By: taw tawas
Submitted: 2012-01-02 16:36:01 | Word Count: 457
This question occured most recently in an Office discussion at 321ski.
I've never seen a skiing dog, but sure why not? We've probably all seen dogs surfing. First off - safety. Dogs do not do well when they come in contact with fast moving and sharp steel corners and rims. So trying this experiment could injure your pet and is not recommended. In fact this discussion is more hypothetical, as is the intention here!
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Skiiers often witness injuries when people bring their pets to resorts that are full of skiiers whizzing past at speed.
If you've got booties and the dog is happy to wear them, do it as this will protect their paws.
Attaching a board leash to your pet is not a good idea (despite the surfing equivalent) for safety reasons as above. My suggestion would be to either skip it if you're doing this in an isolated spot (hopefully away from other people on skis as discussed) or have you use a retracting dog leash to the board.
Of course if you do this at a resort, you're likely to get asked to stop by the powers that be. Second, without a binding setup, you should have a sufficient gripping or sticky surface on the top of the board (similar to a surfboard).
If it's a small dog, this will probably all be too difficult as an element of weight control is important and necessary.
The time of year will play a factor in executing your carefully planned dog challenge. Clearly, until capable of at least a red run, the less busy the better. Hyperthermia (to account for the multiple falls for any beginner dog) may set in less quick in April as you take advantage of the less snow on the lower slopes.
Finally, turning will be difficult but easier for larger dogs. Make sure you have a low angle run with a run out free of all obstructions. A very soft board will help give the dog more control, with a longer length adding more stabiliy. Dogs that like to lean during car rides when they counteract a corner are more likely to figure out the lean to turn thing.
Dogs are fully capable of leaning and surviving on motorbikes (and skateboards and surfing boards) but the uneven ground and cold will add to the challenge.
As you know this discussion is purely hypothetical and whilst we know there will certainly be undiscovered world dog slalom and general ski champions out there, it's probably better leaving it that way...
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