Q: When does your season start and how long do you operate?

A: Our season generally starts at the beginning of November. Given that we are a weather dependent company we need to await Mother Nature's delivery of her precious “white gold”.  Our season will typically last until the end of April depending on snow conditions.  In the summer our huskies relax and enjoy their "spa time".  We do offer summer kennel tours as well, from mid June to mid October.  You can read more about our Dog Daze of Summer.

Q: What should we wear and bring?

A: We ask all our participants to dress as if they were going skiing. Snow pants, winter jackets, warm boots with a good grip, warm toque and gloves, scarf or balaclava, and warm under layers. If you do not have any of these items let your reservation agent know upon making your reservation. We will give you info on how to rent clothing at a location near you. We rent boots to those who will need them, for example if you are wearing sneakers, summer hiking boots, any boot/shoe that does not go above your ankle, high heels, and high heel boots. If you’re not sure how to dress click here!

If you would like, you can bring a small day pack with water, extra clothing, camera, sunscreen and Chap Stick. If you require any medication such as insulin or an inhaler, be sure you bring it along as the high elevation can have an adverse effect on some medical conditions.

Q: Do we require any experience to join your tour either riding with or driving a sled dog team?

A: There is no experience necessary! The reason for this is that our instructors receive, at the very least, one month of extensive in- kennel training, which includes dog care and handling as well as an entire month of intensive safety,  guest instruction and trail/sled training each season, no matter how many years they have worked with us!  Also, we feel you should know that the type of training a “guide” receives compared to that of a “professional instructor” is evaluated at two very different levels as you can imagine.  This is why your tour begins with a very informative 30 minute introduction and instruction, as opposed the “learn as you go” methods.  We understand that learning to drive a dog team is important and crucial to you prior to actually participating in the sport, providing you with a much more enjoyable and safer experience, before the sleds are actually moving!  Our instructors will teach you how to safely drive the sled and manage our “touring” dog teams accordingly and then coach you at all times on tour.  In fact with our comprehensive instruction, our guests inform us that they feel the sport of dog sledding is actually much easier to learn than skiing!  Go figure!  Because our huskies are also very well trained, our company can offer our guests the opportunity to drive their very own teams directly behind our instructors.  This of course is an option, however a very popular one.  The majority of our guest’s drive their own dog team...they claim its mush more fun than only riding or standing on the back of the sled!  Some companies may choose not to offer these terrific options as they simply do not have the infrastructure within their company to do so.  We all have a choice and our choice is to offer the best experience with every opportunity and option presented to you! We hope this busts the myths regarding driving dog teams that may circulate from time to time.

Here are some examples of what we’ll be covering:

• Brief history of the breeds and the sport of dog sledding.
• How to control and operate the sled safely.
• Proper demonstration of equipment you will be using to drive the sled.
• How to drive tandem. (2 people on the back driving.)
• 'Rules of the trail', for example: no passing the sled in front of you; use 2 feet to stop your sled and where we will be stopping to switch drivers.
• Commands to get your dogs to go, stop, pass distractions, slow down on the down hills and how to keep your team happy and positive.

Q: How many people per sleigh and do we get to drive our own team?

A: We like to keep the sled weights reasonable for the dogs so they are treated humanely.  Each sled will carry up to 3 adults or around 500 pounds.  Permitting our dogs to pull over crowded sleds by allowing 3 or more adult guests plus the addition of a guide are not practiced here.  This is not the standard in our company!  In addition as said, our instructors are very well trained and are able to adjust the dogs on our teams based on the weight of the sled to ensure a safe and fun tour for all!  Here are your options:

• Relax in a cozy sled having one of our instructors drive your team.
• Drive the dog team (one-on-one) with one of our instructors. 
• Or, drive your sled dog team with the company of your family or friends following your instructor. 
  

As a family run operation, we understand how important it is to experience adventures together. With Snowy Owl, when you book as a group, we stive to keep your group together. When you make your reservation, ask how we can keep you and your group exclusive!

Q: Can anyone join the tours and what are the sleds like?

A: Absolutely! Because of our experience and expertise, everyone is welcome! Singles, expectant mothers, large groups, infants, guests with special conditions, etc!  Snowy Owl sleds are equipped with a moisture resistant custom made cordura sled bag; they are lined with an 8 inch thick comfortable padding as well as luxurious velour blankets or soft goose down duvets.  In addition, if you require extra comfort, please notify your reservation agent, as we are delighted to offer you beautiful, cozy sheep skins or extra blankets when required.

Q: Can we pet your huskies?

Q: Does pulling a sled hurt the huskies?

A: There is no question that our huskies LOVE to run and pull! Because we have a limit of 3 people per sleigh and a sufficient number of REAL, traditional touring huskies pulling each sleigh to keep the work load light and enjoyable for them, they truly love what they do!  There are dogs with jobs and then there are dogs that love their jobs!  Our main trainers ensure our huskies have a healthy run/rest ratio by keeping track of when each dog runs, including the terrain and mileage involved.  By doing this we are able to switch and change the teams up daily so that our dogs can enjoy running with a different partner, instead of set teams which prove to be very boring and even limiting for them!  Our huskies also run on a large variety of trails as opposed to out and back on the same trail everyday. This also helps reinforce our rule of no fighting in our kennel which is truly an important asset on the trail.  Because the dogs run with a different partner regularly, it creates better performing acceptance among them all.  To put it bluntly, the dogs get more days off then we do! Even though these huskies are bred for pulling we never take advantage of this trait. If you have a close look over our site you will see that we go to great lengths in providing outstanding care from what our huskies eat to how much weight they pull!  In the end, we’ll let you be the judge once you meet them in person!  We care that you care!

