A SIX-DOG-POWER ENGINE.

DOGSLEDDING instruction; MINNESOTA description & travel; SLED dogs; HUMAN-animal communication; WILDERNESS survival; WINTER sports

This article discusses the experience of dogsledding in northern Minnesota. The behavior of the lead dogs on a sled team is framed in terms of the stress that those animals undergo. Issues relating to survival in the wilderness should dog sledding run go awry are considered. Navigation skills are also taught at the Kerfoot Lodge, where the author learned to dogsled. The risks associated with dogsledding are noted and considered in terms of the potential for confidence building in the. Communication between the musher, driving the sled, and the dogs is also described.