Hey y'all, I've got a very fit dog, a joring harness (for the dog) and some snow. All I need is some advice and suggestions: does anyone have experience or recommend a specific type of kicksled or dogsled...what about building my own....it seems reasonable. One dog shouldn't have a problem pulling me(185#) plus a sled...right?

Shouldn't have any problem pulling you, especially a northern breed of dog. Here in Oklahoma we get very little snow but use scooters. I have my huskies pulling something similar to what you can find here, http://www.dogscooter.com, the trick is steering, should be easier with a real sledding rig.

Sledding/Mushing
About Sled Dogs and Sled Dog Racing (Steven R Lee)
http://www.krabloonik.com/faq.html
An excellent place to get information on a variety of "dog powered" sports. It will help explain skijoring (you ski, the dog pulls you), weight pulling, sledding and carting. As a mixed breed owner I appreciate that the author troubled to note the participation of mixed breeds.

Questions Most Frequently Asked Of A Dog Musher
http://www.dogmushing.com/faqs.html
Is mushing fun for the dogs too? This question and more is answered here

Sled Dog History and Overview
http://www.njsdc.com/history.html
What is the history of the sled dog? What are the kinds of sledding and sled dogs? What are the basic sledding terms? This site provides this basic information and more.

SledDoggin
http://www.sleddoggin.com/
Dog sledding news and an information/experience sharing "Knowledge Center." The vision is to act as a central infomation site for mushing and sledding.

You might call the folks at Alpine Outfitters near Seattle. They've outfitted my Samoyed for bikejoring.

They sell sleds:

http://alpineoutfitters.net/Secure/Scripts/ProdList.asp?idCategory=17

The Organization for Working Samoyeds has a good website, including a section on sledding. Two Sammies seems to be the minimum for pulling a sled. I wouldn't have Gidget pulling a sled by herself. Depending on the snow condition, it could be considerably more resistance than having her hooked to a wheeled device like a scooter or bike.

http://www.samoyed.org/ows/sledding.html



:)

y'all, thanks a whole bunch. I'll post pics when I get it done. Wisco is getting about a foot snow in the next 48 hrs, so I'd better get to it!!