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#1
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Sled dog training...
In a book I read on ski joring (I think it was) they said that to train
your dogs for races you should run them every day at the expected race pace and maybe even for the expected distance, if in reason. (I recall skijor events often being about 10km.) Why don't dogs need periodizing? I saw some neat photos of world-cup style skijorers and their greyhound-like race dogs. Amazing. Nordic sports are the most amazing thing: there are elite racing circles for EVERY kind of it. (Like the pro spark racing.) Oh well, I suppose ALL hobbies are this way: you can find lifestylists doing all of them at elite levels. Perhaps it's just part of what they call the professionalization of leisu if you get 'into' something the pricey carbon equipment is just waiting for you, no matter what the 'something' is! : ) -- Jeff Potter **** *Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com publisher of outdoor/indoor do-it-yourself culture... ...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, books, movies... ...rare books on ski, bike, boat culture, plus a Gulf Coast thriller about smalltown smuggling ... more radical novels coming up! ...original downloadable music ... and articles galore! plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES! |
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#2
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Sled dog training...
In article ,
Jeff Potter wrote: In a book I read on ski joring (I think it was) they said that to train your dogs for races you should run them every day at the expected race pace and maybe even for the expected distance, if in reason. (I recall skijor events often being about 10km.) Why don't dogs need periodizing? They do - there's not a lot of consensus about training approaches, plus breed of dog and race distances factor into it. I don't know anybody these days who thinks it's a good idea to run your dog at race speed for full distances every day. I'm guessing you're referring to "Skijoring With Your Dog." A good place to hook up with serious skijorers is the message boards at http://www.sleddogcentral.com . Some dogs are sprinters (hound-type dogs) and some dogs are good over longer distances (Siberian and Alaskan Huskies). Most skijor races, at least in the lower 48, are 3-5 miles. There are some longer races starting to take place in the northeast US, with the Green Mountain Distance Mushers in Vermont leading the way at 15 miles. I believe there are some very long (150 mile) races in Alaska. Most skijorers also sled, at least here in the northeast. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Bad taste is better than no taste -- Arnold Bennett |
#3
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Sled dog training...
Thanks. I'm glad we have people searching for skijor discussions! : ) I
just now re-read the training section in that skijor book and it does indeed sensibly include info on gradually building up endurance, speed, etc, over the year. So there is some periodizing. But in the beginning of her training section she had the interesting remark that dogs tend to have a set speed they go as if in "cruise control" for races from 4-12-miles, as she used as examples. I guess that's all fairly short distance. I suppose that's enough like how we train after all. Heck, back when I ski raced I noticed that my per km pace was similar from 10-50km, so maybe that's all she means. It did seem like the dogs generally go at a similar effort level and it was up to the musher to control the trail difficulty to give the dogs clues that one day is supposed to be easier than another. Also they should mostly vary distances to control training impact because the dog's pace will tend to be similar no matter what. But she did caution against going too fast too often, so I suppose one can egg on a dog to go faster than usual. I just got the sense that they trained at race pace most of the time, mostly varying distance to control the overall effort involved. And, as you imply, this is also just an intro book. Different events and breeds must require special handling. This was all interesting to me in light of recent discussion in Masters ski/bike race training which suggests that considering our short available time to train that we do it at a harder (race pace?) level for the most part. -- Jeff Potter **** *Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com publisher of outdoor/indoor do-it-yourself culture... ...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, books, movies... ...rare books on ski, bike, boat culture, plus a Gulf Coast thriller about smalltown smuggling ... more radical novels coming up! ...original downloadable music ... and articles galore! plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES! |
#4
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Sled dog training...
