Skijoring 2.0
Skijor Club holds demo at Forestville trailhead
MARQUETTE — Cross-country skiing can be challenging. Walking an active dog in snow can be challenging.
Try doing both at the same time.
However, many people manage to take part in skijoring, as that activity is called, and not only do they excel at it, they enjoy it. And so do the dogs.
To introduce others to skijoring, Noquemanon Skijor Club conducted a demonstration Sunday at the Noquemanon Trail Network’s Forestville trailhead.
Skijoring is defined as being pulled on skis by a dog, horse or motor vehicle. It might be hard to imagine being pulled by a descendent of Triple Crown champion Secretariat. However, the Sunday demo, which took place despite the lack of a notable snow cover, focused just on canines.
Club President Brent Skaw said the purpose of the demo was to teach participants how their dogs could power them on their skis as well as their feet — in that instance, called canicross — plus help them fit their dogs.
“If their brought their own dog, we’ll help them fit their dog with a harness and teach them how to use the belt that attaches to the harness and then to the skier,” Skaw said. “We’ll also go over what types of skis work best for skijoring.”
Skijoring is fun for the humans as well as the dogs.
“The dogs just love the sport,” Skaw said.
In fact, he said that when the dogs exit a truck for a skijoring trip, they are excited to get going, much as U.P. 200 sled dog teams start barking loudly when they line up for the race.
The lack of snow wasn’t a hindrance to the dry-land demo. In fact, Skaw said that people being on foot would help with control as they learned the sport.
Before the equipment-fitting and outdoor activity started, though, club member Lindsay Wagner gave a presentation on the sport.
“I really started skijoring because I love to ski and I love dogs, but I hated being on the trail with my dogs loose,” Wagner said. “There’s this sense of chaos, lack of structure, that did not work for me.”
That sparked her interest in skijoring, which hooked her — literally and figuratively.
Of course, the novice skijorer shouldn’t just buy the proper equipment — which involves a belt, harness, line and skis — and hit the trail without a little instruction.
For example, Wagner said the belt should be worn low on the hip for core balance and control. Also, classic and skate skis should be used, although metal skis aren’t recommended because its metal edges could injure the dogs.
“It’s not worth taking that risk,” Wagner said.
One of the most common harnesses is the X-back variety, which is available locally at Mares-Z-Doats in Marquette, she said.
“If you’ve got a dog that’s, like, really barrel-chested and is shorter, you know, usually you’ve got to go up in size, but the length would be too long,” Wagner said. “You don’t want the length to be much further past the base of their tail.”
Then there are the verbal commands, which include “whoa” for stop, “easy” for “slow down,” and “gee” and “haw” for right and left, respectively.
“Commands are important because it’s nice to have control when you’re out there,” said Wagner, who noted skijorers have the extra challenge of being attached to a dog that wants to run.
Wagner has plenty of experience with commands.
“I guide my dogs just like I was using horse reins, and every time it’s ‘gee’ I will point them in that direction, and they’ll feel that line come over their backs a little bit or they’ll feel that pressure from their back end, and then they know that’s the way we’re going, “ Wagner said. “I use my mind as a steering wheel.”
What’s particularly challenging is keeping the dogs from noticing distractions like rabbits, she said. Even friendly, loose dogs might want to socialize and interact with the skijoring dogs.
Being consistent in training and focusing on positive reinforcement are key factors to consider when keeping the skijoring canine on the trail, she said.
“I don’t want my dog to stop,” Wagner said. “I’m going to say ‘on by,’ and the expectation is for them to get going, stay focused and to not do whatever they were getting distracted with.”
After all, she acknowledged although there are nice dogs on the trail, things can escalate quickly.
“You just want to keep your dog moving,” Wagner said.
Another difficult, but important, command is “line out,” which involves the dog moving to the end of the line at the beginning of the run, and picking up slack in the line.
This command can be taught in the “off season” by tying them to a tree and working with them with a long line, with the expectation the dog stays with that line as taut as possible, she said.
A dog running all over the place while the skijorer is trying to put on skis could make for a frustrating beginning of a run.
“If you can teach them to stay so that you can do what you need to do to get ready, it’s a really good thing to teach your dog,” Wagner said.
All types of dogs can be used to skijor, although the results will differ.
Case in point: the large Great Pyrenees.
“Even though it’s a bigger dog, it’s a much slower speed,” Wagner said.
Whatever breed is used, she recommended booties be put on dogs during icy conditions to protect the dogs’ feet. Owners also should watch the weather since temperatures between 40 and 50 degrees can make it too uncomfortable and even unsafe for fluffy dogs to be running on the trail.
No matter how much beginning skijorers follow the proper tips and train their dogs, at least thing is probably inevitable.
“When you’re learning skijor, you will fall,” Wagner said. “You will get frustrated. I’ve made so many mistakes. I’ve got dogs that I still have guilt about. I’m like, ‘I’m really sorry I got so mad that day.'”
A good attitude, then, is essential.
Wagner showed a video, “Allison’s First Skijor,” which demonstrated that positive outlook — and a skijorer with two dogs.
What did this video show?
Skijor. Fall. Laugh. Skijor. Fall. Laugh. Skijor. Fall. Laugh.
“At least she’s having fun,” Wagner said.
Attending the demo was Drew Compau, of Marquette. Compau, who has a husky mix, Bodhi, has skied before. His dog, though, is a snow novice.
“He’s only about nine months old, so it’ll be his first winter,” Compau said.
And skijoring, he pointed out, should be good exercise for a dog.
“Especially mine,” Compau said. “He’s very excitable. Loves to play, so it calms him down.”
For more information on the club, visit its Facebook page. The Noquemanon Skijor Club also meets at approximately 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays at the Forestville trailhead. The public is invited, and headlamps are recommended.
Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.