Dogsledding in Lapland

We booked a dogsled outing in Lapland and I was giddy with anticipation, emailing a friend about my “date with the huskies. “ Upon arrival at the “Husky Farm” we changed into particularly unflattering snowsuits, but I was still incredibly excited despite the fashion faux pas. And then we exited the building and saw all the dogs.  Each had its own little house, their areas were amazingly clean and the dogs looked healthy. It was the sheer number of dogs, at least 150, that made my heart sink. I’ve suffered a fair amount of moral angst about our tourism choice ever since.

For the most part I think we got lucky. The owners of this particular dogsled operation clearly care about and take good care of their dogs. They seem very knowledgeable about and dedicated to dogsledding and the required training.  And the dogs seemed happy and were exceptionally well socialized, one could even say cuddly. It would be impossible to deny the pure joy the dogs exhibited when they got to pull.  AD found the dogs overhyped and pondered whether it was similar to zoo animals that become a bit unhinged in too small cages, but it just reminded me of when Raleigh was on a flyball relay team and would almost explode with excited anticipation while he awaited his turn – he wanted to run sooo badly. That was the nervous energy I think/hope I saw.  The question I keep asking myself is whether this is any worse than a family in the burbs that banishes the “family” dog to a lonely existence in the back yard.  These sled dogs regularly do what they love, and they adore the trainer, climbing over her when they have the chance.  But… any business run on the exploitation of animals is absolutely ripe for abuse. We would not participate again because it is a vote with our dollars (euros) for an operation we don’t really support from an ethical perspective. Really, 150 dogs! How can each one get the proper attention?

Now that I’ve laid bare my guilty conscience, I have to say that we had a fantastic time.  It’s true, even if I feel kind of bad to admit it.

After over a week away from Oliver I suffer a little bit of doggy withdrawal, so I loved the warm welcome I received when I met members of our team:

These two dogs were complete clowns. The only reason they didn’t careen the sled into a tree is because the rest of the team was a bit more professional.  The one with the husky face loved to swerve off course to eat snow, as captured on camera as proof:

See a nose trench she created on the right side of the trail as she ate snow at full speed along the way?

The other one had a few snow snacks as well but was just more generically goofy. When one of the employees tried to take a photo of us on the sled, he had to wait for her to stop lying on her back wiggling around.

This was as serious as he could hope they would pose. 

Of course those two were my favorites. 

As for the sledding itself, what a fun way to see winter countryside. With the proper warm gear, I can see that a trek across the arctic tundra with a sled team would be an amazing experience.  Uninitiated amateurs such as ourselves can’t be trusted to get commands correct, so you don’t use any.  The trainers release the hounds and you hold on for dear life, hope the dogs stay on the trail (or at least a majority of the team in the event you have a couple of nutballs pulling you) and use a foot brake that digs into the snow to slow or stop.  At first I felt bad to use the brake because the dogs are so excited to pull that they just keep going, whether they actually advance or not because of the brake.  I became less sympathetic when I realized that I should have had extra helpings at breakfast and maybe loaded my pockets with a few rocks – they could keep going when I stood on the brake.  I got quite the quality leg workout forcing the brake deeper into the path when we needed to stop. And then one of those cute dopey ones would turn around and stared at me as if to say, “what the heck are you doing? I need to eat more snow drifts – let’s get going.”  Careful when you release the brake – the team strains against the harnesses and you fly when they take off.

Guess who forgot his hat? I think pink suits him though.

After our tour through the woods where we took turns driving/keeping the death grip on the sled, we met the puppies, which melted my heart.  They were far more interested in puppy wrestlemania than they were in me, but I got to squish some of the cuties anyway.

Two month old husky mix, but definitely 100% husky eyes! In the positive column for this operation, they aren’t particularly concerned with full breeds in their breeding program. They do have full-blood huskies, but they have more mixes because the most important thing for them is a healthy dog that likes to pull.

Comments

[Gerard]

Un bien beau voyage et une façon de vivre avec la nature qui s'achève. Vous vivez actuellement; ce qui peut être du passé; dans 25 ans. Merci pour ces témoignages. GERARD

[Sarene]

On est tellement chanceux d'avoir eu cette belle experience.