Jeff Potter wrote:
In a book I read on ski joring (I think it was) they said that to train your dogs for races you should run them every day at the expected race pace and maybe even for the expected distance, if in reason. (I recall skijor events often being about 10km.) Why don't dogs need periodizing? I saw some neat photos of world-cup style skijorers and their greyhound-like race dogs. Amazing. Nordic sports are the most amazing thing: there are elite racing circles for EVERY kind of it. (Like the pro spark racing.) Oh well, I suppose ALL hobbies are this way: you can find lifestylists doing all of them at elite levels. Perhaps it's just part of what they call the professionalization of leisu if you get 'into' something the pricey carbon equipment is just waiting for you, no matter what the 'something' is! : ) Different dogs, different training styles, I think. My Lab gets very, very bored if we ski 4 miles - unless there is another team in front. My friend John Thompson's Alaskan/Greyhound mix dogs are barely breathing hard at that point. Hardly reason to take their sweaters off. John skijors at an elite level, usually going to Worlds. One of my favorite stories of his is about the top French team (driving a German Shorthaired Pointer). Most sled type dogs go sorta ballistically nuts when you put the harness and tugline on them and usually have to be held by a handler. This dog apparently got in the chute, and then on command from its master, just stood there more or less at point, waiting to be released and then on 'go' was off like a rocket. Final anecdote - German Shorthairs (GSPs) are a popular dog in Europe due to their trainability, strong desire, and very high power to weight ratio. Many EU skijor events use a 'pulk' sled between the dog and skier, with the sled weight being [I think] 1/2 the dog's weight. Thus the heavier dogs have a heavier sled to pull. Now if we could only get skiers handicapped based on weight. Marsh Jones -- Jeff Potter **** *Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com publisher of outdoor/indoor do-it-yourself culture... ...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, books, movies... ...rare books on ski, bike, boat culture, plus a Gulf Coast thriller about smalltown smuggling ... more radical novels coming up! ...original downloadable music ... and articles galore! plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES! |
#5
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Sled dog training...
Yeah, who cares about Hardy reels, now we're talkin DAWGS! : )
And a sensible weight handicap, too! Hear-hear for requiring everyone to carry a pack that brings their weight up to, uh...uh... But back to dawgs, yeah I bet them GSPs do the rocket thing. And love to show off their ability to whoa. I have a GWP (you figure it out) and she just LOVES to learn. She knows 30 commands and is still after me for learning more. But I'm done. Poor thing, now she's idle, having only a conversational English. These dogs don't just fetch, they want to fetch 3 different things thrown 3 different places in different orders. Both GSP and GWP are members of the Versatile class of dog breeds (which include about a dozen breeds) meaning multi-function, generally: utility, guard, family, fur and feather. The problem with getting one is that they HAVE to do multifunctions every day or else they're bored and this is truly bad and sad. I wish I could rise to the level of my dog. My GWP loves to pull and knows sled-dog trail commands, but she's not very fast. GWPs are rubbery clowns (lion-like, really) compared to GSPs. She classic skis with me fine, though, but can't run with me long. GSPs are wiry and tapered, deepchested-narrowwaisted: made for speed and everything else. Interesting to see a GSP and GWP tussle: GSP uses speed and GWP uses wrestling skills. Skijoring is pretty darn cool. I'd have Daisy pull a pulk (sled) with Henry in it and me attached behind it, so she'd pull us both sometimes. It's a nice way to travel while pulling a kid without working so much. It would all be something with a fast GSP. Is WC skijoring faster than regular skiing? That would be a way to make flatland skiing around here into more fun. --Maybe have TWO race GSPs pull you around at 20mph. -- Jeff Potter **** *Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com publisher of outdoor/indoor do-it-yourself culture... ...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, books, movies... ...rare books on ski, bike, boat culture, plus a Gulf Coast thriller about smalltown smuggling ... more radical novels coming up! ...original downloadable music ... and articles galore! plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES! |
#6
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Sled dog training...
