Canicross-blanc – Canicross on the snow with your dog
Do you want snow, mountains, running, running with your dog and discovering a unique discipline? White canicross is a discipline made for you. Canicross on snow is a great discipline to play sports with your dog and enjoy the snow during your holidays or winter sports weekends with your dog. Musher and I practice canicross and even canitrail. We haven't had the opportunity to test canicross on the snow yet, but it's an activity that appeals to us. I look forward to the next snowflakes: I can't wait to test these new sensations. Running in a white snowy place, alone with my dog, with the sound of snow crunching under the sneakers and breathtaking mountain landscapes: we're going to enjoy it, it's going to be Too W'ouf.
In the meantime, to present this activity to you, I interviewed THE expert in the field: Antony Le Moigne, French canicross champion, cani-vtt et cani-scooter, and his dog Link. Hang on to follow our champions! They run viiiiiiiiiiiiiite. Antony explains to you in depth, breadth and depth what white canicross is, how to get started, where to do it, what equipment is needed for dogs… You will know everything!
Antony, it's up to you: I'll let you speak 🙂
Antony Lemoigne and his braque
Before starting to talk about canicross on snow, an introduction is in order 🙂
My name is Antony, I am 40 years old and I currently live in Normandy. I have 12 titles of champion of France, as well in canicross, as in cani-vtt and cani-scooter. I therefore live mainly from my practice of canicross, developing many projects around this discipline. It's exciting every day! My days go by but are not alike: it's very varied and I love it. For me, canicross is the union of a human and a dog in a common effort that is racing. It's a fusion of energy! I have been practicing this sport for 11 years.
Link is 4 years old. It's a braque. I took him in 2 years ago because his former owner didn't have enough time to give him. We quickly found many things in common. He is filled with love, nervous, anxious and he only feels free in the race. He loves freedom. He is enduring, powerful and an unfailing mind.
Canicross on the snow with your dog
In general, canicross consists of running with your dog, connected to the master's belt, thanks to a harness and elastic lanyard. For the white canicross, it is only the coating that changes. Instead of running in the woods or in the mud, we practice canicross on the snow. It is a sport that is practiced on groomed trails.
The basic principles of our white canicross sessions are: warm-up, recovery, progressiveness and observation so that the dog is always the barometer of my practice.
There are more and more white canicross practitioners and competitions in France, but not only that! In Quebec it is also very popular. I had done the canicross at Auris white, a few years ago and I have wonderful memories of it because the landscapes are breathtaking. If you are looking for canicross competitions, come take a look at the site of the Canine Sports and Leisure Federation.
Where to do white canicross?
Not all resorts accept dogs, and even less so for ski joering or white canicross…. To enjoy my winter sports holiday with my dogs, I go to Bessan, in the Maurienne valley, in Savoie. This place is magical! There are tracks for ski-joering and dozens of kilometers of pedestrian tracks where you can practice canicross with your dog in respect of all. It is a resort really geared towards activities with the dog. They even organize rounds of the great odyssey and the Lekkarod. These are very famous sled dog races. I like going to train there, summer and winter.
For skijoring, it is preferable that the slopes are groomed and safe because you can easily pick up speed. For canicross, it is better to favor “hard ground” in order to be able to have fun, so the groomed slopes are perfect if you do not want to have snow up to your knees, powder snow is to be avoided!
Musher and Sophie : “You will understand that doing canicross on the snow is a great activity to share with your dog, but you won't be able to do it everywhere. Remember to contact the resort of your vacation to check if you can test the white canicross with your dog on its tracks.
The equipment needed for canicross on snow
The material is simple. You must equip your dog with a good harness. This is crucial to preserve the physical integrity of your running partner and so that he can have fun in complete safety and comfort. There elastic lanyard allows to cushion the blows between the dog and the human. It is attached to a harness fixed threaded by the master.
On the master side, you need to equip yourself with a good pair of shoes, trail type, to have a good grip on the snow.
On the dog side, boots for the dog are useful if the snow is very cold and abrasive. For the paws, I recommend putting a petroleum jelly-like fat on the pads to insulate them from the cold. According to the races a coat can be useful before and after exercise, but not during!
Musher and Sophie : “Indeed, if your dog only goes to the snow a few days a year with you, surely his paws will need to be prepared before the holidays. If you forgot this preparation step with a tanning solution like the fortifying pads, opt for slippers, socks or protective boots for dogs. What is the risk ? The snow, depending on its quality and the temperature, accumulates between the pads and with each step, it irritates the pads until it causes painful lesions for your dog. To relieve it, it will be necessary to rest its paw until complete healing. Suffice to say that if you are on vacation for a week in the snow and he gets injured on the first day, his vacation is ruined...
Our tips for running in the snow with your dog
Canicross is a growing discipline. Before you start, it is important to have all the keys in hand in order to avoid certain errors.
If you are passionate about canicross, for example, you will have to wait until your dog is 1 year old for the competition. For me, all dogs can do canicross. You just have to adapt to their predispositions, to their morphology and to respect a progressiveness in what we will offer them in terms of distance and intensity of effort.
Musher and Sophie : “Anthony is right and I can attest to that! When I started canicross with my dog, I was already running on my own and I was even doing a bit of trail running. I bought all the gear for Musher, put him on, and we went for a run. Bad idea ! I made a series of rookie mistakes. One, she didn't understand at all what she had to do and I spent the session bitching at her saying "front, front, front" and two, the planned session was way too long so she quickly got bored and was quickly knocked out. A BIG failure for me who was impatient to share this activity with her. I waited until she was a year old and in a few badly prepared sessions I put her off canicross… With love and patience we got back to it and since then we have been running together with other canipotos with our canicross club . So respect your doggie and opt for progressiveness as Anthony says! and remember to re-read “Start canicross with my dog” where I share lots of good advice to get started in this canine sport.”
You have to teach your dog basic commands such as directions, start count or stop. It is essential for a good canicross session. In addition, the dog learns very quickly, especially if we put him in the right learning situations. The ideal is to already master a little running alone before teaming up with your dog. The more you will have a personal progression, the more you will be able to help your partner to express themselves.
The last piece of advice I can give you is to let pleasure and your dog guide you!
Do a canicross course
Musher and Sophie : “If you can't take one of Anthony's courses, join a canicross club near you. By joining canicross practitioners and enthusiasts, you will learn and progress faster!
---
Oh yes, too bad, I would be delighted to do a canicross course on the snow with my dog! Musher would be thrilled and so would I. I hope this article will have made you want to do canicross on the snow with your dog, but you will have understood: practicing canicross cannot be improvised! It's a sport you have to prepare for.
Thanks again to Antony and Link for this nice information and this great article 🙂 Find these shock Wouafer's on their Instagram account antonylemoigne. Get ready to sprint! 🙂
Last thing: a ski resort for your winter holidays? Take a look at these articles: Winter sports holidays with my dog ; Top 10 “pet friendly” rentals Special Alps in winter ; This winter go to the Pyrenees with your dog. Psssssst: other articles dedicated to French resorts to test with your dog are coming very soon on the Mag' of EmmèneTonChien.com ! Stay connected and listen and listen!
In the meantime, for more info, holiday advice and dog-friendly tips, follow EmmèneTonChien.com on our facebook page and our instagram account : )