Sledging through snowy wastes with nothing but the sound of the wind and your dogs to keep you company. Above you, the ever changing hues of the Northern Lights fill the sky like a kaleidoscopic dream. From far off, the sound of howling is carried on the breeze. Another dog team or maybe a pack of wolves? Should you be afraid? 

Probably not, since you live in Glasgow and, with global warming, a snowy waste is about as likely as winning the lottery. But, all is not lost – you can still go husky driving in the UK, as Fiona Devlin, husky breeder and member of the Scottish Siberian Husky Club explains.

“In the UK, Husky driving, or mushing, involves a “rig” – that is a 3 wheeled trike, to which you harness your dog team. Dogs usually pull in teams of two but you can have 3 or 4 dog teams.”

Huskies were originally bread in Siberia as four legged skidoos to pull light to moderate loads from the hunting grounds back to the villages. These hunting grounds could be as much as 100 miles away, so dogs were bred for speed and endurance. At home the dogs had another purpose – as hairy hot water bottles - and they were sometimes brought into the igloo at night to sleep with the children to keep them warm. This partly explains why huskies today always want to introduce themslves to every passing child. Later, husky racing developed as a sport – first in Alaska and, later in the UK.

Fiona explains, “In Alaska, huskies run over huge distances but we just don’t have the space in this country.  British bred huskies run relatively short races – usually about 4 miles.”

Doggy distractions

A team of huskies has a leader. Many mushers prefer to use a female dog, or bitch, to lead the team. Bitches make good leaders – they take commands well and also don’t have the doggy habit of wanting to swerve off to cock a leg at snow drifts, trees, spectators’ trousers or whatever other distraction there might be along the course.

Huskies are energetic dogs and need loads of exercise. When they are full of energy, raring to go, they call to each other, howling to the rest of the pack. The rig and dogs have to be moored to something solid, like a tree, otherwise they’d be off. If there is no handy tree near by, you need an anchor a bit like on a boat! 

Break a leg

So what is husky racing like? And how fast do huskies go?

“A team of four dogs can get up to quite serious speeds of 20 miles/hr or more. This feels very fast, particularly over uneven terrain, and can also be pretty dangerous if you come off your rig. It’s easy to break an arm of a leg if you come off at speed. But it’s exhilarating and working as a team with your dogs is a brilliant feeling”

Before you commit to having dogs yourself, it’s a good idea to go along to rallies, where you can meet other mushers and train with them. The Scottish Siberian Husky Club hold rallies in different locations throughout the year. The next is the Quinthel Rally, Aberdeen  22/23  March 2008

For further information, visit www.scottishshc.org.uk