I would think that some type of intervals or periodization would help
training dogs. So would holding them back a few days before a race to really make them anxious to go. You have to remember that a dog's physiology is much different from a human's though. I believe their blood is quite thick with a red blood cell count that would never pass our blood doping tests. To compensate for this their hearts are much more massive compared to their body weight than ours. This gives them great endurance and speed because of the ability of their circulation system to deliver oxygen and fuel to the muscles. As a result even the most doped up human has no chance to compete against the average dog. Scott Elliot http://www3.telus.net/selliot/ "Jeff Potter" wrote in message .. . In a book I read on ski joring (I think it was) they said that to train your dogs for races you should run them every day at the expected race pace and maybe even for the expected distance, if in reason. (I recall skijor events often being about 10km.) Why don't dogs need periodizing? I saw some neat photos of world-cup style skijorers and their greyhound-like race dogs. Amazing. Nordic sports are the most amazing thing: there are elite racing circles for EVERY kind of it. (Like the pro spark racing.) Oh well, I suppose ALL hobbies are this way: you can find lifestylists doing all of them at elite levels. Perhaps it's just part of what they call the professionalization of leisu if you get 'into' something the pricey carbon equipment is just waiting for you, no matter what the 'something' is! : ) -- Jeff Potter **** *Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com publisher of outdoor/indoor do-it-yourself culture... ...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, books, movies... ...rare books on ski, bike, boat culture, plus a Gulf Coast thriller about smalltown smuggling ... more radical novels coming up! ...original downloadable music ... and articles galore! plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES! |
#7
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Sled dog training...
In article ,
Jeff Potter wrote: Is WC skijoring faster than regular skiing? It depends on the distance. A very good time over 4 miles is about 12 minutes (20 mph), while on a 15-mile course the dogs are likely to average about 12 mph. The main thing is that you've got a lot less control over your own speed - for example, dogs naturally speed up going down hills and they really don't care if there's a turn at the bottom. Consequently command training is a much bigger issue for skijoring than it is for mushing (a lot of people don't teach their sleddogs "whoa", for example). -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Bad taste is better than no taste -- Arnold Bennett |
#8
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Sled dog training...
"Melinda Shore" skrev i melding ... In article , Jeff Potter wrote: In a book I read on ski joring (I think it was) they said that to train your dogs for races you should run them every day at the expected race pace and maybe even for the expected distance, if in reason. (I recall skijor events often being about 10km.) Why don't dogs need periodizing? They do - there's not a lot of consensus about training approaches, plus breed of dog and race distances factor into it. I don't know anybody these days who thinks it's a good idea to run your dog at race speed for full distances every day. I'm guessing you're referring to "Skijoring With Your Dog." A good place to hook up with serious skijorers is the message boards at http://www.sleddogcentral.com . "Skijoring" looks very much like the Norwegian word "Skikjøring" - Skidriving (?). Are there any connection between these words? -- Terje Henriksen Kirkenes --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.545 / Virus Database: 339 - Release Date: 27.11.03 |
#9
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Sled dog training...
Melinda Shore wrote:
A very good time over 4 miles is about 12 minutes (20 mph), That's the ticket! : ) As regards the need for commands: sounds like fun. Smart dogs just love to learn commands and try to help. I wonder how the intensity factor compares with guiding a blind human ski racer---talk about commands! Well, I like skijoring with my dog. It's cool how she takes the right turns and does the right thing based on those commands. She's very proud of it all as well, yet cool---she doesn't like sentimentality in the middle of a workout---quite dignified. Interesting how engaged they get. When hunting she's just in a different gear than when in the yard: kind of avoids eye contact, too busy for nonsense. -- Jeff Potter **** *Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com publisher of outdoor/indoor do-it-yourself culture... ...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, books, movies... ...rare books on ski, bike, boat culture, plus a Gulf Coast thriller about smalltown smuggling ... more radical novels coming up! ...original downloadable music ... and articles galore! plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES! |
#10
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Sled dog training...
In article ,
Terje Henriksen wrote: "Skijoring" looks very much like the Norwegian word "Skikjøring" - Skidriving (?). Are there any connection between these words? That's the origin of the term. In North America we pronounce a hard 'j,' which I've seen cause some Scandinavians to flinch. -- Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - Bad taste is better than no taste -- Arnold Bennett |
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