# Urban Mushing with your GSD?



## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Anyone try this? Pulling For Urban Mushing ? Is It The Right Activity For Your Dog? - PetGuide


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## Kaimeju (Feb 2, 2013)

Nicole Wilde is really into this apparently. She has some equipment reviews on her site. It's fairly popular where I live with husky owners because the lower elevations often don't see snow, but on the weekends the Blue Mountains are awesome for snow. People here generally do it with dog scooters and normal ganglines and I haven't seen any of the frame attachments like the ones in the picture you posted.

I would like to try it, but so far when I have taken my dog biking, she just trots along calmly and doesn't seem to have any desire to run or pull. We are getting an urban trail harness from Alpine Outfitters so she can experiment with pulling. I was looking into the pre-manufactured shocklines, but they seemed ridiculously expensive since you could just make something similar from hardware store materials like this.


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## Merciel (Apr 25, 2013)

I've never done it, but I have an acquaintance who used to do it with her kelpie. She had a really good blog post about it, but I guess she took it down because I can't find it anymore. Bummer.

Anyway, she initially did it with a skateboard, but uh there were some stability concerns with that setup, and after a pretty bad crash she switched to a more stable rig using a three-wheeled scooter.

Based on her descriptions I would not try it without the help of a more experienced instructor, because man, crashing at even 15 mph is a real mess on asphalt.

She said it was super exercise for her dog, though, and at the time she _really_ needed something to burn off her adolescent herding dog's energy. And once she stopped crashing as much, it was apparently really fun.


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## martemchik (Nov 23, 2010)

I've done it with my boy and a bunch of other husky type dogs. It's really fun. We did more bike/scooter skijoring where all the dogs are lined out and pull from the front. It's actually really fun and about around the second time I got to ride the scooter.

The guy I trained with had two 40 lbs Alaskan huskies...so a mixed breed just for pulling. Cool dogs, but of course my boy being twice their size kind of outran them (plus he hadn't learned to trot yet and was just going all out). Another time we did it the guy was really happy with him, he was really shocked at his work ethic and the fact that he kept up with huskies for 4 miles. Actually said that the dog next to him kind of just jogged and let him to all of the pulling since he was the bigger one.

Its kind of tough to teach your dog to pull by itself if you've already worked on a lot of heeling...but with another dog, its really easy to do because they just follow. So it was nice having two experienced dogs out in front so that he had something to focus on.


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## TaraM1285 (Sep 24, 2009)

We just started with a dog scooter! It is a blast! There aren't any experienced people or dogs around me, but my friend and her dog and Tara run really well together. They just got up to 5 miles this week. Both had trouble going out in front at first, but they've pretty much gotten the idea now. At first I was running beside them to keep them motivated while my friend was on the scooter, but I can't keep up anymore. We're going to go to having one of us on a bike just so we can both be there, but they don't really need the "rabbit" anymore. Still need to work out some kinks, but we are having a lot of fun doing it. We probably get together for them to pull about twice a week.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I've heard the scooters work well.


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## TaraM1285 (Sep 24, 2009)

Are you thinking about trying it, MRL?


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

My friend does in Windsor! She uses a scooter and sled with her GSD and her BC!

Here's a video from last year! I am hoping to join them this winter when I visit my Dad!


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## TaraM1285 (Sep 24, 2009)

It would be so fun to have snow! We probably won't ever have that much here. We did have flurries last week and it was amazing how much faster the dogs pulled! They were about a minute per mile faster than their usual pace! I'll have to get some video of them pulling the scooter next time.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

It looks like so much fun! She really enjoys it and her dogs do as well. 

I think she has a video of them using the scooter but not sure, will have to ask her to post here.


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## Kaun (Aug 23, 2013)

I really want to give skijoring a go when my puppy has matured. I know that there's a way to do the nordic ski walking in summer but I think I would rather opt for good inline skates. 

The skateboarding video looks like so much fun but it would absolutely kill my back bending down like the guy is doing, mine is already bad. I want to be able to use a waist harness.


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## TaraM1285 (Sep 24, 2009)

I would be scared to death do the skateboarding, or inline skating, for that matter. The dogs can go so fast, I'd be worried about managing that! And with either of those you'd have to train on asphalt or concrete. I prefer to keep the dogs on softer ground and take to the trails so there's not so much pounding on them.


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## David Taggart (Nov 25, 2012)

And, I... I would stay loyal to the muddy grass, rocks, follow deer traces in the snow, walk in the virgin tilled lands and scare the ravens. If not - we occupy ourselves with the ball. Because... it's safer. Honestly, I have spent fortune on vets and I know, that only a soft ground is good for soft paws, they weren't simply designed for running on asphalt. You may say, that my dog may slip on some stone - but that is a chance + normally, training and experience pay back well. *Exercising on paved roads ends with ache in joints* ( that is also true for man, horse, rat, etc); the board can cut your puppy's phalanges - did you know that?


