About  mushing Mushing is a general term for a sport or transport method powered by dogs, and includes carting, scootering, bikejoring, canicross and weight pulling.  The term is thought to come from the French word marche, or go, run, the command to the team to commence pulling. "Mush!" is rarely used in modern parlance, however; "Hike!" is more common in English. Mushing can be utilitarian, recreational, or competitive. Mushing as a sport is practiced worldwide. Although dogsled racing gets more publicity and is seen now as the primary form of mushing, recreational mushing thrives as an unorganized sport providing healthy outdoor form of winter exercise for families. Using dogs for pulling has a long history. During the happy days of the gold rush in Alaska, sled dog events were very popular. Also in Scandinavia there is an old tradition of driving, or mushing, which is the proper term, and competing with sled dogs. Sled dog mushing is gaining in interest all around the world. It is thought to be one of the fastest growing sports in the world today. Mushing with sled dogs, is a sport that attracts (or engages) the whole family. There are various classes suitable for everyone who wants to compete. Mushing in is divided into four categories; Canicross, Bikejoring, Scootering & Carts. Events are held in the winter months from April to July. Canicross - is a sport of cross-country running while hitched to a single dog. It is popular in Europe. It is related to the winter dog-powered sport of skijoring and bikejoring, wherein a skier or cyclist is hitched to one to three dogs. The first World Championships were arranged in 2002 in Ravenna, Italy. Canicross is not simply walking the dog. Neither is running with a dog on a leash canicross. In canicross the dog pulls you, just like in skijoring. Equipment needed is; running harness, waist belt and a flexible line. In competitions there are more detailed requirements to the clips, and the length of the line. Bikejoring - is a sport where a dog or team of dogs pulls a cyclist. Although any breed of dog can be used, Siberian Huskies, Samoyeds, Malamutes, Alaskan Huskies, and Pointers are probably the most popular breeds for bikejoring. Bikejoring are very beneficial to the health and fitness of dogs. The dog or dogs are fitted with x-back harnesses or other types suitable for pulling and running in. The harnesses are normally attached to a bungee towline, which clips to the front of the bicycle. Bikejoring can be fun.   Scootering -  is a sport where one or more dogs pull a human riding an unmotorized kick scooter. The dogs wear the same harnesses that sled dogs wear, and are hooked to the scooter with a gangline. The gangline usually incorporates a bungie to smooth out the shocks of speeding up and takeoff. Scootering provides exercise both for the dog and musher. The dog gets exercise pulling the scooter but the musher have to help push, especially up hills.  Most dogs take to this sport as they get to run as fast as they can. Carting - is a sport where the musher drives a 3-wheeled cart pulled by the dogs. The dogs are attached to the sled by soft lines to their harnesses and are directed at the musher’s command. Classes are divided into 4-, 6- or 8-dogs. There are sprint- and distance events. Distances range from 5 to 25 kilometers depending on the class (ie number of dogs). A event consists of two or three heats (one heat per day). In both sprint- and distance events, the winner is the musher who competes the trail in the shortest time from start to finish. What commands do you use? Most of the commands are the same as for mushing, and scooterers have more commands than are listed here. They have city dog commands such as “Go up the stairs,” “Go to the car,” or “Run on the grass.” The f avorite is “Whoooa darnit!” Line out - hold the line tight while facing away from the scooter Hike - g o Hike, hike! - go faster Easy - g o slower Whoa - s top Gee - t urn right Haw - t urn left On by - go on by the distraction and keep going Haw come - m ake a u-turn and come back towards me Over gee - m ove to the right side of the trail and keep going Over haw - move to the left side of the trail and keep going   Working your dog leads to a stronger bond. Share your experience & mushing news Subscribe to DRYLAND MUSHING S.A     Enter e-Mail:   Visit this group Dogs that works tend to be better behaved!