Dog Driver: A Guide for the Serious Musher - Hardcover

Collins, Miki; Collins, Julie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1577790944 ISBN 13: 9781577790945

Publisher: Alpine Pubns Inc, 2009

Synopsis

Learn how to: select dogs, build a team, train and condition, choose harnesses, sleds and equipment (AND how to repair them!), understand your dogs behavior, and care for them, including dealing with injuries on and off the trail. The Collins explain how to train and condition a team for all types of racing, recreational mushing, and work. How to make money with a dog team, how to prepare for a wilderness expedition, and lots more. Interwoven with amuzing incidents from the authors' own experiences in the Alaskan bush.

About this title

From the Author:

My sister Miki and I learned to run dogs on our own. There weren’t many mushers around where we grew up, and few mushing books were available. Even today, with a burst of mushing books coming out, there are few, if any, comprehensive references for the serious musher.

We wrote this book for mushers who are tired of gleaning information frim newsletters, advertisements, and pet-owner handbooks. We have attempted to compile information that, until now, has been widely scattered and not readily available. Hopefully this will get information to mushers while saving them the trouble of doing all the research.

We wrote this book for mushers who already know how to hook up their dogs and stand on a sled. The beginning musher will find our book useful but should couple it with a book covering the elementary details. (A glossary ant the back of this book will help beginners, and additional books are listed in the references.)

Dog Driver is not just for competitive mushers; it is for mushing adventurers and mushers who run dogs for transportation or as a source of income, and for recreational mushers who want to understand their dogs and the sport better.

The knowledge that we gradually accumulated through our experiences (with many a bumped shin and bruised ego), and the knowledge that we gained from other dog drivers and literature, has moved us to share with other ushers—novices and professionals alike. This book is the result. Let’s hook up and get going.

From the Inside Flap:

Completely revised and updated! Includes the latest information on equipment and training.Whether you are training for sprint or long-distance races, wilderness adventures, or mushing tours, this book has the answers you need. Based on interviews with top experts, over three decades of personal experience, and tens of thousands of miles on the runners, Miki and Julie Collins tell you how to: · Select and care for your dogs · Get the most out of every dog · Choose appropriate gear for the job · Recognize and correct problems, from medical to psychological · Handle a wide range of conditions · Prepare for various events, from races to extended wilderness trips · Make money with your team.The Collins sisters have spent their lives with sled dogs, using them to haul freight, run traplines, and trek into the depths of Alaska. They write regularly for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Mushing and other publications, and are the authors of three books.“. . . very interesting reading for the sled dog enthusiast, . . . Despite the volume and breadth of their discussion of sled dogs, . . . the reader cannot ignore those occasional anecdotal comments from Julie and Miki about their countless outdoor experiences in the bush of Alaska.” Joe Runyan 1985 Yukon Quest, 1989 Iditarod Champion

About this edition

• Publisher: Alpine Pubns Inc
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1577790944
• ISBN 13: 9781577790945
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 372