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## TaraM1285 (Sep 24, 2009)

It's pretty blurry, but I got a little video of Tara pulling today.  This is the end of a 3.3 mile run.


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## PhoenixGuardian (Jul 10, 2013)

My sisters and I race Alaskan huskies!!! We have 23 sled dogs!! Its the best. I like to scooter every now and then, its a lot of fun. Actually, I JUST got back from a training run with the four wheeler. I love my dogs, they're my babies.
Anyone who says that mushers are cruel "forcing" the dogs to work, has NO idea what they're talking about! Its like saying we're cruel to make our shepherds want to run.
I love my dogs.
The first pic is just during a training run, so I have a small team, and the other three were during a four-dog race that I did. I am the blond one moving up to pass. Lol the finish line was by the orange cone that you can see, so it was a tight finish. I got second place! But that was only because my dogs were (are!!) so amazing  (By the way, Tara looks great! You should look into a one-dog scootering class, they have all breed classes where you can run one dog on a scooter, seriously!!! Look up dryland mushing)


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## RaigenB (Dec 3, 2013)

TaraM1285 said:


> It's pretty blurry, but I got a little video of Tara pulling today.  This is the end of a 3.3 mile run.
> 
> IMG 1825 - YouTube


What kind of harness is that? Price? I've been looking for one


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## Kaimeju (Feb 2, 2013)

RaigenB said:


> What kind of harness is that? Price? I've been looking for one


That is an x-back racing harness. They run about $20-30. Www.sleddogcentral.com has a list of suppliers. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## RaigenB (Dec 3, 2013)

Kaimeju said:


> That is an x-back racing harness. They run about $20-30. Www.sleddogcentral.com has a list of suppliers.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Thanks!


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## RaigenB (Dec 3, 2013)

I found this one.

Amazon.com: UltraPaws Dog OneHarness, Large, Red: Sports & Outdoors

What do you think?


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## TaraM1285 (Sep 24, 2009)

What kind of pulling are you going to be doing?


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## RaigenB (Dec 3, 2013)

TaraM1285 said:


> What kind of pulling are you going to be doing?


I just plan to have her pulling small to medium weight. Like a sled or small cart. Maybe pull my 3 year old brother around.


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## TaraM1285 (Sep 24, 2009)

The reason I ask is that in my understanding, X-back harnesses are better for pulling when the gangline angle is relatively low, but other styles are better for higher angles (like from a bike or scooter). Also, these harnesses need to fit very well so they are comfortable, and since GSDs are not built like traditional sled dogs, I actually prefer and switched to a different style for my girl. The X-back never seemed to be quite right for her though she never seemed uncomfortable. I can't comment on the specific harness you posted as it seems to be a different design than the X-back that I have used. My new harness is this one: Alpine Outfitters - Your One-Stop Shop for Quality Working Dog Gear - Tel: (360) 659-3800 - Alpine Outfitters We fit your dog sled needs.

Have fun! It's a blast.


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## RaigenB (Dec 3, 2013)

TaraM1285 said:


> The reason I ask is that in my understanding, X-back harnesses are better for pulling when the gangline angle is relatively low, but other styles are better for higher angles (like from a bike or scooter). Also, these harnesses need to fit very well so they are comfortable, and since GSDs are not built like traditional sled dogs, I actually prefer and switched to a different style for my girl. The X-back never seemed to be quite right for her though she never seemed uncomfortable. I can't comment on the specific harness you posted as it seems to be a different design than the X-back that I have used. My new harness is this one: Alpine Outfitters - Your One-Stop Shop for Quality Working Dog Gear - Tel: (360) 659-3800 - Alpine Outfitters We fit your dog sled needs.
> 
> Have fun! It's a blast.


Ooh, I see. I won't be able to try mine unil Christmas (my dad is getting it for me lol). I'm hoping it will work out great! 

How does the new style you got seem to work?


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## TaraM1285 (Sep 24, 2009)

I like it a lot - it's really nicely padded, fits well and she seems to be comfortable.


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## RaigenB (Dec 3, 2013)

TaraM1285 said:


> I like it a lot - it's really nicely padded, fits well and she seems to be comfortable.


Great!! I think the one I'm getting had a padded chest area


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## counter (Feb 20, 2009)

How did I miss this thread. I am at work now and actually have some work to do, but I'd like to come back and read everyone's posts and watch some of these vids later today. Yay!


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## RaigenB (Dec 3, 2013)

Hello from Indiana!
I'm recently getting into urban mushing/dryland with my GSD and Lab and hopefully will have a sled by next winter.

Did some work yesterday with them. With the equipment I have, I attached them to my bike, one at a time, and walk next to it while they pulled. My GSD Aurora was a little afraid of the bike but she's young and hasn't been exposed to it. My Lab did really well, I was pleased. I will try and post my pics (from my phone).


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## RaigenB (Dec 3, 2013)

Lol just realized I posted on this thread 2 years ago haha!!


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