Christina got started when she was fostering Harry, an
unnamed, unraced, untrained Greyhound that was available for adoption via
Southland Greyhound adoption last July. He was young, full of energy, and in
need of an active job. Christina had seen my post about bikejoring and knew there
was a local sled dog club (Southland Sled Dog Association) that maintained and groomed trails for Canisports
(canicross, bikejoring, and skatejoring). The club is very welcoming of all
dogs including the non-Nordic breeds. I
am so jealous!
Christina started Harry on canicross (cross country running
with your dog) and bikejored him a couple of times. Thankfully, he was adopted by a lady who is equally
active so he continues his active
lifestyle.
So Christina eagerly awaited another foster greyhound with
similar energy levels to Henry. In comes
Ali, a 3 year old ex-racing greyhound, who she has since adopted. Ali has really taken to bikejoring!
Ali wears a Front Range Ruffwear harness, a straight
shoulder harness. It keeps her back free when she is galloping and distributes weight
really well when she is pulling. The harness
is attached to a bungee line, made by a local musher, that is connected to the front of the bike. You can peddle the bike to help the dog out
and use the brakes when you need to slow or stop the dog or to stop the dog from darting off the trail.
Christina was nice enough to use a GoPro on a recent outing. The first clip is Ali following a pair of
huskies. Christina said she was pulling
like a “beast” so she gave her a break after this clip.
After walking half of a kilometer, Ali had settled into a more moderate pace.
In total, the run was 2.5 kilometers. Top speed was 29.7 kmh or 18.5 mph for us
Americans.
Recently, Christina and Ali competed in a local sled dog
scarper where they have canicross, bikejoring, and relay races open to all
breeds. Ali outperformed a number of
huskies in her class on a 2.8 km course with an average speed of 17.3 kmh (10.7 mph). Go greyhound!
