We used to have a sled dog team. The first few training runs were a bit like that, but as soon as they realized that once the harnesses were on, they could run as much as they wanted to, that’s what they did – run, run, run.
Huskies, Malamutes and such are genetically programed to RUN. Our dogs were Husky/Golden Retriever mixes so we probably had more ball fetching behavior than someone with pure Huskies would have, but they soon learned.
One of our dogs was pure Golden Retriever (auntie to the rest of the team), she was never as devoted to run, run, run as the others and wanted to explore rather than stick to the trail. She was the alpha dog in the kennel, but wasn’t very good as a lead dog (Squirrel!). When we’d go to meets and races, if she was the lead dog, she wanted to stop and see all the children. If she was in the team, she would follow the lead dog and not stop for photo ops, but it worked best if she was the wheel dog (the one closest to the sled and musher).
We used to have a sled dog team. The first few training runs were a bit like that, but as soon as they realized that once the harnesses were on, they could run as much as they wanted to, that’s what they did – run, run, run.
Huskies, Malamutes and such are genetically programed to RUN. Our dogs were Husky/Golden Retriever mixes so we probably had more ball fetching behavior than someone with pure Huskies would have, but they soon learned.
One of our dogs was pure Golden Retriever (auntie to the rest of the team), she was never as devoted to run, run, run as the others and wanted to explore rather than stick to the trail. She was the alpha dog in the kennel, but wasn’t very good as a lead dog (Squirrel!). When we’d go to meets and races, if she was the lead dog, she wanted to stop and see all the children. If she was in the team, she would follow the lead dog and not stop for photo ops, but it worked best if she was the wheel dog (the one closest to the sled and musher).