brady's mom Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 While poking around REI and my work, I came across RuffWear ( kinda feeling stupid for not having known about it before given it's based in Bend, not far from where I live ). After doing some more poking about on their website, I discovered something called skate-joring, which is basically just having your dog pull you on some trails on a mountain board. It looks incredible amounts of crazy-awesome-fun, but I've never done anything like 'joring' before and don't know the slightest thing about it regarding the safety of my dog, how to go about training it, etc. etc. Any ski/skate/jorers here? I'd love to learn more about it and you guys are the wisest bunch of people that I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted November 5, 2011 Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 I do bikejoring with Kenzi. She LOVES it. Hope to do skijoring this winter! A few things - Ruff Wear gear has a cool factor, but costs at least 1/3 more than similar gear from a sled dog supply place. Make sure that you are skilled/comfortable with what ever you're going to have your dogs pull. As far as training goes, I just put the harness on and went with Kenzi. I live on a quiet dirt road, so I just started out slowly and she caught on quickly. She loves to run/pull so that was definitely working in our favor. I really love it! And Kenzi gets all wiggly when I take her out to the bike and reach for the harness. When I say GO she just surges forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted November 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2011 Oh ok! Thank you! Bike jore-ing might be the best place to start since he's already used to running alongside of a bike. Although, he usually loses his endurance after about a mile. But I read somewhere on here that that's all he should be running at a year old? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 I used to skijor and have considered bikejoring. My experience, however, has been that I could go faster and longer on my bike than any of my dogs. I decided to just stick with biking on my own and exercise my dogs another way. Ditto on the advice to buy from dog sledding companies. You will pay a whole lot less and most of them have employees who run sled dogs and are happy to assit you in choosing the right products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 I used to skijor and have considered bikejoring. My experience, however, has been that I could go faster and longer on my bike than any of my dogs. I decided to just stick with biking on my own and exercise my dogs another way. True, but I think it depends on if your motive is to go biking or just do something with your dog. I try to incorporate the dogs into things as much as possible since they need to be exercised anyway. When I go out with Kenzi I figure that we'll go 3-5 miles. Works out great right now because my school has mountain bikes available and they have about 5 miles of wooded trails on campus. She doesn't really pull to whole time, more like half the time, but she keeps the line tight and I go at her pace. Then when I get home from school, she'll be ready to chill for a while while I get stuff done!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Yes, it definitely depends on your personal priorities. I had not ridden a bike in 20 years but took the plunge and bought a good one (Trek Pure Sport) last fall. I became hooked within the first few days and found myself going faster and farther each month. I quickly outpaced my dogs and realized that to continue exploring it was best to just leave them at home. However, they get to work sheep, which they prefer over just running, so the dogs were still satisfied. I used to run a team of dog sledding Border Collies, but two sports became too expensive and time consuming. It wasn't hard to choose to put stock work first. If I had the time and resources though, I would still be doing both. BTW, I still have my wheeled rig and it's looking for a new home. Don't know if anyone here is interested. Pay shipping and it's yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manasquan_jim Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 I purchased a sled dog harness and towline from a sled dog outfit and it was a fraction of what they're charging on Ruffwear, plus very durable. I might be exagerating a bit, but you could practically tow your car with these things. I originally bought the setup so he could pull a sled, but mainly use it for jogging on trails. I can clip the towline to my belt, so he cant chase after deer and mountain bikes. Plus if I start slacking off he pulls me to go faster. I can use all the help I can get. Bike joring and ski joring sounds like fun and I hope to do try some day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyTDogs Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 While poking around REI and my work, I came across RuffWear ( kinda feeling stupid for not having known about it before given it's based in Bend, not far from where I live ). After doing some more poking about on their website, I discovered something called skate-joring, which is basically just having your dog pull you on some trails on a mountain board. It looks incredible amounts of crazy-awesome-fun, but I've never done anything like 'joring' before and don't know the slightest thing about it regarding the safety of my dog, how to go about training it, etc. etc. Any ski/skate/jorers here? I'd love to learn more about it and you guys are the wisest bunch of people that I know. Kristi, I believe that you are in the dog scooter capital of the world-LOL If you go to the website you can learn all about Joring- they are called dog scooter but they also promote all dog running activities. They have a yahoo group where you can get all kinds