To the Pointer People.....

Get those dogs running! Shorthairs and English pointers are some of the fastest dogs in the sport of mushing. In April I added 4 "pointers" (half pointer/half alaskan) to my kennel and I've never been more impressed with a breed's athletic ability or sheer drive. These dogs really are the future of the sport, so....I just wanted to drop a line encouraging anyone who's crazy enough to share their life with a pointer to be crazy enough to put 'em in harness! This time of the season is the best time to get involved; the temps are dropping, the trails are looking gorgeous, and all you need is a moutain bike. The fiesty bird dogs outpreform most. Honestly, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised!
(that being said, I encourage ANY breed to give it a shot!!)

I'll second that. The last race we competed in was won by a team of GSPs.

A friend of mine in Washington State runs her team of GSP's! :-) Maybe some day I will have a team :-)

You only need two dogs to have a team. Hehe.

Or, really, when Jayden is a little older he would only need one for the "kid and mutt" races.

Yeah I don't think Phoenix and Tundra would be a good team. They are totaly different sizes. I think I need another GSP that is going to be about the size of Phoenix ;-)

Hey Beth - Hunter and Tundra would make a good team - :-)

How tall is Phoenix now?? Since I have a couple more we could 'em up!!!

lol. That would be pretty cool to team up. Too bad you live so far away!

Two dogs is perfect for a bike, Beth! Haha seriously, I bet they'd kick butt. I've seen pics of Pheonix (little and black, right?) and she reminds me of one of my leaders that's retired from my friend's pro Open and Rondy teams. She's now 7 and still going strong for me (albiet not professionally). Guess I haven't seen too many pictures of Tundra (she's brown I think?) but I'll give her the benifit of the doubt. I'd love to see you on the trail sometime or help you out if you are interested. (If Kel ran with us, we'd have to give her a head start! hahaha all in good fun!!)
Now if we can get Sara to bite, Oscar would be one impressive son of a gun!

Hey we've got Oskar and Ozzy and those two will run all day--it's impossible to wear them out!! (The cool thing about my GSP's though is they will turn off in the house when I want them too--MOST of the time : )) I would TOTALLY be interested in trying this out.
I do have a decent mountain bike and trails in my back yard too. So what do we need to do to get into it?

Alright, Sara, that's what I like to hear! As far as equipment goes you'll just need proper harnesses, for example: (http://www.shopworks.com/adanac/index.cfm?action=product&prodid=000F3096-AFDD-1AF7-8DBD010D0A0A8CF2&userid=0003C65C-2CCA-1AE2-BD01010D0A0AD036), and some tug lines- like these: (http://www.shopworks.com/adanac/index.cfm?action=product&prodid=0007DBF3-32F0-1B07-9526010D0A0A8CF2&userid=0003C65C-2CCA-1AE2-BD01010D0A0AD036).

I've always just wrapped the line around the main stem of my bike and simply attached the snap to the harness on the dog. Instead of legit "tugs," you can always just use a leash. You will need a harness though. There are TONS of different harness styles, but the link I added is the most common type.

How far are you from Ft. Custer State Park? If you're interested, I'd be more than happy to meet you out there and let you try it with some of my equipment before you go buying stuff. I'm out there five days a week. Also, You don't have to buy a new harnesses. If you actually want one, there are plenty of used ones for sale; they may not look as pretty, but you'd be looking at $5-$8 instead of $20 a piece. Other than the equipment, the only thing you need is a dog that wants to GO. And trust me, that's the easiest part!

Some additional info...

MUSH (Mid Union Sled Haulers) is based predominantly in Western MI and has a lot of upcoming training meets and races. We're planning on coming up for some of their races this year... just not sure exactly which ones yet. You can check out their website here: midunionsledhaulers.com

Beth Edge is in Grand Rapids and makes some nice harnesses, and also stocks the shelves with them at K-9 Specialties in Warren. There are tons of online harness makers/sellers, as well. The most popular sledding harnesses are the X-backs, an example of which is shown in the link Annie posted.

You can check out Sled Dog Central (sleddogcentral.com) as well, for lots of upcoming event info, product listings, etc.

The "wheel dog harness" made by Manmat would be worth checking out for all the tall GSPs. There's a fairly new fastback harness that would likely fit well also, made by Skijor Now. There's ads for both on the sled dog central site.

I think we should throw all the UAD dogs together into one big team... I bet that would be interesting! Heh.

