The dog is considered the "man's best friend", but for the mushing practitioners, in addition to a faithful companion, is another member of his team. Mushing was originally a means of transport used in the Nordic countries to travel through snow. Nowadays it is a regulated sport and integrated as another modality within the Winter Sports Federation. Within the mushing there are different varieties depending on the type of vehicle used and the number of dogs pulling it. From the canicross, in which dog and human run together to the long shots of between 6 and 12 dogs of the "cart", the queen modality, the combinations are many: skateboard, bicycle, tricycle...
The first rule of playing this sport is that you like dogs. You have to form a team with them, the rapport has to be maximum.
Dogs used in mushing are subject to strict veterinary control:"They have to adhere to a more demanding vaccination schedule than any other dog. In addition, before the races there is a check by the race judge and veterinarian. One of the problems is that there are very few veterinarians who specialize in mushing.
Mushing is a winter sport practiced at low temperatures. Dogs are trained from puppies:"although until they are 1 year old, they cannot be attached to the harness because their skeleton is still forming. We have to train them little by little.
The modalities:
CANICROSS
Dog and human run together
It consists of running with a dog tied at the waist with a belt and a line of pull that goes up to the dog harness. It is practiced on land. It can also be done on snow. It is important to bring special material for canicross.
BIKEJORING
A dog pulls a bicycle bike
It is a very widespread modality because only with a "bike" and a dog can be practiced. The dog is the guide and must obey the orders when drawing the curves. You must go ahead by pulling the bike.
PATÍN
1 or 2 dogs pull a skateboard
With a small team of 1 or 2 dogs and a skateboard we can enjoy the feeling of being mounted on a sleigh, the skate is driven by the musher, beating with one foot and by the dogs that pull in front.
TRICICLO
It uses a shot of 4 dogs
It consists of moving as fast as possible by pulling on a three-wheeled vehicle pulled by four dogs. This vehicle must be fitted with a front part of the vehicle to avoid injuring the dogs.
CARRO
Reaches up to 12 dogs
It's Mushing's queen modality. The Trolley or Kart is equipped with 4 wheels, and is assisted by 6 to 12 dogs, due to the weight of the vehicle (more than 50kg) High speeds can be reached.
Why mushing?
It comes from French
The term "mushing" comes from an order, in French, used to initiate the march that can be translated as:"adelante","vamos". A mushing practitioner is called a musher.
The dogs
Resistant breeds
The dogs that best adapt to the mushing are hunting dogs such as the mist, the pointer, greister... and Nordic dogs or with Nordic ancestors as they are better able to withstand the low temperatures.
Competitions
Three distances
Mushing competitions are divided into three categories by distance. The most common is the sprint (between 4 and 10 kilometers). It is followed by the medium distance (up to 200 kms in stages) and long distance (between 500 and 1,000 kms in stages).