of info on meet ups & good gear, etc I scootered with my dogs & it was a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted November 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Cindy, That looks like so much fun! Honestly, I just want to get out and hit the trails with him but at a faster pace that won't slow him down as much (he gets so annoyed with me and my running pace, lol). I'm debating on buying a mountain board since it's similar to snowboarding and would be an easy cross over for me. Also, I would totally go for sled dog equipment, but I get Ruffwear at 10% off of Cost because of where I work (which is the only reason I discovered it in the first place, lol). So I think in the end it would be cheaper for me to go the Ruffwear route than a sled dog supplier. Either way, you guys have made this a definite priority for me. Thank you for sharing your experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Even at 10% off, equipment from a sledding outfit is probably much cheaper, though I have been out of the sport for awhile. For those interested in the cart... It's free to whoever wants to pay shipping to get it to them. It's about 80 lbs, 4ft wide, 6ft long and folds down to about 2ft tall. Doug McNiel of Chatmac Sled Dog Equipment was the builder. It needs new tires, easy to purchase, but it's otherwise still in good condition. You need at least 3 dogs to pull it. I used to run a team of 4 Border Collies in sprint races (3 to 6 miles) using this cart. This is NOT a scooter and can handled teams of up to 8 dogs. The brakes lock, but you still need to tie off to a tree with a snub line if you step off. My teamed ripped it right out from under me and dragged it a good half miled before they wrapped it around a tree at a sharp curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Even at 10% off, equipment from a sledding outfit is probably much cheaper, though I have been out of the sport for awhile. For those interested in the cart... It's free to whoever wants to pay shipping to get it to them. It's about 80 lbs, 4ft wide, 6ft long and folds down to about 2ft tall. Doug McNiel of Chatmac Sled Dog Equipment was the builder. It needs new tires, easy to purchase, but it's otherwise still in good condition. You need at least 3 dogs to pull it. I used to run a team of 4 Border Collies in sprint races (3 to 6 miles) using this cart. This is NOT a scooter and can handled teams of up to 8 dogs. The brakes lock, but you still need to tie off to a tree with a snub line if you step off. My teamed ripped it right out from under me and dragged it a good half miled before they wrapped it around a tree at a sharp curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Also, I would totally go for sled dog equipment, but I get Ruffwear at 10% off of Cost because of where I work (which is the only reason I discovered it in the first place, lol). So I think in the end it would be cheaper for me to go the Ruffwear route than a sled dog supplier. I'm not sure what that translates to in final cost but I got a custom made padded harness and bungee line for about $35. If you go to http://nooksackracing.com/skijoring.html You can get that whole set up for (harness, line, belt) $50-$70 depending on what belt you get for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted November 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 I'm not sure what that translates to in final cost but I got a custom made padded harness and bungee line for about $35. If you go to http://nooksackracing.com/skijoring.html You can get that whole set up for (harness, line, belt) $50-$70 depending on what belt you get for yourself. Even at 10% off, equipment from a sledding outfit is probably much cheaper, though I have been out of the sport for awhile. 10% off Cost for me would be about 55% off of the retail price, so I could get the whole system for about 65-67 bucks which, after doing the math with the Nooksack products, would be pretty much the same for the harness, the hip belt, and the bungee lines. I suppose I'll just give it some more thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Must have read that too quickly, I was thinking you would get 10% off retail. What harness will you be using? I didn't think RuffWear had a proper skijoring harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Ruffwear has a new Omnijore system that has a harness, line and belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Checked it out. My one concern is how much the harness covered the shoulders. It looks restrictive, like it might cause soreness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 http://www.sleddogcentral.com/features/products/guard_harness.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted November 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 I like the way that last harness you linked too looks. Also here's the omnijore system in action, sort of. The dog doesn't seem to be pulling very hard, but she looks kind of. overweight as it is, lol. edit: and here's it again on a faster dog:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toSGhtgyodA&feature=related Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia P Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 I've skijored with dogs other than border collies...but had a great time. Should teach one of the Border collies to do it, however we won't be doing during racing games with the other dogs. Only wrapped myself around a tree once Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Does anyone have a recommendation for a good belt for canicross, I currently use a frankenstein monster build from different things that my husband concocted, works and could almost be called comfortable, but is not very pretty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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