Husky News

Nine sled dog teams from the Narragansett Bay Sled Dog Club used carts instead of sleds and shrugged of the mild, dry weather Sunday morning for a series of races at the State Forest.

The teams that competed were mainly made of Siberian and Alaskan huskies, the traditional breeds of the sport, although the sport is open to other types of dogs.

Kim Ledoux/Standard-Times special Cody Marsh competes in the two-dog sled race at Freetown State Forest Sunday as part of the Narragansett Bay Sled Dog Club races.

“There used to be a whole team of poodles that did quite well. The standard poodle is quite an athletic dog,” said Steve Marsh, who raced his team of Alaskan huskies.

A number of the drivers pointed out how they obtained their dogs from shelters or found them otherwise abandoned. This is especially true of huskies, club president Sean Leach explained, because the breed can be difficult for some people to keep because they require a lot of exercise and prefer to be with other dogs.

The Marsh family of Mendon has taken in a number of such dogs. According to Mr. Marsh, the work an owner puts into a dog can turn a shelter mutt into a canine athlete.

“There was this guy who paid $25 for his entire team and ended up winning a race,” he said, adding that a dog need only have the ability to get along with other dogs and enjoy pulling.

Andrew Crawley of Hopkinton won the two- and the four-dog races Sunday, and Sean Leach of Westport won the bike race, where a single dog pulled its owner.

Richard and Karen Daley moved to Freetown 20 years ago to be near the Freetown State Forest, the location where they train their thirteen huskies.

Although their dogs are allowed in the house, they also have an air-conditioned kennel.

The four basic commands that the dogs must learn are “hike” (go forward), “haw” (turn right), “gee” (turn left), and “whoa” (stop).

“The older dogs do the training much better than I could. They are the teachers, and they are proud of it,” said Mrs. Daley.

The Daleys feed their dogs an organic dog food and add fresh cheese, beef or buffalo to provide the calories, fat and protein required by sled dogs, a diet that costs approximately $200 per week.

But whether they have two or 20 dogs, the owners of the Narragansett Bay Sled Dog Club regard their canine companions as part of their family.

“Many of us take part in agility and obedience training with our dogs. Racing is just another thing we can do with them. There is no forcing them though, they get all exciting for it,” said Nancy Kohler, who won the single dog cart race.

Source:  South Coast Times