Dogscooter for Mushing

Dogscooter - What is it?

With a Dogscooter for Mushing one or more dogs are harnessed to a scooter - also called a dog scooter - and pull it behind them. Mushing is currently developing into a new trend sport for dog owners who want to exercise their dog and enjoy and discover nature and their surroundings together. Mushing is a variant of pulling dog sport that is relatively uncomplicated and can be practised without snow, and is therefore becoming increasingly popular.

What is the advantage of a dogscooter compared to the Canicross and Bikejöring?

Compared to canicross (jogger+dog), dogscooting has the advantage that the speeds are much higher. So with mushing you not only experience a speed rush, but can also cover much longer distances. But not only the exploration radius is significantly higher. Probably the most important advantage is that the dog owner only needs a certain basic fitness for dogscooting, but does not need to be nearly as trained as for canicross. Mushing also has advantages over bikejoring (cyclist + dog). The dogscooter has a much lower centre of gravity than a bicycle, as the footboard is only a few centimetres above the ground. The centre of gravity can also be shifted further down and back in sharp curves, so that the curve can be ridden much faster than with a bicycle. In addition to the better riding characteristics, however, the safety aspect is particularly important. Compared to bikejoring, the Dogscooter scores with more safety, as the rider is much closer to the ground and has his feet much easier on the ground in case of danger, which greatly reduces the risk of falling.

Riding a dog scooter: A team experience

Riding a dogscooter strengthens the relationship between man and dog immenselyBecause being on the road together with the dog and the dogscooter is real teamwork. It is about forming a real unit with the dog and thus being on the move safely and quickly. It is important that the dog learns and masters commands for overtaking, turning or walking slowly. A joint mushing round welds together. Experiencing nature and teamwork as well as working out leads to a feeling of well-being for both man and dog, so that both sides are balanced and satisfied.

Mushing corresponds to the nature of the dog

Mushing allows dogs to live out their typical running and chasing instincts in a controlled way. Through the sport of pulling dogs, dogs are exercised both physically and mentally and can follow their natural instincts. Dogs that are kept exclusively as pets are often under-utilised and unbalanced. The strict leash requirement in many German states also increasingly restricts the physical exercise of dogs. Pulling dog sport offers the possibility to guarantee sufficient exercise even with a leash.

This is the equipment you need for mushing

Dogscooter for Mushing

Dogscooters are offroad scooterwhich are specially designed for pulling dog sports. Conventional Kick scooter or City scooter are not suitable for dogscooting. A good dog scooter must be suitable for off-road use, robust and have a wide footboard so that both feet can have a secure footing. In addition, the handlebars should not be too low, as this leads to an uncomfortable posture. Depending on how many dogs you want to walk and how strong your pulling dogs are, other models will suit you:

To find the right dog scooter for you, you can also use our Scooter Finder use.

Dogscooter accessories

In addition to the suitable dog scooter, you also need the right Dogscooter accessories. The essential equipment for the dogscooter is briefly presented below:

• Dogscooter for Mushing
• Bike antenna
• Jöring line
• Harness
• Collar

Bike antenna

Bike antennas keep the pull line at a distance above the front wheel. Without a bike antenna, the joring line can quickly get caught in the front wheel. The bike antenna should be mounted on the frame and not on the handlebars, otherwise your dog would influence your steering behaviour.

Jöring line

Jöring leashes are dog leashes with an integrated shock absorber. They cushion jerky loads on the dogs and thus minimise the strain on the dogs' backs and bodies.

Pulling harness

Suitable pulling harness that distributes the resulting pulling point well over the chest/shoulder area. The dog must never pull on the collar!

Collar

A collar is only needed when 2 dogs are pulling. The dogs are connected to each other with a neckline on the collar. This prevents them from pulling in different directions.

Draught dog

Dogscooting can be done with any dog of almost any breed that is happy to run and has no health restrictions. However, there are a few restrictions that you should be aware of.

