Real-Time Dog Runs:
One of the more fun things we do during our programs, and probably what we are best know for, is taking our participants out for a real-time ride in our dog sled!

This is a great experience…all on it’s own! I mean, how many classes have the opportunity to go out and ride in a dogsled? How many classes have the chance to give commands and watch as sled dogs respond to them! But there is a bigger reason to do it than just to have a singular “fun” experience…

When it gets down to it, everything we do in the Kennel is based on how the dogs run. So whether we are talking about general Mushing history, how we feed the dogs, equip our sleds, plan our breeding programs or plot our race strategies… it always comes down to how the dogs run!

And because what we try to do with our programs is use the dogs, and everything we do to care for them, to teach about core academic content areas in a contextually real setting, it is vitally important that we get the students out on a run… and let them see what all we do is really about!

So in nearly all our programs, we go out for at least 1 dog run… in some we go out even more!

To do this, we have set up a wireless cloud over the 5 acres of our property and developed a small, but “maze-like” trail network that winds and twists around for nearly half a mile! Not included the Kennel itself!

And within the trail system we have set up various stations to demonstrate the different aspect of trail life…from a race style checkpoint to a traditional wood camp. So by bringing the students out into this trail system, and the Kennel, we are able to provide for them, in a very real sense, experiences that illustrate what the Mushing lifestyle is all about. Through those experience we reinforce why core academic content is important to understand and be able to use in real-life settings.