Sled-dog racing is helping a cowering crossbred retrieve confidence and a headstrong husky to dodge the dog box.
Shawn McAvinue discovers a sport with more winners than just the leader of the pack.
A cowering Dunedin dog has been standing tall since joining a sled-dog racing club.
Cathy Cox, of Dunedin, adopted the 6-month-old puppy Bella in September 2012 after the unregistered bull mastiff cross had been impounded after being found roaming in Dunedin.
Cox had never rescued a dog before and never considered the extra care needed.
Nervous, easily spooked (a toaster popping would leave the dog cowering on the floor) and with ‘‘little to no socialisation'', Bella's behaviour prompted more than a few jitters in her owner.
‘‘We were in a bit of a downward spiral . . . I've been in tears. I've been reduced to a crying wreck because I think I can't cope with her anymore. At one point everything was too much.''
Bella was getting more aggressive with other dogs and ‘‘everywhere you went was potential disaster. It was really stressful,'' Cox said.
On a walk, anything on the footpath would cause Bella to freeze and growl.
‘‘You could barely drag her past,'' Cox recalls, adding she became nervous when walking Bella and dreaded people approaching the dog.
Bella could sense her owner's nervousness and it raised her anxiety level. Yet, despite the difficulties, she never considered getting rid of Bella. Instead, she asked her vet for advice on how she could help the dog gain confidence.
The suggestion: a Southern Regions Sled Dog Club membership. Cox inspected the club's website but discounted it, believing membership was exclusive to Arctic breeds. The vet urged her to make contact with the club, which trains up to three times a week in winter.
She took Bella to a club open day at Wingatui Racecourse in May last year and found club members were confident about dealing with any dog behaviour.
‘‘Being around that group of people [has] improved her a lot . . . it's been good for both our confidence.''
Bella ‘‘snarled'' when the club secretary fitted the harness but she took to pulling a scooter down the home straight.
The pair competed in the Canterbury Sled Dog Club Winter Solstice competition in Chaney's Forest in June and the Southern Regions Sled Dog Club ‘‘Origin race'' in Naseby in August.
Bella battled snow and mud to complete her 4.5km Naseby race.
‘‘She went so well, I was really proud of her. It's the first time she's really gone for it.''
Bella has also competed in a weight-pull contest.
The 26kg pooch's personal best is a 434kg pull and she is training to pull more weight.
‘‘If she ever got the hang of it she should be at 800kg but it's an old dog's game. They are a bit more clever and think more about it and improve as they get older,'' Cox explains, adding the dogs pulling the most weight are about 7 years old.
Bella, who is now nearly 4 years old, is training to run in a team of three, the other breeds being bearded collies Winston and Elmo.
Cox has had Bella's DNA tested to determine her bloodlines and the results revealed she is a mix of bull mastiff and shar pei and has a Siberian husky grandparent.
‘‘I burst out laughing when I saw the results. I couldn't believe it.''
A Southern Regions Sled Dog Club membership also stopped the digging and chewing of a ‘‘naughty'' Dunedin dog.
Club secretary Sarah Campbell joined the Dunedin-based club in 1997 after getting her first Siberian husky, Novac.
‘‘He was rather naughty and needed something to expend his energy on . . . once he had something to use his energy for he became quite a pleasure to own.''
The club races gave Novac a purpose and helped her form a strong bond with the dog. Campbell now owns and races seven huskies.
A husky can race as a 1-year-old but hits its prime for racing between the age of 4 and 8, she said.
Sled-dog racing is generally associated with traditional Arctic breed dogs such as huskies, Alaskan Malamutes and Samoyeds but the breeds racing at the club include Dalmatians, Staffordshire bull terriers, border collies and huntaways.
In the club, pointer dogs often beat the Arctic breeds.
The smallest dog competing is a 13kg Basenji called Max, which races in a team with a bearded collie cross named Jake.
‘‘They didn't break any land-speed records but the dog always came back grinning from ear to ear and that's what it's all about.''
The Basenji pulls more than 500kg in the weight-pull class.
The most important trait a dog needs is basic fitness and a desire to run or pull.
‘‘You can't make them do it; they have to want to do it.''
What is sled-dog racing?
In New Zealand there are two types of sled-dog racing - dryland racing and sled racing on snow.
Dryland racing is the most common form in New Zealand and is usually held on gravel roads and forestry tracks. For dryland racing, the rider (musher) races on a three-wheeled or four-wheeled cart called a rig, or on a two-wheeled scooter. The various classes for rig and scooter races are:
■ The rig class has classes that usually include two, three, four, six and eight-dog teams. These races are usually between 6km and 8km long.
■ The scooter class has single dog or two-dog teams racing. The scooter races are normally between 3km and 5km, shorter than the rig races.
■ At some events there is a freight class offered in conjunction with the other classes. In this class the team must pull a specified amount of weight depending on the team size: a two-dog team must carry an extra 45kg of weight plus the rig.
■ In the snow, the rigs and scooters are swapped for sleds or skis. Classes at snow events are the same as dryland without the freight class.
OTHER SLED DOG SPORTS
■ WEIGHTPULL
Weightpull is a test of a dog's strength and determination. The dog must pull a weight-loaded rig 5m along a flat surface within 45 seconds. The weights are increased after each round.
The weightpull harness has a spreader bar to distribute the weight evenly.
The four weightpull classes are:
■ Class A: Under 27kg
■ Class B: Between 27kg and 36kg
■ Class C: Between 36kg and 50kg
■ Class D: More than 50kg
Dogs also compete for the highest body weight-ratio, the total amount of weight pulled divided by the dog's weight. In dryland racing, snow racing and weightpull classes, dogs can achieve New Zealand Federation of Sled Dog Sports titles from points gained at sanctioned competitions.
■ BIKEJORING
Bikejoring is where a harnessed dog is attached to a towline and has to run ahead of the bike helping to pull the rider, who can pedal behind the dog.
■ CANICROSS
Canicross descends from cross-country running with the dog attached to the runner by a line and harness. Club canicross races are between 3km and 5km and sometimes a mass start is used.
■ JUNIOR CLASS FOR CHILDREN
HISTORY TIMELINE OF SOUTHERN REGIONS SLED DOG CLUB
1983: The club is formed with branches in Dunedin and Christchurch.
The club's charter members - Michelle and Kevin Bisset, Rob and Chris Simpson, Irene and Les Jarvis, and John and Ruth Wheeler - start the sport in New Zealand.
1986: Five teams compete in the first competitive sled dog event in New Zealand, a dryland race in Taieri Mouth Forest, Dunedin.
1988: The Southern Classic Sled Dog Race held at Berwick Forest, Dunedin. Annual dryland races begin alternating between the North Island and South Island.
1991: The club organises the first snow race in New Zealand. The annual race is called the Wanaka Sled Dog Festival and is the only snow race in New Zealand.
1996: The festival held for the first time solely based at the Snow Farm on the Pisa Range near Wanaka.
August 2015: New Zealand Federation of Sled Dog Sports grant the four-day Wanaka Sled Dog festival NZ Snow Championship status.
August 2015: The ‘‘origin race'' the club hosted in Naseby Forest granted New Zealand Dryland Championship status by federation and competitors vie for championship titles.