• The dog should be fully grown. This applies not only to the body size, but also to the bone structure and musculature. This is usually not the case until the dog is 1-1.5 years old. Dogscooting can also be practised with older dogs without hesitation if the dog is still in good physical condition.
• The dog should be completely healthy and suitable for this dog sport in terms of its musculoskeletal system and cardiovascular system.
• The dog should have a physique that enables it to withstand the strain of pulling and sustained running. Especially small breeds, such as Chihuahuas, are therefore not suitable. Short-nosed breeds are also less suitable for dogscooting, as they tend to breathe too little, especially during vigorous exercise and heat. Dog breeds that often suffer from musculoskeletal problems are also only suitable to a limited extent.

The dogs should first be trained over short distances. The distances can then be gradually increased. Also consider the temperament of your dog. While some dogs run off as if they have never done anything else, others need a gentle introduction to the new task.

How much does a dog scooter cost?

A dog scooter costs between 250 euros and 1000 euros, whereby the lower price segment is only suitable for weak pulling dogs and for walking.

How do you drive a dog scooter?

Before you harness a draft dog in front of your scooter to drive through fields and forests with the dogscooter, you should familiarise yourself with the scooter. First ride alone and get to know the behaviour of the scooter on different routes. If you then use your dog as a draft dog, the driving technique will change a little.

When driving with one or more dogs, you stand as the Musher rather upright on your scooter. It is very important that you can shift your body weight backwards when braking by bending your knees and bringing your upper body into a horizontal or slightly backwards sloping position towards your hips with your arms almost straight. This weight shift is really important. With a dogscooter, you have a relatively long distance from the attachment point of the bike antenna to the centre of the front wheel. Lever. When you brake, the dogs pull on this lever so that the scooter tends to lift off the back and roll over.

By shifting your body weight to the rear, you can avoid rolling over with your scooter, especially when braking hard. When cornering, you usually stand with both feet on the footboard. A lot of weight on the scooter stabilises the ride. Taking the inside leg off the footboard to support the forward movement by pushing off only makes sense if the trail rises at the exit of the curve. In ice speedway, riders use the inside leg to support a steeper incline of the bike. In dogscooting, however, it can happen that your foot gets caught on a root or a stone, so that you get off the scooter unintentionally.

Downhill and uphill with the dogscooter

On a flat track, it is relatively easy for your towing dog or dog team to pull you and your dog scooter. Support from you is hardly necessary when mushing on level stretches. However, as soon as you have to go uphill for a longer distance, you should be ready to support your dog. Don't wait until your dog can no longer pull you and stops. Support him by pushing yourself with one leg as you would when riding without a dog. It may even be necessary for you to walk next to the scooter. The more dogs that pull your dog scooter and you, the less you will have to do yourself when going uphill. You will almost always have to support a single pulling dog when going uphill. When going downhill, you must make sure that the pull rope does not hang slackly and your dog can trip over it. Most of the time you will have to brake a little when going downhill.

Learning to brake with the dog scooter

An important point in dogscooting is braking. Good brakes are indispensable for a dog scooter. The more dogs pull the scooter, the better and more reliable the brakes have to be. You always brake a dogscooter with a lot of feeling, except in the case of emergency braking. You should always keep an eye on the pull cord. Remember that the pulling dogs can significantly increase the braking distance when dogscooting. You should also practise full braking with your scooter. But only when you know the braking effect of your scooter well. During full braking, the front wheel takes over 70 to 80 % of the braking power because of the weight shift. You will hardly notice any braking effect of the rear wheel. If you have several dogs harnessed, even if the rear wheel is locked, they will just keep pulling you along. It is therefore very important that your dogs listen to your command and stop without you having to pull the rip cord.

Commands during dog scooting

Unlike riding a horse or driving a horse-drawn carriage, you do not have any reins with which you can steer and guide your dog or your team when driving a dog scooter. When driving a dog scooter, you only have the possibility to steer your dog using special and clear commands. Either you use German commands or you do it like experienced dogscooter and dogsled drivers and use internationally common commands for your dogs. These commands can usually be better distinguished from each other by a towing dog and followed accordingly than German commands. In the following table you will find the most important commands that you and your dogs should know.

Of course, you can also use your own commands. You must use them consistently and make sure they are easy to distinguish. More important than the type of command is that your draft dog understands and follows the commands. Of course, it is difficult to teach your dog or team these commands at first. The easiest way to do this is to have an experienced companion who walks or runs alongside the dogs and guides them according to your commands.

