Ride a scooter or kickspark with your dog
I am delighted to have you back for new Wouafement Givrées adventures. Are you preparing for your winter sports holiday and wondering what to do in the mountains WITH your dog? What winter activities to try with your dog? Test the scooter or kickspark with your dog.
Much to my regret, Musher is not a fan of canine hauling sports so I did not have the opportunity to test this sport with my dog. So I interviewed an expert in the field: Élodie and her two dogs! Hang on to follow our riders! What is the cani-scooter? How to get started? Where to kickspark with your dog? What equipment do dogs need… Élodie tells you everything in this article!
Élodie, I'll let you speak: it's up to you 🙂
Skateboarding / kickspark with your dog: what is it?
This fall, with my boyfriend, we fell in love and bought a scooter or kickspark! Our Christmas gift! I wanted to test since last winter, it was out of the question to miss this good opportunity.
In fact, the kickspark or the scooter, as you like, is a small, very light sled, designed for single-dog traction or maximum two large dogs. When you ride a scooter, you kind of do sled : we believe we are in the Far North with our mini hitch!
The lightness of the machine means that we quickly go up in speed on good snow. On the other hand, you have to be careful not to turn around in the turns. Obviously, the human also works, he helps the dogs uphill and on the flat to accelerate the help is done on the same principle as for the scooter so the thighs heat up quite a bit as in all traction sports with your dog.
Alone, there is not much interest in riding a scooter, it is an activity that is certainly shared with our dogs. For me, starting this activity with my dogs was obvious. After cani-scooting, which we were already practicing together, we needed the equivalent on snow!
Our first time went off on a whim. We said to ourselves “hop, the weather is nice, there is still a little snow, we load the equipment and we go”.
The equipment needed to kickspark with your dog
For a furry cani-scooter session and the comfort of your dog, it is essential to know how to choose your equipment. For this activity to share with your dog, here are my gear tips.
Dog side:
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Un pulling harness. Marty is wearing the Ultra-Harness from Non Stop Dog Wear. He adores her!
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A stroke line, which absorbs shocks. Ideally, it should be long enough, 2,5 to 2,8 meters long as for ski joering to avoid any contact between the machine and the dogs.
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Plan for socks ou boots to protect your dog's paws in case of injury.
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Depending on the intensity and the number of sports outings during the week, I regularly put balm, style solipate, on my dogs pads. I always check their paws before I go and try to warm them up in the car or at home before sports.
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My dogs don't have coat because they are not cold when they are active in the snow. However, it is useful to provide a microfiber towel to wipe them off so they don't catch a cold at the end of the activity and on the way back.
Me, I was well dressed, I had suitable shoes, goretex sneakers to stay dry, as well as a backpack with everything you need for everyone (water, bowl, first aid kit. .). For more security, wearing a helmet is recommended because with the snow the pebbles are easily hidden. And given the speed that it is possible to reach, a fall would not forgive...
Where to go cani-scooting?
Before going on a scooter with your dog, you must find out about the tracks open and authorized for dogs. During our kickspark outing, the track was still closed to skiers but allowed to dogs, which is why we chose it.
The tracks authorized for dogs are the tracks for sled dogs or the freedom spaces. You can find them online at Jura mountains. You can also take a look at these articles, which list dog-friendly ski resorts: Top 10 “pet friendly” rentals Special Alps in winter ou This winter go to the Pyrenees with your dog. For information, it is also possible to call the tourist offices or winter sports resort.
Here are some trails or resorts that I know of that are dog friendly and where they are well tolerated:
- “Combe des Cives” trail at Chapel of the Woods
- Redhead station : freedom spaces
- Retord Plateau : 20km of tracks authorized towards Cuvéry
- The Pesse : several marked and maintained trails from a “musher reception area”.
Of course, it will be necessary to take packages in the stations to be in the rules.
Tips for cani-scooting
The scooter requires a lot of pulling effort from the dog just like the cani-vtt and cani-scooter so these are sports that you can start when your dog is at least 18 months old. While for the cani cross and cani-hiking, your dog can start from 12 months (be careful for the cani-trail you will have to wait until he is 24 months old). These recommendations are given by the Canine Sports and Leisure Federation.
The advice that I can finally give you for the practice of this activity are:
- Prepare yourself and prepare your dog physically, respect the age of beginning of activity
- Basic commands (left, right, stop, go) should be mastered by your dog.
- Respect his will, if he doesn't like it, find another activity that he prefers.
- Take care of yourself but especially your dog, think about your safety above all. Take a small first aid kit for humans but also for dogs, something to drink for your dog during the outing and treats to reward him at the end.
- Go gradually, do not ask your dog to run 10 km the first outing for example, especially if he does not do cani-vtt or cani-scooter regularly. Once again evaluate the distance according to the training and his motivation for the day.
- Live these moments, enjoy, be proud of your partner and have fun!
A kickspark outing with your dog is…
A "typical" scooter outing with your dog is snow (be careful not to go over pebbles when there are few!). It is a free warm-up or with small exercises under the advice of a professional. It's traction with verbal motivations on your part. It's a free break to relax, drink and play if the dog feels like it. It's still traction. And we end up returning to the car with a thousand and one verbal or other congratulations such as treats or caresses if the dog likes it. Congratulations to your champ! What I ALWAYS say to Marty on the way home is "You did a good job my Martoche, Bravo" and he is entitled to 3 or 4 treats in addition to caresses which he appreciates very much. What he does is physical so he must be rewarded even if his primary reward is the activity itself. He is having so much fun!
In "verbal motivations from you", I mean the basic orders: forward, right, left, stop, but also requests such as "Go my dog, go go go" or even "Go my doudouuuu", or “we go there”. The dog must want to go there and share it with you, you must show him that you love it too.
The story of Elodie and her dogs
Finally, here is a hilarious anecdote: during our very first scooter outing, there was so little snow in places in the undergrowth that I had to quickly jump off the scooter, carry it and run to follow. the rhythm without damaging the skis on the stones! Imagine running on icy snow with Marty, the tractor that had no time ahead! It gave some rather comical artistic figures from me, haha.
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I hope this article has made you want to go skating with your dog, but you will have understood: be careful! Kicksparking with your dog is an activity you have to be prepared for. You must be sure of your skiing level, your dog's abilities and know the mountain and its dangers well.
Thanks again to Elodie and her dogs for sharing their Too W'ouf experience with us. Want to know more about their story? Discover their portrait Wow Good.
Pssssst: do you want to try new activities with your dog this winter? Take a look at these articles: “The top 10 traction sports to share with your dog"; "Snowscooting with your dog" or "Canicross-blanc – canicross on the snow with your dog”. Lots of other articles are waiting for you 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 et our instagram account : )