, can handle teams up to about 8 dogs. Common fall training for larger teams usually involves a 4-wheeler. Dryland races are starting to pop up in more and more places, and I hope it really takes off. I had no idea it could be so much fun or be so easy to get started.
I've got a scooter by a company called Diggler on order, and I can't wait to get started. I had tried bikejoring with Alex when she was young, but it didn't go over too well. I was laking in experience, she was too interested in stopping to sniff everything, and I found it took a little more patience and coordination than I had at the time. Now Alex is older and calmer, and the scooters are very easy to handle. If you need to you can just step off to get control of your dog(s).
Amy Cooper was the keynote speaker, and she shared her experiences running, biking, and scootering with her dogs. Those of you who red our newsletter (www.redpawfeed.com/newsletter.htm) may recall her article on traveling to Belgium for an international dryland competition. Jim Benson was next and talked about all the different equipment options and gear available. He brought along quite a few examples for us to look at and try out. In the afternoon we heard from Nick Vukich, DVM; he gave a great talk about canine health issues related to dryland. Everyone there found his talk especially informative. Finally, Lloyd Gilbertson shared some advice on interval training.
Many companies were very generous in donating items for door prizes, and everyone went home with at least one. Michelle entered and won a raffle for a fabulous Russian fur hat donated by Cindy Erickson.
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