On the third and final day of our artic adventure we were fortunate enough to visit a Dog sled racing kennel in Churchill – Wapusk Adventures run by champion musher Dave Daley. The visit was a tour of the kennels and a brief insight into what it takes to run a dog sled team. What came out of it very clearly was that Dave cares very much about his dogs. He considers them to be athletes, so makes sure that they have the best food and the best care available. They have high quality paw ointment, muscle rubs and high protein, high calorie food and lots of it. When they are training they consume many, many thousands of calories a day which costs an absolute fortune. Which explains the tours. The care and attention shows in the dogs – they all look glossy, happy and extremely healthy.
One surprise was how small the dogs are. I imagined powerfully built, seriously furry huskies, but these dogs were smaller, wiry animals. According to Dave you wouldn’t back a 200 lb marathon runner and the same is true of dogs. They are beautiful creatures – I was quite tempted to take one home. In fact I could probably have smuggled one out under the 18 layers of fleeces I was wearing.
Building up to the sledding, Dave and his son started getting the dogs ready. All of the team in the kennel nearly went mad with excitement when the harnesses came out and then howled with disappointment when they realised they hadn’t been chosen. These dogs want to run.
When we were actually on the sleds, the true power of those dogs quickly became clear – at a gentle trot they could easily pull up to four people on the sled without apparently trying. It was a great experience – gliding through the snow, watching the world streak by. Unusually for me I didn’t remotely miss having an engine. I can imagine how it could become addictive quite quickly, being out in the elements with your team of dogs. I can’t begin to imagine how tough though – many hours of solitude, often in total whiteouts, in the middle of nowhere, in unbelievably cold temperatures. Brrrrrr