Working your Canadian Eskimo Dog in the UK doesn’t conjure up the usual picture of snow and sleds! In fact most of the working rallies are dry land mushing; working your dogs on a rig.
A rig is usually a three but can be a four wheeled piece of equipment similar to a bicycle. There are many events and these are usually organised within forestry commission or private land giving the mushers miles of grassy, gravel and sometimes muddy trails. Although some go around fields and even through fords! Of course when the UK does get enough snow out come the sleds, well those that have them.
There are several organisers of events throughout England, Scotland and Wales. These are BSA, AMCUK, AMWA, BSHRA, SDAS, SHCGB, SSHC and FCDUK. There are also sub-oranisations that concentrate more on mono sports such as Cani-Cross, Bikejor and Scootering.
Events cover “rallies” which are usually one or two day events with your team running each day in their correct class at a set time. These events are anything from 2.5 miles up to 4 miles each run. Other events include “treks” which are very popular for those preferring a leisurely trail, with longer distances. Although longer distance races are starting to appear as on the continent many races are much longer.
There are lots of other things that you can do with your Dogs and if you click on the Other Activities you can find out more.
If you would like to learn more about working Canadian Eskimo Dogs please contact a member of the Committee.