After a short holiday I returned to the training camp in Pasvikdalen to help my colleagues with the Autumn training of our 150 Alaskan huskies. The training regimen we use here follows a similar style to the one we used at my last place of employment, which I wrote about here.
We have about 40 more dogs than the last place so we have to run two ATVs and multiple wagons at once which allows us to train all the dogs over a two-day period. The wagons we use are specially designed for sled dog training in the months without snow. They weigh about 120kg and have space for 2 people – one sitting in front and the other steering on the back.
During our current training runs we are getting the dogs to pull heavy weights rather than going for distance and speed. So we load up the wagons with 2-3 heavy sandbags (~30kg each) in addition to a 25L (25kg) canister of water. The total weight of the wagon in the end (including musher ~80kg) is just over 300kg, which is pretty close to the weights they will be pulling in the winter time.
There are 2 routes that we take around the local area – a 13km round that goes by two lakes and also a 6km round that goes up/down a small hill. We try to keep the speed at a steady 10-12km/h so that the dogs have to work to pull the weight rather than just running freely. If all goes to plan these training rounds should simulate what the dogs can expect in the winter time in regards to distance, weight, and hill inclinations.
Foodwise – we feed the dogs a mixture of meat and high energy/protein dog biscuits. The meat we use is minced salmon and chicken that has been designed for dogs with high levels of activity. Sometimes we can get cuts of whale meat, but that depends on the price. We feed the dogs twice a day, once in the early morning before the first training round and once in the afternoon/evening after the final training round.
As always, here are some pictures of the training runs I’ve done over the last few days.
My Nordic Life 