Annual dog sled race takes place in Canberra

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Barks and cheers could be heard for kilometres, as dozens of dogs and their masters braved a chilly Canberra morning to take part in the annual sled dog shield.

Transcript

00:00With a bark and a cheer, the annual NSW Sled Dog Shield was off again for another year.

00:08It's just the excitement and the happiness of not only the dogs but the people going

00:13out there and doing what they love.

00:15They can come back covered in mud and they're still smiling.

00:19The ancient practice originated among Canada's First Nations people thousands of years ago.

00:24These days, sled dog riders will often use kick scooters equipped with mountain bike

00:29wheels and long cables attached to their dogs' harnesses.

00:32And the sport has evolved into different categories.

00:35We start off at six dog, then we go down to four, three, two and one.

00:41We also have bike drawing, which is a bike, and we have penny cross, which is people running

00:45behind their dogs.

00:46Win or lose, it's really all about the beautiful animals themselves.

00:50So everyone huskies are bred to sled, so this is a great showcase of what they can do and

00:55what they love to do.

00:56When you're out on the trail with the dogs, the dogs are in charge.

01:00They go where they want to go, as fast as they want to go, and you're there to coerce

01:04them to do as fast as they can.

01:06It's really special.

01:07And these guys are our friends, you know, they love us to death and we love them.

01:12The niche sport does require some fairly intensive investment in training and travel.

01:17The current financial strains of people make it hard, you know, you've got to pay to travel

01:20to races, you've got to pay to obviously care for your dogs, feed your dogs.

01:24And new challenges do rear their head.

01:26The warmer weather, you know, climate change, whatever, that is a bit of a challenge.

01:31But we still get out in Canberra most weekends we'll be running because it's cold enough.

01:36But those involved say it's worth it, even when it doesn't all go to plan.

01:40We had a disaster.

01:42I got a flat tyre right at the start, so the dogs had to work extra hard just for us to

01:49get around, but they did so well, so I was very proud of them.

01:52I had a great run, dogs were healthy, dogs came home, almost stacked it.

01:55It was a good run.

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