Dogscooting with two to six dogs

If you are riding a dog scooter with one dog, the stability of the scooter does not have to be too high. However, if you want to ride with 2, 3 or even 6 dogs, then you need a correspondingly robust piece of sports equipment. The frame should be as stable and robust as possible. The footboard must be wide enough so that you can safely stand on it with both feet. One of the most important criteria for a dog scooter that allows you to safely ride with several dogs is the brakes. A scooter with rim brakes is no longer sufficient for riding with more than one dog. You need a solid downhill or cross scooter with generously dimensioned brakes. Disc brakes.

Very good scooters that are recommended for trips with several dogs are the dog scooters from Gravity. For example the
Gravity Mushing Pro Air. Gravity scooters were originally developed and built for downhill riding. The frames and all other components of these scooters are correspondingly stable. The Spanish manufacturer Gravity has specialised in very stable cross scooters and downhill scooters of the highest class for 25 years. Nevertheless, this sports equipment like the Gravity Mushing Pro has remained affordable.

Walking tension types when mushing with several dogs

If you want to ride with two or more dogs, you have several options for harnessing the dogs. With two dogs, either they run side by side as a double team - if they get along - or you hitch them behind each other as a so-called tandem. 3 or 4 dogs are often harnessed in a fan shape. This means that they run side by side, slightly offset in depth. Each dog is connected to the scooter with its own joring line. This form of dog teaming is often used in Greenland for dog sledges.

Even more dogs are harnessed as several double teams in front of the dog scooter. With 6 dogs, two dogs run next to each other three times. The dog pairs are each connected with a neckline. With 5 dogs, either one dog takes the lead or runs behind two pairs. Regardless of whether you are using a tandem, double team or any other type of dog team. Dog team you need a good dog scooter, such as the Gravity Fat Sapo From our online shop. And you need the right equipment for yourself.

The right equipment for dog scooter riders

Mushing with a scooter is a very intensive sport. You therefore need not only the right sports equipment, but also the right equipment for yourself. Sportswear for mushing with a dog scooter should also be comfortable, not chafe and not pinch. For example, you are perfectly dressed for dog scooting with the Kickbike Bioracer Roller Pants or the Kickbike Bioracer Rock from our online shop. During the cold season, the
Kickbike Bioracer Pedal Scooter Winter Jacket perfect. Also a few good and resistant Gloves are part of your personal equipment. The risk of falling is lower in dogscooting than in bikejoring due to the low centre of gravity, but you should still make sure you have good equipment. Helmet You should not forget to wear the right shoes and protective goggles on your tours.

Where can I ride a dog scooter?

Dogscooting is also called dryland mushing or off snow mushing. This means that you do not ride in the snow, but on dry paths. Ideal for this form of mushing are forest paths and field paths with soft ground. The ground should not be hard. Hard surfaces can cause injuries to the paws and damage to the joints of your dogs. However, you must bear in mind that you cannot simply drive through fields and forests everywhere. In particular, you must observe the legal regulations for the use of forest and field paths in your region. If your tour partly leads over asphalt or gravel paths, you should protect your dog's paws from injuries with booties.

When is dogscooting season?

Unlike other types of mushing, dogscooting can be done all year round. Provided the temperatures are right. If the air temperature rises above 15 degrees, you should refrain from touring and training with your dog. The reason for this is that dogs can only balance the temperature through their pads and tongues. The heat generated by the muscles when running and pulling a dog scooter can only be released poorly into the environment. Unlike you, your dog only has sweat glands on its paws. The cooling effect is small. In the main, he can only evaporate moisture from his tongue by panting and thus achieve a little cooling.

For you, this means that from spring onwards, you can often only train with your dog and go on longer tours in the early morning hours, when the air temperature has dropped sufficiently overnight. If there is snow in winter, you can also use a pedal sled instead of your dog scooter. KICKSPARK MAX from our online shop to keep your dogs in training. Another option for winter training in snow and ice is a so-called pulka. You can load the pulka with different weights and thus increase the training level. You yourself ride on cross-country skis next to or behind the dogs and are connected to them with a leash.