Team Composition
The juggling act of building balanced dog teams - how many dogs run, how they are positioned and paired, and why mushing is not an exact science.
The teams generally consist of 4 to 6 dogs for solo sleighs and 8 to 12 dogs for paired or family sleighs, depending on the safari, the conditions, the experience and strength of the musher and the overall weight in the sleigh.
- Solo sleighs run 4-6 dogs; paired or family sleighs run 8-12 dogs
- Team size is estimated in advance, then adjusted once we meet the clients
- Too many dogs means too fast and higher injury risk, too few means strain and slow going
- Dog mushing is not an exact science - teams may be rebalanced mid-safari
- Females in heat always run at the back to avoid distracting the males
How many dogs run in a team?
We estimate the optimum team size for each safari before meeting the clients. Too many dogs and the team runs too fast, scaring clients, ending too quickly and raising injury risk. Too few and the dogs strain slowly along. Dog mushing is not an exact science.
Once we've met you we may adjust so all teams run at roughly the same speed. With a 50kg musher and a 150kg musher in one group, dogs move from the lighter sleigh to the heavier one. Don't worry about your weight, though. Get the team size right and the dogs won't notice.
Positioning and pairings
People often ask whether the same dogs always run together or in the same positions. Mostly no, though the trickier a dog, the fewer options for who runs beside it and where.
Dogs have off-days just like humans, so we may rebalance mid-safari by moving dogs, or even clients, around. Multi-day clients take a training ride on their first day so we can test the compositions before solidifying the teams.
Lead, swing, team and wheel
Lead dogs are an elite few who want to run whatever the conditions and need no team ahead to chase. Old hands and keen youngsters both lead, the older dogs later in the day once the excitement settles.
The back teams are always the girls in heat, so the males aren't distracted by scent markings as they run. The whole farm layout supports this. These dogs join the teams last, and on return through the front gate they finish beside their own cages.
Ready when you are
Real wilderness, 200+ huskies, eighteen winters in.