Ok, we could put Oskar & Champ together for sure - I know they're the same height!!!! But, probably the oldest of the group too....

And yes, I wish I lived closer to you guys!!

Yep, MUSH is the group I've been running with for 10 years. We try our hardest to put on efficient and fun races. You can usually go anywhere from 2/3 to 7/8 miles (depending on the number of dogs). GLSDA also hosts some excellent races that are very well organized with well-mannered teams.

But, racing or no racing, using a bike and letting the dogs run like crazy for a few miles is the best workout around! You can run all fall and winter long without racing and the dogs would never know the difference. I'll gladly help anyone train. I'd love to see some UADers out on the trail.

Ok Annie, where do I find the used harnesses at? I'm all about going the cheaper route!

And I live so close to the Kal-Haven trail which would be GREAT for taking the dogs out on the bike for MILES. I biked part of it with my parents recently and it's nice and straight and mostly flat. So I should get some used harnesses, and you should come out and train with me one of these days!

Kel you're right we should get a big UAD team--what a random assortment that would be! Watch out, UAD is taking over all other sports!

Okay Sara, cool. My friend just bought a ton from a kennel sell-out, so they're nothing fancy, but they'd do the trick. I'll ask her what she has left and I'll let you know! How many do you want?

Sticky would love to do this.. Lynn We know that Sticky and Champ are the same height now also.. How did he get so darn big..

Alright, I'll figure out harness price and sizing asap. I'll keep everyone posted.

Sorry I didn't see all the posts to this. I am waiting for Phoenix to mature a bit more before starting to train her. I had Moose very well trained for this type of thing before he went to live with Jim and he LOVED it . I was going to start Phoenix this spring/summer. I work my guys mostly on roller blades on our trail here by the house. It is a 15 mile trail. I have a nice sledding harness already so that is good. If I can get her going in it I may also start to work Tundra and see where it goes!

Oh and Phoenix is the one in my avatar. Yes she is my black GSP

Tundra is SMALL. Weighs maybe 35 lbs soaking wet and is liver.

That's awesome, Beth. And thanks for mentioning the rollerblading part- you're right, that's one of the best ways to do it. Using a single dog or two on roller blades on a busy trail is an excellent way to teach passing. That's how I taught Connor...and that crazy lab is one solid leader!

Well if I get a sweater for Botond he might fit right in with your crew now for his celebrity run lol

Labwake wrote:Okay Sara, cool. My friend just bought a ton from a kennel sell-out, so they're nothing fancy, but they'd do the trick. I'll ask her what she has left and I'll let you know! How many do you want?

I'll probably want two. So when you want to get together and train? : )

Okay, the harnesses are at my friend's house right now because she was
sizing them for her own dogs, but I'm meeting up with her this weekend
and I'll grab the whole bundle. They're going to be $10 a piece.

I'll
be in Farwell (about 10 miles from Clare, MI) this Friday through
Sunday with my whole kennel if anyone wants to size harnesses or run
some mutts.

Also, I MIGHT be at Novi if anyone wants them then. (MIGHT....haven't planned that many weeks in advance yet )

Sara, we can meet up next week sometime late afternoon if that works.
Or I can let you know what weekends I'm free. I'll have to figure out
how to get to the Kal-Haven Trailhead, but it shouldn't be that far
from school. Is it dirt or paved? Not sure where my bike is....but I'm game to rollerblade if it's paved. If you have the time, I'm at Ft. Custer pretty frequently and I could take you out with the whole team.
Your office is the UKC right in Portage, right? There's a great park
right around there that would be good for a single dog or two. It's
paved, but I've run it for years. Just let me know what you think. I
can't wait to see Oskar running!

Kal-Haven is pea gravel so it wouldn't work for roller blading. I'd be open to meeting in the park in Portage too. I'm actually out of town this weekend through Thursday but if you'd like to meet up after that I would love to! Ozzy will love this too, but Oskar will be my starting point. I bet he will LOVE this!

Okay so that makes it the week of Nov 9th? We'll aim for that.

Sara wrote:Kal-Haven is pea gravel so it wouldn't work for roller blading. I'd be open to meeting in the park in Portage too. I'm actually out of town this weekend through Thursday but if you'd like to meet up after that I would love to! Ozzy will love this too, but Oskar will be my starting point. I bet he will LOVE this!

Sara your own choice but I wouldnt do that with Ozzy until he is 2 years of age. Or you have xrayed and his growth plated have closed. If you plan on showing and breeding him