Q: What breed of huskies do you use?

A: We are the only company that uses 4 traditional pure breeds of husky as opposed to 1 crossbred “grey hound/husky racing breed” that many other companies use.  Even though greyhounds are classified as the fastest dog on earth, they have zero endurance and weight pulling ability. The dog sledders that use this breed for touring and freighting are very limited in how much their dogs can pull, the distances per day they can run, the terrain thay can run on, etc. Because we understand you want to experience real, we use the famous and beautiful Siberian husky; the mysterious Canadian Indian husky, which are the closest living relative to the coyote; the stunning Canadian Inuit husky, which are the closest living relative to the wolf; the powerful Alaskan Malamute and; the very exceptional Alaskan Husky. Learn more about the breeds here!

Q: Can we take video and photos of our tour and the huskies?

A: Of course! You’re going to need to have some proof and bragging material to show your family and friends!

Q: Do the huskies get anything to eat or drink between tours and are they rested properly?

A:  Absolutely!  In fact, we are the only company that uses thermoses to keep their “Doggie Gatorade” warm and fresh throughout the day!  Here’s why:  Just like us, eating the cold snow dehydrates the dogs, as they spend too much energy warming up again, so watering the dogs with cold water is not serving any purpose other than dehydrating them further.  We care about our huskies health and in order for them to stay happy and eager to perform we serve all their meals warm in the winter...after all what would you rather drink, hot tea or cold tea?
This “Doggie Gatorade” is made up of a few key elements: 
#1. Hot water which is refreshing, comforting and hydrating.
#2. Chicken fat which is high in energy, calories and oils which is excellent for our working huskies who are burning around 2000 calories a day! 
#3. Tripe which is full of very important and helpful digestive enzymes, oils and vitamins.  So on average each dog drinks 3 liters per day! 
Ensuring that all our huskies drink and stay hydrated is very important so often times we will even mix in other tasty meats such as turkey, buffalo, duck and salmon!   We also offer delicious treats to our huskies once they have finished drinking their water and are enjoy their rest.  Variety is the spice of life so we offer many different types of treats such as duck, chicken, yams wrapped in chicken, Milk Bones, beef liver etc!  Learn more about our dog care here!

Our huskies enjoy a minimum 1 hour break between their tours where they receive their “Doggie Gatorade” and treats.  We do not load our huskies into their travel boxes after running as this causes their muscles to tense up and become stiff, also because they eat and drink so much they need to be able to relieve themselves whenever they please, if they are in their travel box they have no alternative area to do so.  Another benefit of letting our huskies cool down and rest in their team formation is it allows our guides ample time to give each dog loving attention and thank them for their hard work on each tour. Any dogs with thinner coats are offered a nice warm dog coat while we clip their nails, groom them and prep their feet (some huskies have sensitive feet and require paw protection ointment and booties) for the next outing.  Our huskies only enjoy being in their travel boxes for very short periods of time, not for 2 hours like some other companies allow.

Q: How do you choose a lead dog?

Q: How many dogs on each team?

Q: What are the positions in a sled dog team and what are the requirements?

A: At the front of the team we have our leaders.  They are the most responsive to voice commands and the fastest dogs in the team.  Their job is to keep the gang line (line all the dogs are attached to) tight at all times, take direction from the musher and to keep the pace in the team.

Behind the leaders we have our point dogs.  Think of these dogs as the assistant leaders or leaders in training.  From time to time a lead dog can have a bad day and if they do we will simply just make a minor adjustment in the team.  We will put one of the point dogs in the lead position to create a less stressful atmosphere for all the dogs; this will improve the rest of the team’s behaviour.  Believe it or not if the lead dog is having a bad day the rest of the team can feel it.  You may also find that this point dog may soon be a proven leader. 

Behind the point dogs are the swing dogs.  This is where we start our pups for the first time.  We also run our yearlings here with a veteran dog, one who will be calm and relaxed when he/she is working this way they won’t frighten the new pup. Sometimes the situation calls for a veteran dog that will do a little training of its own.  If the yearling is well…silly like most of them are the veteran will be quick to let he/she know that they must behave by giving a small nip. The Veteran dog will do this without hurting the pup but letting it know that it better behave or next time it just may hurt!

Behind the swing dogs we have the biggest and usually the slowest dogs.  These are the wheel dogs and they are the weight pullers of the team.  Think of them as the Clydesdales of sled dogs.  They come in very handy on the up hills and in deep snow conditions.  Because of their size they may never get a chance to run in the lead positions since they are much slower.  But never the less, a very important part of the whole team!

A dog sled team is managed in a similar manner to a human team so we have set up a tour based on this. For a work group that needs some help in team enhancement click here!

Q: How many dogs does Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours have?

Q: At what age do your dogs retire and what do you do with the dogs once they are retired?

A: Just like us, dogs age differently.  We generally let our huskies run until they are 10 sometimes even 11.  When we run them at this age we are very careful to make sure they are not pushed too hard.  Like most working dogs they are happiest when they’re working but there comes a time when they must hang up their harness...even when they don’t want to!