idigadog

Our eldest turned 15 yesterday. Spike is hard of hearing now, getting a little senile and a bit wobbly these days but he is still loving life and is such a sweetheart.

We have 12. Yep, we're crazy :D

I'm so glad you came along today. Thank you for being so patient with us while we were trying to find the right size harnesses for your beautiful kids. Boof heads! They were so well behaved and are a credit to you. I expect to see you out at Kowen in the very near future - that's right isn't it??!!! There are some photos of the day on our club FB page at Canberra Sled Dog Club Facebook Page

Andrew is busy making lines tonight. If you would like one, we will have some with us at the Beginners Day or just drop us a line on this post. 1 dog line - $20. 2 dog line with neckline - $45. I will also be doing a harness order from Taiga Alaska if there is enough interest in a bulk buy so that postage costs will be minimal. Just come and see me over the weekend. Lisa

I hope we get a nice morning. It was so foggy last year that we could barely see our hands in front of our faces. You will find me easily. I'll be the one running around like a headless chook fitting harnesses on all the dogs.

Oh that's a shame. If you can't make it to the Beginner's Day you could always just come out to a club training session any weekend between now and October.

You still can! Our day is from 8.00-11.00am and we were told that the million paws walk doesn't start until 11.00am. You can do both!

Just bumping this up a little bit. The beginners day is this Sunday, 18th. Get on board!

:thumbsup: That's great! I'll bring a white dog so they don't feel out of place.

Okay. Well you don't need to be there early. If you wanted to turn up at 10.00am that would be fine. Then you can leave home at around 7.30am - much more civilised. Hooray!!!! But you do know that our normal training area is right at your back door right? No excuses girl!!! Lol Diva - you and me both - I reckon I'd end up in the nearest lake. Sounds like great fun though! Yeah I can just see mine deciding to chase a roo and me dragged behind bouncing on the dirt :laugh: But I have gone along to watch before and it is great fun, the participating dogs look to love it. LOL you guys are funny :D I can assure you that the training track is very very easy at Stromlo Park. It's basically an oval shape of about 800m in total. No lakes, no roos and no obstacles that could cause distraction. We will place club members along the trail to ensure that everyone is safe and has the best experience possible. Andrew and I will take one of our dogs out and he will be the 'bunny' on the day as some dogs really like to chase. All we ask is that you bring your own safety gear, helmet and gloves and water for your dogs. Oh, and dogs are to be kept on lead at all times but we are going to take our stake-out lines out so people can clip their dogs on to them if they are hard to hold. It is a lot of fun. We've been doing this sport for 18 years now and never get tired of it. The demo day is a good way to suss out whether you and your dog are keen and then if you're interested, you can come out to regular training sessions with the club at Kowen Forest every weekend

How far from Canberra are you?

Do you mean the one at Wingello run by the Siberian Husky Club of NSW? Yes, that is tomorrow. The one run by the Canberra Sled Dog Club is the 18th May :)

As I said above, all of our dogs are on the main register and none of them are shown. It's totally up to the breeder as to what register they put them on and that is something you would have to negotiate with them prior to purchasing a puppy.

Our dogs are bred for workability not for the show ring. Each one of them races in harness and only those who have the best attributes are used for breeding. They are all on the main register and we have been registered breeders for close to 18 years now. Four of our boys have been used at stud by other breeders and only one of those breeders show. The others, like us, work and race their dogs and only breed when they need to add to their teams. We still do all of the routine tests, sometimes more on our dogs and abide by the same code of ethics as every other breeder. I guess the difference is that our style of dog is not what would be expected in the show ring but that's not to say we couldn't show them if we wanted to. It's just that running them and racing is way more fun for us :)

Canberra Sled Dog Club promo video Just to give you a taste of what it's all about.

One of the Whippets that races in Victoria. Never say never!

It's all relative, size vs weight to pull, as to how much work you are prepared to put in. With one dog, you need to be prepared to scoot most of the way to take the pressure off them and keep the wheels rolling. A bigger, stronger dog will manage much easier than a smaller, leaner dog. I would try both of your kelpies. Possibly even put them together and have a go as a two dog team. That would make it easier on all of you. The stakeout line etc is for training days at Kowen Forest. This is just a demo day at Stromlo Park so you really only need to keep them on leads until it's your turn to run. We will take our stakeouts out there anyway for anyone who wishes to use them. I hope to see you there

The track that you will do at Stromlo is very easy and not very long. It's just so people can get a taste of what the sport is about and whether or not your dog is capable. Sometimes dogs pick it up straight away, others take a bit of coaxing and a few training sessions before the light bulb goes off. There will be heaps of club members there on the day to help out around the trail and we will take one of our dogs out to be the demo model and bunny for everyone to follow.

Pft!!!! This would be so much more fun than a show LOL, my dogs always look at me like I'm crazy! No harm in trying. You might be surprised :)

Hi everyone, Just in case there are people in the Canberra region who are interested in giving sled dog racing a go. It doesn't matter what breed of dog, as long as they are big enough to pull you on a bike or a scooter, come on out and have some fun with us :-)

There is a team of whippets in Victoria. They do really well. Come on, give it a go!

Hi everyone, Just sharing this flyer in here for the Beginners Day run by the Canberra Sled Dog Club. I thought there might be some people in the Canberra region interested in giving it a go. Cheers, Lisa.

Sorry Sway, I have only just seen your post. Just had a flick through your online magazine and saw that you have put the flyer in there. Thankyou so much!! Cheers, Lisa

All the same classes on Sunday as Saturday. But, and it's a big but, if you want to see the big teams go out then you would need to be at Kowen by 6.45am at the latest. Racing starts at 7am for 8 dog class. We estimate that all classes will be over and done with by 11.30am/ish. We hope :)

Come along to the 17th running of the Canberra Sled Dog Classic. This year we are holding the ASSA National Championships and it's going to be a huge event!!! Check out Canberra Sled Dog Club for details. Spectators most welcome but best to leave your doggies at home unless they are competing.